The Book of the Remembrance of Allah

We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) when he asked, "Is anyone of you unable to earn a thousand good deeds?" One of those present asked: "How can one earn thousand good deeds in a day?" He (ﷺ) replied, "By saying: Subhan Allah a hundred times, then one thousand good deeds will be recorded for him or one thousand sins will be blotted out from his record."[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Every morning charity is due from every joint bone of the body of every one of you. Every utterance of Allah's Glorification (i.e., Subhan-Allah) is an act of charity, and every utterance of praise of Him (i.e., Al-hamdu lillah) is an act of charity, and every utterance of profession of Faith (i.e., La ilaha illallah) is an act of charity, and every utterance of His Greatness (i.e., Allahu Akbar) is an act of charity; and enjoining good is an act of charity and forbidding what is disreputable is an act of charity; and two Rak'ah prayer which one offers in the forenoon (Ad- Duha) will suffice for all this."[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) came out from my apartment in the morning as I was busy in performing the dawn prayer. He came back in the forenoon and found me sitting there. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Are you still in the same position as I left you." I replied in the affirmative. Thereupon the Prophet said, "I recited four words three times after I had left you. If these are to be weighed against all you have recited since morning, these will be heavier. These are: Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi, `adada khalqihi, wa rida nafsihi, wa zinatah `arshihi, wa midada kalimatihi [Allah is free from imperfection and I begin with His praise, as many times as the number of His creatures, in accordance with His Good Pleasure, equal to the weight of His Throne and equal to the ink that may be used in recording the words (for His Praise)]."[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The similitude of one who remembers his Rubb and one who does not remember Him, is like that of the living and the dead."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah the Exalted says: 'I am as my slave expects me to be, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me inwardly, I will remember him inwardly, and if he remembers Me in an assembly, I will remember him in a better assembly (i.e., in the assembly of angels)."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The Mufarridun have gone ahead." He was asked, "Who are the Mufarridun?" He (ﷺ) replied, "Those men and women who frequently celebrate the remembrance of Allah."[Muslim].

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "The best way to celebrate the remembrance of Allah is to say: La ilaha illallah (there is no true god except Allah)."[At-Tirmidhi].

One of the Companions said, "O Messenger of Allah. There are many injunctions of Islam for me. So tell me something to which I may hold fast." He said, "Keep your tongue wet with the remembrance of Allah."[At-Tirmidhi].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "For him who says: 'Subhan-Allahi wa bi hamdihi (Allah is free from imperfection, and I begin with praising Him, and to Him),' a palm-tree will be planted in Jannah."[At- Tirmidhi].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I met Ibrahim (ﷺ) on the Night of Ascension (Al-Asra), and he said to me: 'O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering: Subhan-Allah, Al-hamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar (Allah is free from imperfection; praise be to Allah; there is no true god except Allah; and Allah is Greatest)."[At- Tirmidhi].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions which are the purest to your Rubb, which exalt you to the high ranks, which are more efficacious than spending gold and silver (in charity), and better for you than you should encounter your enemies whom you will smite their necks and they will smite your necks?" They said, "Certainly." He (ﷺ) said, "Remembrance of Allah the Exalted."[At-Tirmidhi].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and I went to see a woman. She had date- stones or pebbles in front of her, and she was counting and reciting Tasbih. ['Subhan-Allah' (Allah is free from imperfection)]. He said, "Shall I not inform you of what is easier or better than this for you?" You should say: 'Subhan-Allahi 'adada ma khalaqa fis-sama', wa subhan-Allahi 'adada ma khalaqa fil-ardi, wa subhan-Allahi 'adada ma baina dhalika, wa subhan-Allahi 'adada ma Huwa Khaliqun, wallahu Akbaru mithla dhalika, wal-hamdu lillahi mithla dhalika, wa la ilaha illallahu mithla dhalika, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi mithla dhalika (Subhan-Allah, equal to the number of what He created in the heaven; and Subhan-Allah, equal to the number of His creatures in the earth; and Subhan-Allah, equal to the number in between them; and Subhan-Allah equal to the number of those He will create).' Then say: 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is Greatest) in the same way. Then say: 'Al-hamdu lillah' (praise be to Allah) in the same way. Then say: 'La ilaha illallah' (there is no true god except Allah) in the same way. Then say: 'La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah' (there is no change of a condition nor power except by Allah) in the same manner."[At-Tirmidhi].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "Shall I not guide you to a treasure from the treasures of Jannah?" I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" Thereupon he (ﷺ) said, "(Recite) 'La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah' (There is no change of a condition nor power except by Allah)."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to remember Allah at all times.[Muslim].

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If anyone intends to have (sexual intercourse) with his wife, he should say: "Bismillah! Allahumma janibnash-Shaitana, wa jannibish-Shaitana ma razaqtana (In the Name of Allah, O Allah! Keep us away from Satan and keep Satan away from what You have bestowed upon us);' and if Allah has ordained a child for them, Satan will never harm him."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

[Al-Bukhari]

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has teams of angels who go about on the roads seeking those who remember Allah. When they find some people remembering Allah they call to one another and say, 'Come to what you are looking for;' and they surround them with their wings till the space between them and the lowest sky is fully covered. Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them (although He is best informed about every thing): 'What are my slave saying?' They say: 'They are glorifying Your Tasbih, Tahmid, Takbir, Tamjid, (i.e., they were declaring Your Perfectness, praising, remembering the Greatness and Majesty of Allah).' He asks: 'Have they seen Me?' They reply, 'No, indeed, they have not seen You.' He asks: 'How would they act if they were to see Me?' Thereupon they reply: 'If they were to see You, they would engage more earnestly in worshipping and glorifying You and would extol You more.' He would say: 'What do they beg of Me?' They say, 'They beg You for Your Jannah.' Allah says, 'Have they seen My Jannah?' They say, 'No, our Rubb.' He says: 'How would they act if they were to see My Jannah?' They reply, 'Were they to see it, they would more intensely eager for it.' They (the angels) say, 'They seek Your Protection.' He asks, 'Against what do they seek My Protection?' They (the angels) say, 'Our Rubb, from the fire of Hell.' (He, the Rubb) says, 'Have they seen the fire of Hell?' They say, 'No. By Your Honour, they have not seen it.' He says: 'How would they act if they were to see My Fire?' They say: 'If they were to see it, they would more earnest in being away from it and fearing it. They beg of Your forgiveness.' He says: 'I call you to witness that I hereby grant pardon to them and confer upon them what they ask for; and grant them protection against what they seek protection from.' One of the angels says: 'Our Rubb, there is amongst them such and such slave who does not belong to the assembly of those who are participating in Your remembrance. He passed by them and sat down with them.' He says: 'I also grant him pardon because they are the people by virtue of whom their associates will not be unfortunate'."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].(The narration in Muslim is also the same with minor changes in wordings).

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a group of people assemble for the remembrance of Allah, the angels surround them (with their wings), (Allah's) mercy envelops them, Sakinah, or tranquillity descends upon them and Allah makes a mention of them before those who are near Him."[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sitting in the mosque with his Companions when three people came to him. Two of them stepped forward to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the third went away. Those two men stood by the side of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). One of them found a space in the circle and he filled it, while the other one sat behind him. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished, he said, "Shall I not inform you about these three people? One of them sought refuge with Allah and Allah gave him refuge; the second one felt shy and Allah showed kindness to his shyness (and so he was accommodated in that meeting), and the last one averted, and so Allah turned away His Attention from him."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Mu'awiyah (May Allah be pleased with him) came to an assembly in the mosque and asked them: "What has made you sit together?" They replied, "We are sitting here to remember Allah." He said, "I adjure you by Allah to tell me whether nothing else has made you to sit together." They replied: "By Allah! We are sitting only to remember Allah." Then he said, "I did not adjure you because I suspected you. No one of my rank in the eyes of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is the narrator of so few traditions as I am. The fact is that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out to a circle of his Companions and said, 'What has made you sit there?' When they replied that they are sitting together to remember Allah and to praise Him for guiding them to Islam and bestowing favours on them, he (ﷺ) said, 'I adjure you by Allah to tell me that nothing else has made you sit together.' On their reply that there was certainly no other purpose, he (ﷺ) said, 'I did not adjure you because I suspected you, but Jibril (Gabriel) came to me and told me that Allah was talking proudly of you to the angels."'[Muslim].