Deeper into Dhikr
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The Benefits of SubhanAllah | Episode 1
SubhanAllah—glorious is God! This phrase negates any associations with Allah, speaks to the wonder of His creation, alleviates stress and removes sins. Learn more about what Rasulullah (s) taught us about this encompassing phrase of dhikr.
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. The worship of the angels is tasbih, the declaration of the glory and perfection of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. SubhanAllah, all glory, all perfection belongs to Allah and anything that is of imperfection or deficiency cannot be attributed to Him. The angels are actually called al-musabbihun, those that constantly glorify Allah. Allah says about them, yusabbihuna layla wal-nahar la yafturun, that they glorify Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala night and day and they never become tired of doing so. I want you to imagine for a moment what the Prophet sallAllahu alaihi wasallam said about the heavens above. That there is not a single hand span of the heavens except that there is an angel that has been created to do nothing but glorify Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and declare his perfection constantly. SubhanAllah Sometimes we get a little bit of a sneak peek into the elaboration of that declaration of Allah's glory and perfection. The Prophet sallAllahu alaihi wasallam described to us those that bear the throne of Allah as being of the most mighty angels. And what is it that those angels say? According to one narration, four of them say, Subhanaka Allahuma wa bihamdika laka alhamdu ala hilmika ba'da ilmika That all glory and perfection belongs to you, O Allah. You have all praise for your forbearance despite your knowledge. Meaning you still show forbearance and forgiveness despite knowing all things. SubhanAllah. The other four angels respond and they say, Subhanaka Allahuma wa bihamdika laka alhamdu ala afwika ba'da qudratika How perfect and glorified are you, O Allah. To you belongs all praise for your forgiveness despite your power. How perfect is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that despite his knowledge of all things and despite his power over all things,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala deals with his creation with forgiveness despite not needing them. And you see that on the day of judgment that those same angels, when they see the scales being set up, almawazin, and the scales are set up for who? They're set up for us as human beings. But when the angels see those scales set up, they would say, Subhanaka ma'abadnaka haqqa ibadatika How perfect are you. We did not worship you as much as you deserve to be worshipped. And when we get to Jannah bi-idhnillahi ta'ala and we are with those angels, Tasbeeh becomes to us like breathing as the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, da'wahum feehaa subhanaka Allahumma And Allah tells us in the Quran that our call in paradise is how perfect are you, O Allah, glorified are you. So let's talk about this dhikr and what exactly it means. SubhanAllah, Tasbeeh is first and foremost, as the scholars mentioned, tanzeeh. It is to remove every form of imperfection and deficiency from being attributed to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it is only for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You cannot do Tasbeeh of any other entity, not even in proportion. There is only glory that belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah azawajal informs us that everyone and everything glorifies him in some way. So it's removing all attributions of imperfection and then declaring his perfection constantly. First and foremost, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala declares his own perfection. You find the surahs in the Quran that are al-musabihat, where Allah azawajal says, sabaha lillah, yusabih lillah. That all of these things glorify Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And when he himself says, subhanallathee asra bi abdihi, all glory be to the one who took his servant from al-masjid al-haram in Mecca to Jerusalem and then to the highest heavens.
You see the angels constantly being in a state of Tasbeeh. You see the prophets like Musa alayhi salam saying, subhanaka tubtu ilayk, all glory belongs to you. I have admitted my sins to you. And when Musa alayhi salam asked Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for his brother Harun to be a prophet with him, he says, kaynusabihaka kathira, so that we can declare your perfection together, so that we can glorify you together. And then on top of that, Allah says that everything in the heavens and the earth, the heavens and the earth themselves and everything in between, that which is known and that which is not known, that which is seen and that which is not seen, all of it, tusebihu lahu, they are all in a state of glorification. walakin la tafqahuna tasbeehahum, but you are unable to understand or comprehend their Tasbeeh. So imagine when you are on the prayer mat, when you are making sujood, when you are prostrating and you are putting your head on the ground and you are saying, subhana rabbi al a'la, subhana rabbi al a'la, subhana rabbi al a'la, how perfect is my Lord the most high, how perfect is my Lord the most high, how perfect is my Lord the most high. The ground that you are putting your head on, the angels that are taking up that praise, the Lord that is listening to you are all in a state of declaring Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's perfection. And look at the beauty of this as well, that you say, subhana rabbi, how perfect is my Lord. And of the benefits of that is that as much as you are distancing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from any form of imperfection, you are not distancing him from you because he has brought you near. So you are allowed to say, my Lord, subhana rabbi al a'la, subhana rabbi al a'la. And so this is a beautiful way in which we understand Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in our religion, how we understand God.
