THESE ARE THE day of Dhul Hijjah, the best of days.
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever says, ‘Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi,’ one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.’ (Bukhari)
So on our journeys to school and back we recited this beautiful tasbeeh aloud. My daughter would keep count.
‘Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi
Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi
Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi…’
And every so often I would break up the dhikr
Subhan Allah, All Glory belongs to Allah, wa bihamdihi
Subhan Allah, All Perfection belongs to Allah, wa bihamdihi
Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi, All praise belongs to Allah
Subhan Allah, Allah is free of all faults, completely perfect, wa bihamdihi
Subhan Allah, Allah is free of any deficiency, wa bihamdihi
And so we progressed together. 100 times came so easily. We hope that Allah will accept from us and forgive our sins.
“Why did I break up the dhikr with the meaning?’ I asked my son.
‘Otherwise the words can become robotic and just sounds that we rush through,’ he replied.
‘Yes. We can rush through the dhikr with nothing more than sounds and murmurs coming from our throats when they should mean something.
All of creation glorifies Him:
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
The seven heavens, the earth, and all those in them glorify Him. There is not a single thing that does not glorify His praises—but you (simply) cannot comprehend their glorification. He is indeed Most Forbearing, All-Forgiving. (al-Isra 44)
Just thinking of that makes us say Subhan Allah, Allah is free from any shortcomings, when we the created can so easily lose focus!’
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