and Allah is the greatest. It does not matter which of them you begin with” (1).

Had “Praise belongs to Allah, praise that matches His blessings and recompenses His further bounty” been better than this, it would have been more beloved to Allah.

Also in Sahīh Muslim, Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“To say, ‘Glory be to Allah, praise belongs to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest,’ is dearer to me than all that the sun rises upon” (2).

Isrā’īl narrated from Abū Sinān, from Abū Sālih, from Abū Sa‘īd and Abū Hurayra, who both said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Allah has chosen these words: Glory be to Allah, praise belongs to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the greatest. When a servant says, ‘Glory be to Allah,’ He records twenty good deeds for him or removes twenty sins from him. When he says, ‘Allah is the greatest,’ the same applies; and when he says, ‘There is no god but Allah,’ the same applies. When he says, ‘Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all worlds,’ of his own accord (3), thirty good deeds are recorded for him and thirty sins are removed from him” (4).