Practical tasbīḥ

Practical tasbīḥ

Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a) said: “One of the most difficult and important things that God has made necessary for creation is “abundant remembrance” [dhikr al-kathīr].” He (‘a) then said: “What it means is not the recital of “Subḥān Allāhi wa’l-ḥamdulillāhi wa lā ilāha illallāhu Allāhu akbar” [Glory be to Allah; praise be to Allah; there is no god but Allah; Allah is greater] although it is also part of them. What it means is ‘to remember Allah as to what is lawful [ḥalāl] and what is unlawful [ḥarām]’ [“حَرَّمَ وَ اَحَلَّ ما عِنْدَ اللهِ ذِكْرُ”].”[1] That is, to remember God when acting; if a certain task means obedience to Him, it has to be undertaken; if it earns His displeasure, it has to be abandoned.

Repetition of tasbīḥ

Someone came to the house of Imām aṣ-Ṣādiq (‘a). He saw the Imām (‘a) in a state of rukū‘glorifying God and repeating the tasbīḥ 60 times. While in the state of sujūd, the Imām repeated the tasbīḥ 500 times.[2]

The repetition of tasbīḥ is discussed not only in prayer but in the Ḥajj rites as well. At the time of looking at the Black Stone [ḥajar al-aswad], during the sa‘ī between Ṣafā and Marwah, and in other cases, the repetition of tasbīḥ has been recommended.

For instance, in the prayer, apart from the dhikr in rukū‘ and sujūd, Tasbīḥāt al-Arba‘ah can also be repeated in the third and fourth rak‘ahs. Based on both Sunnī and Shī‘ah traditions, what is meant by the bāqiyāt aṣ-ṣāliḥāt [“lasting righteous deeds”][3] in verse 46 of Sūrah al-Kahf is this Tasbīḥāt al-Arba‘ah.[4] As stated by Hadrat ‘Alī (‘a), the dhikr of Hadrat Ibrāhīm (‘a) at the time of constructing the Ka‘bah was “Subḥān Allāhi wa’l-ḥamdulillāhi wa lā ilāha illallāhu Allāhu akbar”.[5]

Remembrance of God [dhikr Allāh] in Islamic culture

Let us take a brief look at the remembrance of God [dhikr Allāh] in Islamic culture:

When surprised and amazed, our faithful ancestors would say: “Māshā’ Allāh” [what Allah has willed!] or “subḥān Allāh” [glory be to Allah!]; when entering the house: “Yā Allāh” [O Allah!]; when separating from each other: “Khodā ḥāfiẓ” [may God protect (you)!]; when standing: “Yā ‘Alī!” [O ‘Alī!]; to remove fatigue while working: “Khodā quwwat” [may God give you power!]; in reply to the inquiry after one’s health: “Al-ḥamdulillāh” [All praise belongs to Allah]; when offering food: “Bismillāh” [In the Name of Allah!]; and at the end of a meal, they would recite appropriate prayers and thanks to God.

Grandmothers would start their storytelling: “Yekī būd; yekī nabūd” [There was once nobody except Him].

It is clear that to live in such an atmosphere and to be reared in such an environment would encourage the remembrance of God to flow in the heart and His Name to flow from the tongue at any time and in any place.