The words “Excellent! Excellent!” in the hadith are an expression uttered in admiration of something and to indicate its excellence.

11 — Another of the virtues of these phrases is that each one a servant utters counts as an act of charity. Muslim narrated in his Sahīh from Abū Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, that some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have taken all the rewards. They pray as we pray, fast as we fast, and give in charity from their surplus wealth.” He said: “Has Allah not given you means by which to give charity? Every utterance of ‘Glory be to Allah’ is charity; every utterance of ‘Allah is the Greatest’ is charity; every utterance of ‘All praise belongs to Allah’ is charity; every utterance of ‘There is no deity but Allah’ is charity; enjoining what is right is charity; forbidding what is wrong is charity; and in the marital intimacy of each of you there is charity.” They asked: “O Messenger of Allah, does one of us satisfy his desire and receive a reward for it?” He replied: “Do you not see that if he were to satisfy it unlawfully, he would bear a sin? Likewise, if he satisfies it lawfully, he receives a reward.” 1.

The poor had assumed that charity could only be given with wealth, something they were unable to do. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore informed them that every kind of good and benevolent deed is charity. Foremost among these, he mentioned the four phrases: “Glory be to Allah,” “All praise belongs to Allah,” “There is no deity but Allah,” and “Allah is the Greatest.”

12 — Another of the virtues of these phrases is that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, made them a substitute for the Noble Quran for one unable to recite it properly. Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasā’ī, al-Dāraqutnī, and others narrated from Ibn Abī Awfā, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: There came