—a beautiful seal and a fine model to imitate—for Allah the Exalted brought the mission of His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ to a close with the same command, as He says: “So glorify the praise of your Lord and seek His forgiveness; truly He is ever accepting of repentance” (110:3, Sūrat al-Naṣr).

2 – “Beloved to the All-Merciful” means that the two phrases themselves are beloved, and that the one who utters them is likewise beloved to the All-Merciful. The name al-Raḥmān is singled out from among all the Most Beautiful Names because the ḥadīth seeks to show the vastness of Allah’s mercy toward His servants: He rewards a small deed with an abundant recompense.

3 – “Heavy on the Scale” is meant literally, owing to the great rewards stored up for whoever says the phrases and to the multiplied good deeds recorded for the one who remembers Allah by them. Ḥadīth scholars hold that what is actually weighed are the deeds themselves. Allah Most High says, “Those whose scales are heavy—it is they who will prosper” (7:8); many other verses and aḥādīth convey the same meaning. As for how the weighing will take place, these matters are known only through revelation. A Muslim must not go beyond what has been heard and transmitted; reason has no role in imagining, describing, or explaining its mode. That belongs to the realm of the unseen.

4 – “Subḥān Allāh wa-bi-ḥamdih” (Glory be to Allah and by His praise). Glorification (tasbīḥ) is paired with praise (ḥamd) so that His perfection may be affirmed both by negating every imperfection and by confirming every attribute of majesty. Here, tasbīḥ means exalting and sanctifying Him above everything unbefitting of Him. In reality, He is eternally and perpetually holy, even if no one were to declare His holiness. Once a person acknowledges and believes that He is free from every deficiency, it necessarily follows that He possesses every perfection, establishing that He is the absolute Lord.

Lordship itself is a compelling proof and a conclusive argument that obliges the monotheism of worship. Hence this single expression affirms both aspects of tawḥīd—Lordship and Divinity—just as it affirms both categories of perfection; and within these two affirmations is contained every form of praise that befits Allah the Exalted.