Praises of Allah

Ibn Abbas (radiy Allāhū ‘anhumā) narrates: “When the Prophet ﷺ would stand for the night (tahajjud) prayer, he would say [the above]. (Bukhārī 6317, 7499)

Rifā’ah az-Zuraqī (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates: “When it was the day of (the battle of) Uhud and the polytheists retreated, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘Arrange yourselves (in rows) so I can praise my Lord.’ So the Companions (radiy Allāhū ‘anhum) stood behind him in rows. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said [the above].” (Aḥmad 15066)

Suhayl reports that Abū Ṣāliḥ would command us: “If one of you intends to go sleep, he should lie on his right side and say [the above].”

Abū Ṣāliḥ would narrate this from Abū Hurayrah (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) who narrated it from the Prophet ﷺ. (Muslim 2713)

Abu Sa’id Khuḍrī (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would say [the above] after saying سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ (May Allah respond to the one who praises Him).” (Abū Dāwūd 847)

ʿĀ’isha (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhā) narrates: “The people complained to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ of a drought. So he ﷺ ordered for a pulpit and it was placed in his place of prayer. He then arranged a day for all the people to gather.

ʿĀ’isha says (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhā): ‘The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out when the disk of the sun appeared. He sat on the pulpit and praised Allah and then said: “You have complained regarding the drought of your gardens and lack of rain for some time. Verily, Allah has commanded you to ask Him and promised to answer your prayers, then he said [the above with the addition of] “Send down rain upon us, and make what you send effective and far-reaching until some time.”

Then he ﷺ lifted his arms until we saw the whiteness under his armpit. He then turned his back towards the people and turned round his upper garment while his hands were raised. He then turned to the people and descended the pulpit. He performed two units of Salah. Allah then formed a cloud. There was a clap of thunder and a flash of lightening and it rained with the permission of Allah. He did not stay inside the Masjid until there were streams of water running.

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saw wetness on the peoples clothes, he smiled until his front teeth became visible. He then said: “I bear witness that Allah is over all things All-Powerful and I am the servant and Messenger of Allah.” (Ibn Ḥibbān 991)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever says [the above] when retiring to bed has praised Allah with all the praises of His entire creation.” (Hākim 2001)

Abū Hurayrah (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates: “A man from the Anṣār from the people of Qubā invited the Prophet ﷺ for a meal. When he ﷺ had finished eating and had washed his hands, he said [the above].” (Nasā’ī in Sunan al-Kubrā 10060, Ibn Ḥibbān 5219)

Rifa’ah b. Rafi (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) said: “I prayed behind the Prophet ﷺ and I sneezed and said: [the above]. When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished praying, he turned and asked: ‘Who is the one who spoke during the prayer?’ But no one said anything. Then he said it a second time: ‘Who is the one who spoke during the prayer?’ So Rifaʿah b. Rafiʿ b. ʿAfrah said: ‘It was me, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said: ‘I said: [the above] The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘By the One in Whose hand is my soul, thirty-odd angels hastened to see which of them would take it up.’” (Nasā’ī 931)

Anas b. Malik (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) said: “I was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ in a gathering when a man came and greeted the Prophet ﷺ saying:’Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.’ The Prophet ﷺ replied: ‘Wa alaykumus salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh’. When the man sat, he said [the above]. The Prophet ﷺ asked: ‘What did you say?’ He then repeated what he said. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘By the One in Whose hand is my soul, ten angels hastened in eagerness to write it (its reward). But they did not know how to write it until they took it up to the All Mighty. Then He said: ‘Write it as my servant said it.’” (Nasai in Sunan al-Kubra 7718, Ahmad 12612)

Abū Umāmah Bahilī (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed by him while he was moving his lips, so he asked: “What are you saying O Abū Umāmah?” He replied: “I am remembering my Lord.” He ﷺ said: “Shall I not inform you of the most virtuous dhikr for the night and day? It is that you say [the above].” (Composite: Aḥmad 22198 and Ibn Ḥibbān 830)

