There are 10 ways of remembering Allah with the tongue – dhikrul lisaan

  1. Tasbeeh: سبحان الله – Glory be to Allah

It is known as one of the best forms of dhikr because a person purifies Allah from all defects and faults which in return is also a way of praising Allah. It is stated in the Quran ‘Oh you who have believed, remember Allah with abundant remembrance and do tasbeeh (exalt him) morning and afternoon’ [33:41-42]1

  1. Tahmeed: الحمد لله – All praise is for Allah

This is something we do when praying salah, we say الحمد لله ربّ العالمين. Rasulullah ﷺ said ‘Alhamdulillah fills the mizan (scale of action), in another narration it is said, SubhanAllah and Alhamdulillah fill that which is between heaven and earth’ [Muslim]2. If the reward was to be given in the world then it will cover everything that is in the world.

  1. Takbeer الله أكبر – Allah is the greatest

We say this several times in salah with change of an action. A person repeats this in salah but odd, when he leaves the masjid he says, who is bigger than me! We need to remind ourselves that Allah is the greatest of all. One of the early revelation to Rasulullah ﷺ was the ayah ‘And glorify your lord’ [74:3]3

  1. Tahleel: لآ اِلَهَ اِلّا اللّهُ – There is no god but Allah

When you read this, you are saying you are free from kufr that none is worthy of being worshipped other than Allah. Rasulullah ﷺ said the best dua the prophet ﷺ made on the day of Arafah is the fourth kalimah, in which you read the tahleel.4

  1. Hawqala: لا حَوْلَ وَلا قُوَّةَ إِلا بِالله – There is no power and strength except with Allah

Abu Dharr Ghiffari mentioned that amongst those things that Rasulullah ﷺ was given from the arsh of Allah was, La hawla wa la quwwata illabillah,5 Surah Fatiha, Ayatul Kursi and last three ayahs of Surah Baqarah. Rasulullah ﷺ said ‘These are treasures from the treasures of Jannah’6.

  1. Hasbala حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ – Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of affairs

This is also known as Kalimatut Tafweed, meaning a person is giving himself to Allah and leaving his affairs in the hands of Allah. This dhikr was read by the sahabah r.a during Uhud, when the disbelievers told them, an army from Makkah had left to kill the Muslims.

  1. Istiaanat – إيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِين – You alone, we ask for help

This is to seek the help of Allah. This is another form of dhikr, that a person turns to Allah and asks for the help from Allah.

  1. Basmallah بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم – In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful

When a person says this, they are remembering Allah. We should adopt the habit of reading this when commencing something good.

  1. Tabaarak بارك الله فيك – May Allah bless you

A beautiful dua we should say when someone is good towards us or does a favour.

  1. Ta’awwuz ­ أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم – I seek refuge in Allah from shaytan the cursed

When we want to do good, we have the battle of our nafs and shaytan trying to stop us therefore we should recite the tawwuz, seeking protection from evil. This is compulsory to read before starting Quran recitation.

[The above is an edited transcript from a lecture by Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Nawab]

 

  1. قال الله سبحانه و تعالي يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللَّـهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيرًا – وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا
  2. عن أبي مالك قال قال رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم الحمد لله تملأ و الحمد و سبحانه الله تملأن رواه مسلم
  3. وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ
  4. عن طلحة بن عبيد الله بن كريز أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: أفضل الدعاء دعاء يوم عرفة، وأفضل ما قلت أنا والنبيون من قبلي لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له رواه مالك في المؤطا
  5. عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه قال وأمرني أن أكثر من قول : لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله فإنهن من كنز تحت العرش . رواه أحمد
  6. عن أبي موسي الأشعري قال قال النبي صلي الله عليه و سلم فإنها كنز من كنوز الجنة رواه البخاري في صحيحه