Further reading:
In the Dhikr cards we could not fit all the various hadiths that would help contextualize the tasbih with further reasons, rewards, and to expand how we can follow in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). So, in this section we aim to provide more references to the hadiths that mention the dhikr above, Insha-Allah it will help further your understanding and reinforce you to develop a new prayer habit.
Virtues of Bismillah:
1. Abu al-Malih reported on the authority of a man: I was riding on a mount behind the prophet (May peace be upon him). It stumbled. Thereupon I said: May the devil perish! He said: do not say; may the devil perish! For you say that, he will swell so much so that he will be like a house, and say: by my power. But say: in the name of Allah; for when you say that, he will diminish so much so that he will be like a fly. (Sunan Abi Dawud 4982)
2. It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed that: The Messenger of Allah said: "There is no ablution for one who does not mention the Name of Allah (before doing it)." (Sunan Ibn Majah 397)
3. Umar bin Abu Salamah (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I was a boy under the care of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and as my hand used to wander around in the dish, he (ﷺ) said to me once, "Mention Allah's Name (i.e., say Bismillah), eat with your right hand, and eat from what is in front of you."(Riyad as-Salihin 727)
4. Ibn Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Do not talk too much without remembrance of Allah. Indeed excessive talking without remembrance of Allah hardens the heart. And indeed the furthest of people from Allah is the harsh-hearted."(Jami at-Tirmidhi 2411)
5. 'Uthman said that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, "A person will not be harmed by anything if he says every morning and evening 33 times, 'In the Name of Allah by whose Name nothing in the earth or the heaven is harmed. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.""(Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 660)
Virtues of Subhanallah:
1. Mus'ab ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqaas: My father told me: We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he said: "Is it too difficult for any one of you to earn one thousand hasanahs (good deeds) every day?" One of those who were sitting with him asked him: How can one of us earn one thousand hasanahs? He said: "If he says one hundred tasbeehs, one thousand hasanahs will be recorded for him, or one thousand bad deeds will be erased for him." (Sahih Muslim 2698)
Virtues of La ilaha illallah:
1. It was narrated from Mu'adh bin Jabal that the: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "There is no soul that died bearing witness to La ilaha illallah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah, from the heart with certainity, but Allah will forgive it."(Sunan Ibn Majah 3796, Sunan an-Nasa'i 1826)
2. Narrated Abu Hurairah: that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Faith has seventy-some odd doors, the lowest of which is removing something harmful from the road, and its highest is the statement 'La Ilaha Illallah.'"(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2614)
3. Abu Hurairah narrated that: The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: "I have been commanded to fight the people until they say La ilaha illallah (there is none worthy of worship but Allah). Whoever says La ilaha illallah, his wealth and his life are safe from me except for a right that is due, and his reckoning will be with Allah." (Sunan an-Nasa'i 3972)
NOTE: this does not mean to fight people until they accept, "...there shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion" (2:256). This hadith does not mean to fight those who have made peace, but refers to a group of idolaters who waged war against the Prophet (ﷺ) and his community. We must view the hadith in it's context and not at face value for those who try to detract from the message, "But if they cease, then there is to be no aggression [i.e., assault] except against the oppressors" (2:193).
4. It was narrated that Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'Urge your dying ones to say La ilaha illallah.' (Sunan Ibn Majah 1444)
Narrated Al-Musaiyab: When the death of Abu Talib approached, Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) came to him and said, "Say: La ilaha illallah, a word with which I will be able to defend you before Allah."(Sahih al-Bukhari 6681)
Virtues of Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, and Subhanallah:
1. Fatima complained about the blisters on her hand because of using a mill-stone. She went to ask the Prophet for servant, but she did not find him (at home) and had to inform `Aisha of her need. When he came, `Aisha informed him about it. `Ali added: The Prophet (peace be upon him) came to us when we had gone to our beds. When I was going to get up, he said, "'Stay in your places," and sat between us, till I felt the coolness of the feet on my chest. The Prophet (ﷺ) then said, "Shall I not tell you of a thing which is better for you than a servant? When you (both) go to your beds, say 'Allahu Akbar' thirty-three times, and 'Subhan Allah ' thirty-three times, 'Al hamdu 'illah' thirty-three times, for that is better for you than a servant." Ibn Seereen said, "Subhan Allah'(Sahih al-Bukhari 6318 & 3113). In another narration from Sahih al-Bukhari 5362, Ali added, 'I have never failed to recite it ever since." Somebody asked, "Even on the night of the battle of Siffin?" He said, "Even on the night of the battle of Siffin."
2. Ka'b bin 'Ujrah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There are some words, the reciters of which will never be disappointed. These are: Tasbih [saying 'Subhan-Allah' (Allah is free from imperfection)], thirty-three times, Tahmid [saying 'Al-hamdu lillah' (praise be to Allah)] thirty-three times and Takbir [saying 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is Greatest)] thirty-four times; and these should be recited after the conclusion of every prescribed prayer." (Riyad as-Salihin 1420)
Virtues of dhikr 15:
1. This hadith mentions the rewards for mentioning just part of the longer dhikr, La ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in Qadir.
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "If one says one-hundred times in one day: "None has the right to be worshiped but Allah, the Alone Who has no partners, to Him belongs Dominion and to Him belong all the Praises, and He has power over all things (ie Omnipotent)", one will get the reward of manumitting ten slaves, and one-hundred good deeds will be written in his account, and one-hundred bad deeds will be wiped off or erased from his account, and on that day he will be protected from the morning till evening from Satan, and nobody will be superior to him except one who has done more than that which he has done.” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3293)
Virtues of dhikr 16:
1. Indeed, Allah showers His blessings upon the Prophet, and His angels pray for him. O believers! Invoke Allah’s blessings upon him, and salute him with worthy greetings of peace. (33:56)
Why do we do Dhikr and make Du'a?
We sometimes see people asking what's the purpose of dhikr or du'a?
It's an honest question and people can get confused with what the difference between dhikr, du'a and salah are. In short, they are all just different forms of prayer and worship varying in the degree of obligation. Dhikr and du'a are not obligatory but highly recommended. The prayer is the believer's best tool for changing what Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) has decreed. To accept one's fate and submit to what Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) has ordained (both the good and the bad) has merit. But this should not to be used as a reason to excuse oneself of offering supplications as we learn from the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ):
"O Allah guide me among those You have guided, pardon me among those You have pardoned, befriend me among those You have befriended, bless me in what You have granted, and save me from the evil that You decreed. Indeed You decree, and none can pass decree, and none can pass decree upon you, indeed he is not humiliated whom You have befriended, blessed are You our Lord and Exalted."
(Jami` at-Tirmidhi 464)
It is through our supplications we may be able to avoid hardship, evil, or difficult tests Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) has currently written for us. It is through supplication and good deeds that our destination can be altered. Whoever he chooses to be guided, then nothing will make them lost.
The question that now pops in people's mind, well who does Allah (سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ) guide? Is it the luck of a draw?
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Allah the Almighty said: I am as My servant thinks I am (1). I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a cubit, and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed. (Sahih al-Bukhari 7405)
We even know of a hadith that Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the man who Jannah is guranteed, would oft remember his Lord throughout the day. Al-Agharr Al-Muzani (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Sometimes I perceive a veil over my heart, and I supplicate Allah for forgiveness a hundred times in a day." (Riyad as-Salihin 1869)
Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not."
(Riyad as-Salihin 1873)
Allah in the Qur'an tells us directly: "And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'" (14:7)