Abū Saʿīd Khuḍrī (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrated: “When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ got up to pray at night (for tahajjud prayer) he uttered the takbīr (الله أكبر) and then said: “[the above]”. He then said: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ (There is no god but Allah) three times; and: اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ كَبِيرًا (Allah is altogether great) three times. He then said: أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ السَّمِيعِ الْعَلِيمِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ مِنْ هَمْزِهِ وَنَفْخِهِ وَنَفْثِهِ (I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing and All-Knowing from the accursed devil, from his evil whisper, from his blowing, and from his spitting.” He then recited (the Qur’an). (Abū Dāwūd 775)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There are two statements that are light on the tongue, heavy on the Scale and are beloved to the Most Merciful: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ ، سُبْحَانَ اللهِ الْعَظِيْم.” (Bukhārī 6682, Muslim 2694)

Juwayriyah bint al-Hārith (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhā) reported: “The Prophet ﷺ left (my home) in the morning as I was busy in performing the dawn prayer. He came back in the forenoon and found me sitting there. He ﷺ asked: ‘Are you still in the same position as I left you?’ I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘I recited four phrases three times after I left you. If everything that you have said today was put in the scales, [the above] would outweigh it.’” (Muslim 2140, Abū Dāwūd 1503)

‘Awf b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates: “I stood with the Prophet ﷺ. He started by using the siwāk and performing wuḍu, then he stood and prayed. He started reciting Al-Baqarah and he did not come to any verse that spoke of mercy but he paused and asked for mercy, and he did not come to any verse that spoke of punishment but he paused (and sought refuge with Allah from that). Then he bowed and he stayed bowing for as long as he had stood, and he said while bowing: [the above] Then he prostrated for as long as he had bowed, saying while prostrating: [the above]. Then he recited Āl Imrān, then another surah and another, doing that each time.” (Nasā’ī 1132)

ʿA’ishah (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhā) narrates: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would say [the above] in his ruku and sajdah.” (Muslim 487)

Ibn ‘Umar (radiy Allāhū ‘anhumā) narrates: “While we performing salah with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), someone from among us said: [the above] The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Who uttered such and such a word? A person among the people said: It was me (who recited these words), Messenger of Allah. He ﷺ said: “It (its utterance) surprised me, for the doors of heaven were opened for It.” Ibn ‘Umar (radiy Allāhū ‘anhumā) said: “I have not abandoned them (these words) since I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying this.” (Muslim 601)

ʿA’ishah (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhā) narrates: “When the Messenger of Allah would turn in his sleep (at night), he would say [the above].” (Ibn Ḥibbān 5530)

Ubadah b. Samit (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever wakes up in the night and says: [the above], then he supplicates رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي (O Lord, forgive me), he will be forgiven.’” Walid said: “Or he said: then if he supplicates, it will be answered then if he stood up and performed wudhu and then performed salah, his prayer would be accepted.”(Ibn Mājah 3878)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would invoke Allah at the time of distress with [the above] (Bukhārī 6345, Muslim 2730)

Ali (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me: “Shall I not teach you some words, which if you say, Allah will forgive your sins even if you were already forgiven? He said: “Say [the above].” (Ahmad 92/1)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whosoever reads [the above] once, Allah frees a quarter of him from the Hell-fire. Whosever reads it twice, Allah frees two-thirds of him from the Hell-fire. And whosoever reads it thrice, Allah frees him completely from the Hell-fire.” (Hākim 1920)

Alī b. Abī Ṭālib (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say [the above] at the end of his witr Salah.” (Abū Dāwūd 1427, Tirmidhi 3566, Ibn Majah 1179) In another narration, it is narrated from Aisha (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhā): “I noticed that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was missing from his bed one night, so I went looking for him, and my hand touched the soles of his feet while he was prostrating with his feet upright. He was saying: [the above without the word إِنِّيْ].” (Muslim 486)

Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Muʿādh: “Shall I not teach you such a duʿā that if you had debt equal to Mount Uhud, Allah will pay it off for you. Say O Muʿādh: [the above].” (Tabarānī in Mu’jam al-Saghir 558)

Buraydah (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard a man saying [the above]. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remarked: “By the One in Whose Hand is my life, He has certainly asked Allah with His Greatest Name; when He is supplicated by it, He responds, and when asked, He gives.” (Tirmidhī 3475)

Anas ibn Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ‘anhu) narrates that I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and a man was offering salāh. The man then said [the above]. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remarked: “He has certainly asked Allah with His Greatest Name; when He is supplicated by it, He responds, and when asked, He gives.” (Abū Dāwūd 1495)