(Series on Zikrullah – Part Three)
When driving through the country, many of us have seen farmlands. Covering acres and acres, sometimes as far as the eye can see, the fields are covered in lush crops, neatly arranged in rows to facilitate easy harvesting. Each year, when the crops have been harvested and the fields are bare once again, the farmer begins cultivating the land once more to ensure that he will have a bumper crop the following year.
In the blessed hadeeth it is mentioned that during the Mi’raaj, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had met Nabi Ebrahim (‘alaihis salaam), who requested Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to convey the following message to his Ummah, “The soil of Jannah is pure, its water is sweet, its land is barren, and its plants are ‘subhaanallah, alhamdulillah, laa ilaaha illallah and Allahu akbar’.”[1] (Sunan Tirmizi #3462)
In other words, the plains of Jannah are most fertile, and recitation of the third kalimah is like the seeds required to cultivate the beautiful plants and trees in the orchards of Jannah. Hence, the more one recites this zikr, the more plants and trees he will cultivate for himself in Jannah, and the more beautiful his orchards will be.
There are many ahaadeeth reported regarding the virtues of tasbeeh (subhaanallah), tahmeed (alhamdulillah), takbeer (Allahu akbar) and tahleel (laa ilaaha illallah).
In one hadeeth, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Aas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “The one who recites ‘tasbeeh’ (i.e. subhaanallah) one hundred times in the morning and one hundred times in the evening is like the one who has performed a hundred hajj. The one who recites ‘tahmeed’ (i.e. alhamdulillah) one hundred times in the morning and one hundred times in the evening is like the one who has equipped (one hundred mujaahideen) with one hundred horses (in order to fight) in the path of Allah Ta‘ala or (Rasulullah [sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam] said that) he is like the one who fought in one hundred battles. The one who recites ‘tahleel’ (i.e. laa ilaaha illallah) one hundred times in the morning and one hundred times in the evening is like the one who freed one hundred slaves from the progeny of Nabi Ismaa‘eel (‘alaihis salaam) (the reward for freeing the progeny of Nabi Ismaa‘eel [‘alaihis salaam] is greater on account of them being from the relatives of our Nabi [sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam]). The one who recites ‘takbeer’ (i.e. Allahu akbar) one hundred times in the morning and one hundred times in the evening, no person will surpass him (in reward) on that day besides the one who recited the same amount or more (or carried out an ‘ibaadah greater than this zikr e.g. recitation of Quraan Majeed, or reciting Kalimah Tayyibah). (Sunan Tirmizi #3471)
Such is the ease of reciting tasbeeh, tahmeed, takbeer, and tahleel that every person can easily recite them and acquire their rewards. Hence, it is recorded in the hadeeth that the poor Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) once mentioned to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) that the wealthy Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) had surpassed them in reward on account of them spending their wealth in charity, while the poor Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) did not possess sufficient wealth to match them in spending sadaqah. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) encouraged these poor Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) to engage in the following zikr saying, “In lieu of every tasbeeh (recited) is (the reward of) sadaqah, and in lieu of every takbeer (recited) is (the reward of) sadaqah, and in lieu of every tahmeed (recited) is (the reward of) sadaqah, and in lieu of every laa ilaaha illallah (recited) is (the reward of) sadaqah.” (Saheeh Muslim #2329)
In the very last hadeeth of Saheeh Bukhaari, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned, “There are two kalimahs which are beloved to Rahmaan, light on the tongue (i.e. easy to recite), weighty on the scale (i.e. its reward will be very weighty on the scale of deeds). They are “subhaanallahi wabihamdihi subhaanallahil ‘azeem”.” (Saheeh Bukhaari #7563)
There are many other ahaadeeth enumerating the amazing rewards for reciting the third kalimah and similar types of tasbeeh, tahmeed, etc. After reading just the few ahaadeeth mentioned above, one’s heart will naturally desire to spend as much time as possible in reciting tasbeeh.
The ‘Ulama have recommended that a person should make it his practice to recite the third kalimah one hundred times daily. However, since the month of Ramadhaan is the time for the believers to exert themselves in ‘ibaadah, and the rewards of all good deeds are multiplied manifold in Ramadhaan, we should dedicate time daily to engage in reciting the third kalimah at this time. We should also be punctual on reciting the Tasbeeh Faatimi after every fardh salaah and when going to bed at night.
May Allah Ta‘ala bless us all with the most beautiful of orchards in Jannah, aameen.
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[1] Jannah has already been created with all its bounties and blessings. Hence, what is meant by this hadeeth is that Allah Ta‘ala has all the bounties of Jannah in store for His servants, and when the servants recite the abovementioned azkaar or carry out other ‘ibaadaat, then Allah Ta‘ala allots the bounties of Jannah for them and makes them worthy of these bounties. This has been interpreted as though one’s Jannah is a barren land and empty, and one will have to fill it through making the abovementioned zikr and other ‘ibaadaat. (Adapted from Al-Kawkabud Durri vol. 4. pg. 349)