You with praise,’1 and He says: “Then glorify your Lord with praise and seek His forgiveness; He is ever accepting of repentance.”2 The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—would therefore say while bowing, “Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise be to You. O Allah, forgive me,” thereby acting upon the Quran. This is how it is narrated in the Sahīh collections from Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her.3 Thus, his words, “Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You,” were an implementation of the verse, “Then glorify your Lord with praise.” Allah—Exalted is He—also says: “So be patient; surely Allah’s promise is true. Seek forgiveness for your sin, and glorify your Lord with praise in the evening and the morning.”4 He also says: “So glory be to Allah when you reach the evening and when you reach the morning. To Him belongs all praise in the heavens and the earth.”5 The reports in which these two phrases are coupled are numerous.

As for the declaration that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, it is coupled with the declaration that Allah is the Greatest, as in the phrases of the call to prayer: “Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” Then, after the servants are summoned to prayer, it concludes: “Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah.” It thus comprises the declaration of Allah’s greatness and the testimony (at) both its beginning and its end, all of which is remembrance of Allah—Exalted is He. In between comes the summons to people to prayer and success: prayer is the deed, while success is the reward for that deed. However, the declaration of Allah’s greatness was made in pairs and the testimony singly, so that every two declarations of Allah’s greatness are accompanied by one testimony. Its beginning was also made twice as long as its ending: at the beginning of the call to prayer, Allah’s greatness is declared four times and the testimony is recited twice—the two declarations together bearing the name “the testimony”—whereas at its end, Allah’s greatness is declared only twice, followed by the declaration that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, without the wording “I bear witness.”