—such as his saying, “Subḥān Allāh ʿadada khalqih” (“Glory be to Allah by the number of His creatures”). Is the reward for uttering that formula once the same as the reward for someone who actually repeats “Subḥān Allāh” that many times?
He replied: Certain formulas of remembrance are superior to others because of their breadth and comprehensiveness; they encompass all the negative, essential, and active attributes. A formula of pure tanzīh (negating every imperfection) of this sort is therefore better than many other kinds of dhikr.
Ibn ʿAllān commented: The plain sense of ʿIzz ibn ʿAbd al-Salām’s words is that, when the wording is identical, repeating it brings greater reward, and there is no difficulty in that; otherwise one would have to enumerate the attributes themselves, something the principles of the noble Sharīʿah do not allow.
Al-Juwaynī said: If a person vows to perform one hundred thousand prayers, he does not fulfill his vow by praying a single time in the Sacred Mosque at Mecca, even though in terms of reward that lone prayer equals the vowed number.
Likewise, although Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ equals one-third of the Quran, if someone vows to recite the entire Quran, reading that surah three times does not release him from his vow.
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His phrase “Subḥān Allāh wa bi-ḥamdih” (“Glory be to Allah and praise is His”) combines declaring Allah free of every fault or defect with affirming His absolute perfection, by acknowledging praises that are beyond all counting or enumeration.
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His phrase “wa riḍā nafsih” (“by His own good pleasure”) means that one glorifies and praises Allah with such completeness and sincerity as to earn the pleasure of the Creator, for Allah accepts only those deeds performed exclusively for His sake.
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His phrase “wa zinata ʿarshih” (“equal to the weight of His Throne”) signifies glorification and praise whose magnitude and grandeur, if weighed, would match the immense Throne itself.
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And his phrase “wa midāda kalimātih” (“and equal to the ink needed to record His words”) means glorification and praise commensurate with the number of His words: were all the seas turned into ink, the seas would run dry before the words and wisdom of Allah came to an end, and even if their like were added, His speech and wisdom—exalted is He—would never be exhausted. Thus, to Him belongs all praise.