Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām - Abd Allah al-Bassam - (7/542)

Tawḍīḥ al-AḥkāmAbd Allah al-Bassam

to deserve reverence, honour, and exaltation; they draw him closer to his Lord; his Lord remembers him privately and before the highest assembly, boasting to the angels about those who remember Him; they are the best form of remembrance; they are the saplings of Paradise; they roll easily off the tongue, yet they carry vast reward and tremendous benefit.

5 – Their meanings:
• “Subḥān Allah” (Transcendent is Allah): a declaration of His sanctity and His freedom from every defect and imperfection. Foremost among these is the denial that He has any partner in His lordship or His right to be worshipped, and the denial that He has any equal in His most beautiful names and His sublime attributes.

• “Al-ḥamdu lillah” (All praise belongs to Allah): an affirmation that every form of praise is His, the most important of which is the affirmation of His oneness in His godhood and lordship, together with all the essential and active attributes mentioned in His Book and on the tongue of His Messenger—without subjecting them to figurative reinterpretation, distortion, asking how, likening, or comparison. Rather, we affirm the reality of each attribute for Him and consign knowledge of its mode to Him, exalted be He.

• “Lā ilāha illā Allah” (There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah): this mighty statement is the key and gateway of Islam, its banner, emblem, and hallmark. It negates every act of worship directed to any creature and affirms it exclusively for Allah, who has no partner; there is no being truly worthy of worship besides Allah, exalted is He.

• “Allahu akbar” (Allah is greater): an affirmation that Allah alone deserves every attribute of majesty, greatness, and grandeur.

6 – His words, “It will not harm you whichever of them you begin with,” show that it is permissible to start with any of these phrases. Nonetheless, in view of their meanings, it seems preferable for the one who remembers Allah to begin with “Subḥān Allah,” for it is a declaration of His transcendence—an act of removal.

Next comes “Al-ḥamdu lillah,” an adornment after the removal, affirming praises once deficiency has been negated.

Then “Lā ilāha illā Allah,” which negates any partner in those praises that belong solely to Allah.

Finally, “Allahu akbar,” for after transcendence has been declared, praises affirmed, and partnership denied,

القرب من ربه، وأنَّ ربه يذكره في نفسه، وفي الملأ الأعلى، فيباهي ملائكته بالذاكرين، وأنَّها أفضل الذكر، وأنَّها غِراس الجنة، وهي سهلة النطق، كثيرة الأجر، عظيمة النفع. ٥ - أما معانيها: "فسبحان الله": هي تقديسه وتنزيهه عن العيوب والنواقص، وأعظم ما في ذلك: نفي الشريك له في ربوبيته، وإلاهيته، ونفي الشبيه له في أسمائه الحسنى وصفاته العلى. وأما "الحمد لله": فإثبات جميع المحامد له، التي أهمها إثبات وحدانيته في إلاهيته وربوبيته، وإثبات ما جاء في كتابه وعلى لسان رسوله من الصفات الذاتية والفعلية، من غير تأويل لها, ولا تحريف، ولا تكييف، ولا تمثيل، ولا تشبيه، وإنما نثبت حقيقة الصفة له، وندع علم كيفيتها إليه تعالى. وأما "لا إلله إلاَّ الله": فهي الكلمة العظيمة التي هي مفتاح الإِسلام وبابه، وهي عنوانه، وعلامته، وشارتُهُ، وهي الكلمة التي تنفي كل العبادة عن جميع المخلوقات، وتثبتها لله وحده لا شريك له؛ فلا معبود بحق سوى الله تعالى. وأما "الله أكبر": فهي تثبت استحقاق الله وحده لصفات الجلال والعظمة والكبرياء. ٦ - قوله: "لا يضرك بأيهنَّ بدأت": فهذا دليل على جواز البداءة بأية جملة منهنَّ؛ لكن بالنظر إلى معاني هذه الجمل، فلعلَّه يحسن أن يقدِّم الذاكر: "سبحان الله"؛ لأنَّه تنزيه الله عن النقائص؛ فهو تخلية. ثم "الحمد لله"؛ فهذا تحلية بعد تخلية، وهو إثبات المحامد، بعد التخلية من النقص. ثم "لا إله إلاَّ الله"؛ فهذه نفي للمشاركة في المحامد الثابتة لله تعالى. ثم "الله أكبر" فهو بعد التنزيه، وإثبات المحامد، ونفي الشريك: