1371 – Al-Bukhārī and Muslim both transmit from Abū Hurayrah ﵁ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Two phrases that are beloved to the Most Merciful, light upon the tongue, yet heavy on the Scale: ‘Subḥān Allāh wa bi-ḥamdih’ (Limitless is Allah in His perfection, and His is all praise); ‘Subḥān Allāh al-ʿAẓīm’ (Limitless is Allah in His perfection, the Magnificent).” (1)

The compiler says: His abridger, Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥajar, finished the work on the eleventh of Rabīʿ al-Awwal in the year 828 AH, praising Allah Most High, invoking blessings upon His Messenger ﷺ, honoring, venerating, and exalting him.

– Vocabulary and points of the ḥadith –

• “Two phrases” (kalimatān): the dual of kalimah. Here it functions as a predicate placed before the subject, while “Subḥān Allāh…” is the subject and the intervening words are descriptive. The term kalimah is employed in its broader sense of “speech,” as in the expression “the word of monotheism: ‘There is no deity but Allah.’” Presenting the predicate first piques the listener’s interest in the subject.

• “Beloved to the Most Merciful” (ḥabībatān ilā ar-Raḥmān): ḥabībah means “beloved,” the pattern faʿīl carrying a passive sense (mafʿūl). It is rendered here in the feminine because, in this pattern, treating masculine and feminine forms alike is permitted though not obligatory. The name “the Most Merciful” is singled out to emphasize the breadth of Allah’s mercy toward His servants, rewarding a small deed with abundant recompense.