That as free as Allah is from all imperfections, he has not freed himself from his imperfect creation and he calls us back to him. So when do we use this dhikr on a daily basis? Number one, you find it most frequently in the Quran when something unbefitting is ascribed to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Wa qalu takhadha ar-Rahman walada. They say that the most merciful has taken a son. Subhana. How can we accept such a thing? Or when you see something that only Allah can do, something that is entirely under his control and under his power. And so you see the lightning, you see things that demonstrate his power and you say subhanAllah, subhanAllah. Because you understand that you are unable to do those things and unable to control the fate of those things. So freeing him from imperfection, declaring his perfection, looking at the things that he does with his might. And then when you yourself try to honor him subhanahu wa ta'ala, when you fall short with all of those things for his sake, then you go back and you say subhanAllah. So in tawbah, in your repentance, subhanak is part of your repentance. How perfect are you? Let not my imperfections come in between me and you. When you are bearing the insults or the hardships that come with doing the work of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah says, wasbir ala ma yaqooroon wasabbih bihamdi rabbik. That be patient with that which they say about you. Wasabbih and glorify, declare the perfection of your Lord. And Allah azawajal says, and when you finish, fasabbih bihamdi rabbika wastaghfirhu. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you victory, then increase in your tasbih, increase in your declaration of his perfection, and seek forgiveness for your own imperfections. And that's why our mother Aisha radiAllahu ta'ala anha says that towards the end of the life of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, he suddenly increased in his tasbih in particular.
And when she asked him why, he said it was in direct response to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saying, fasabbih bihamdi rabbika wastaghfirhu. Now when it comes to our daily usage of this as well in terms of frequency, Allah actually specifies in the Quran, wadhkur rabbika kathira wasabbih bil-ashiyyi wal-ibkar. So remember your Lord frequently, but wasabbih in particular, declare Allah's perfection in the morning and in the evening. And so it is frequent in our morning remembrance, frequent in our evening remembrance, and then after the salah, of course, it is one of the phrases that we say 33 times. And then throughout the day, the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam said, would any one of you be able to do 1000 good deeds a day? And we said, how is that possible, Ya Rasulullah? He said salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, that if a person says subhanAllah a hundred times a day, then that is equal to a thousand good deeds or the removal of a thousand sins. Abu Huraira radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, who was one of the narrators of the virtue of tasbih, used to do tasbih 12,000 times a day. So you could see how the companions understood this. And by the way, this is when it comes to normal times. Imagine in Ramadan where one tasbih is worth a thousand as Az-Zuhri rahimAllah narrates, or in the best days of dhikr, which are the days of the dhul-hijjah. So on a normal day, Abu Huraira radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu would say, subhanAllah, subhanAllah, subhanAllah 12,000 times a day. Then you see a hadith that mentioned some of the extrapolation. So for example, subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi, all glory belongs to Allah and with his praise. So you match up his tanzeeh, removing all imperfections with his thanking, tahmid, with praising him subhanAllah wa ta'ala. And he said, salAllahu alayhi wa salam, that whoever says subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi a hundred times a day,
that that erases your sins, even if your sins are like the foam of the sea. And another narration, he said, salAllahu alayhi wa salam, whoever says subhanAllahi al-adheemi wabi hamdihi, and of course this is a shortened version of subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi subhanAllah al-adheem, that if you say it even one time, that Allah subhanAllah ta'ala would plant for you a palm tree in Jannah. So just by saying subhanAllah a hundred times, and if you increase that to subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi, or subhanAllah al-adheemi wabi hamdihi, or subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi subhanAllah al-adheem, you're planting trees in Jannah, you're removing your sins, even if they're like the foam of the sea, and you're having thousands of good deeds written for you, and thousands of sins that are erased. He said, salAllahu alayhi wa salam, as well, kalimatan khafifatani ala al-lisan, thaqeelatani fil-mizan, habibatani ila al-Rahman, subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi subhanAllah al-adheem. Two phrases that you say, they're so light on the tongue, they are so heavy on the scale, they are so beloved to al-Rahman, to the most merciful, subhanAllahi wabi hamdihi subhanAllah al-adheem. So they fill your scale as well, and they take so little from your day, from your time, from your tongue. And then finally, dear brothers and sisters, the hadith of Juwayriya radiAllahu ta'ala anha, where Rasulullah salAllahu alayhi wa sallam found her remembering Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala during the day for hours, and then the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam came back to her, and he said that I have said a phrase that if you say it, it is equal to all of those hours. SubhanAllahi wabi hamdihi adad khalqih waridaa nafsih wazinata arshi wa midada kalimati So let's break this down. SubhanAllahi wabi hamdihi, how perfect is Allah and all praise is due to Him. Adad khalqih, in accordance with however many of His creation He has created.
So how much of the creation of Allah exists, has existed, will exist? Imagine a tasbih for each and every single one of the creation of Allah. Waridaa nafsih, and in accordance with that which is pleasing to Him. Wazinata arshihi, and in accordance with the weight of His throne. Wa midada kalimati, and the ink that records the words of praise of Him subhanahu wa ta'ala. Think about how weighty this dhikr is, and engage yourself in it day and night. SubhanAllahi wabi hamdihi adad khalqihi waridaa nafsihi wazinata arshihi wa midada kalimati May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us amongst those who praise Him day and night, who declare His perfection day and night, and forgive us for our shortcomings. Allahumma ameen. Allahumma ameen. Allahumma ameen.
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