I said four words three times after I had left you; if they were to be weighed against what you have been saying since morning, they would outweigh them
Chapter: The Tasbih At The Beginning Of The Day And When Going To Sleep
Authentic
hadith of Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim 2726a
Juwayriyah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported:
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) went out from her house in the early morning when he prayed the Morning prayer, while she was in her prayer place. Then he returned after offering the Forenoon prayer while she was still sitting. He said: "Are you still in the state I left you in?" She said: Yes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I said four words three times after I had left you; if they were to be weighed against what you have been saying since morning, they would outweigh them: Subhānallāh wa bihamdih, ‘adada khalqih, wa rida nafsih, a zinata ‘arshih, wa midāda kalimātih (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him by the number of His creation, by His own pleasure, by the weight of His Throne, and by the ink of His words.)."
Reported by Muslim (No. 2726a, 2726b), At-Tirmidhi (No. 3555), An-Nasa’i (No. 1352), Ibn Majah (No. 3808) and Ahmad (No. 25533, 26153).
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left the house of his wife Juwayriyah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) early in the morning after performing the Fajr prayer, while she was sitting in her place of prayer. He returned after the sun had passed its zenith, during the time of Duha, and she was still sitting in the same spot. He then said: Are you still in the state I left you in? She replied: Yes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: I said four words after I had left you, and I repeated them three times. If they were to be weighed in terms of reward against all that you have been saying during the time you have been sitting here, they would outweigh them. (Glory be to Allah) and may He be Exalted above all imperfections (and all praise is due to Him). For to Him belongs the beautiful praise for having guided to that (by the number of His creation) whom none can count but Allah, (by His own pleasure) as much as pleases Him with those of His slaves with whom Allah is pleased—something that cannot be encompassed, (by the weight of His Throne), which is the greatest and heaviest of the whole creation, (and by the ink of His words) and the words of Allah are countless and endless. This encompasses and includes the three aspects, as the ink of His words, exalted is He, is limitless in its extent, description, and number. However, the intent here is to emphasize the great abundance. First, a countable measure is mentioned—the number of His creations. Then, it progresses to something even greater, expressed as "His own pleasure." Next is the weight of the greatest creation, the Throne. The first relates to number and quantity, the second to description and quality, and the third to greatness and weight.
Lessons
Manifesting the merit of these words and encouraging their saying.
The forms of Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) vary in their merit as some forms are preferable to others.
An-Nawawi commented on his statement (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him, by the ink of His words), saying: The intent here is to emphasize the abundance. First, it mentions what can be contained by a large count—the number of creations—then the weight of the Throne. It then ascends to something even greater, expressed by this phrase, meaning something that cannot be counted, just as His words cannot be counted.
Ibn al-Qayyim said: What arises in the heart of the one who remembers Allah saying: (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him, by the number of His creation...)—of awareness, exaltation, and glorification of Allah to this specified extent—is greater than what arises in the heart of the one who simply says: "Glory be to Allah" alone.
Guidance to comprehensive phrases that contain few words but bring immense virtue and reward.
Explanation in Arabic
خرجَ النبيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم من عند زوجه أم المؤمنين جويرية رضي الله عنها أول النهار حين صلى الصبح، وهي جالسة في موضع صلاتها، ثم رجع بعد أن انتصف النهار وقت الضحى، وهي ما زالت جالسة في مكانها، فقال:
ما زلتِ على الحال التي فارقتكِ عليها؟
قالت: نعم، قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم:
لقد قلت بعدك أربع كلمات، وكررتها ثلاث مرات، لو قُوبِلت من حيث الأجر بما قلت جميع الوقت الذي أنت جالسة فيه لترجَّحت عليها:
(سبحان الله) وتنزيهه من جميع النقائص، (وبحمده) حيث له الثَّناء الجميل الذي هدى لذلك، (عدد خلقه) الذين لا يحصيهم إلا الله، (ورضا نفسه) بقدر ما يُرضيه عمن رضي الله عنه من عباده وهو شيءٌ لا يُحاط به، (وزنة عرشه) الذي هو أعظم المخلوقات وأثقلها، (ومداد كلماته) وكلمات الله لا تحصر ولا تنفد؛ وهذا يعمّ الأقسام الثلاثة ويشملها؛ فإنَّ مداد كلماته سبحانه لا نهايةَ لقدره، ولا لصفته، ولا لعدده، ولكن المراد: المبالغة به في الكثرة؛ لأنه ذكر أولًا ما يحصره العد الكثير من عدد الخلق، ثم ارتقى إلى ما هو أعظم من ذلك وعبر عنه برضى نفسه، ثم زنة أعظم المخلوقات وهو العرش؛ فالأول للعدِّ والكميّة، والثاني للصِّفة والكيفية، والثالث للعِظَم والثِّقَل.
بيان فضل هذه الكلمات، والحث على قولها.
الذِّكْر يتفاضل فبعضه أفضل من بعض.
قال النووي على قوله (سبحان الله وبحمده مداد كلماته): والمراد المبالغة به في الكثرة؛ لأنه ذكر أولًا ما يحصره العد الكثير من عدد الخلق، ثم زنة العرش، ثم ارتقى إلى ما هو أعظم من ذلك وعبر عنه بهذا، أي ما لا يحصيه عد كما لا تحصى.
قال ابن القيم: إنَّ ما يقوم بقلب الذَّاكر حين يقول: سبحان الله وبحمده، عدد خلقه ... إلى آخره من معرفته وتنزيهه وتعظيمه من هذا القدر المذكور من العدد أعظم مما يقوم بقلب القائل: "سبحان الله" فقط.
الإرشاد إلى جوامع الكلم التي تحمل القليل من الألفاظ، ويعطى عليها عظيم الفضل والثواب.
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