For faith, in essence, is both removal and adornment: one frees himself from idolatry and rebellion, and he declares his innocence of the idolaters and the rebellious according to the measure of their rebellion. This is the element of removal.

Such is the meaning of purification—that a person cleanse himself, outwardly and inwardly, of everything harmful. For this reason the Prophet ﷺ counted it as half of faith. As for the words subḥān Allāh (Glory be to Allah), they signify exalting Allah above every defect or resemblance to created beings.

Allah, exalted is He, is free of all imperfection in His names, His attributes, His actions, and His rulings. You will not find among His names one that implies deficiency or flaw; hence His statement, “To Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names” (al-Aʿrāf 7:180). Nor will you find among His attributes any that contain defect or shortcoming; for that He says, “And to Allah belongs the highest description” after saying, “Those who do not believe in the Hereafter have an evil description.” Thus Allah possesses the most perfect and exalted description in every respect. His deeds, too, are utterly free of any blemish, as He says, “We did not create the heavens and the earth and what lies between them in play” (al-Dukhān 44:38). There is no frivolity in Allah’s creation; rather, it is brought into being upon wisdom.

The same applies to His judgments: you will find in them neither defect nor deficiency. Allah says, “Is not Allah the wisest of judges?” (al-Tīn 95:8), and He says, “Do they seek the judgment of the Age of Ignorance? Who is better than Allah in judgment for a people who are certain?” (al-Māʾidah 5:50).

Concerning his ﷺ saying, “subḥān Allāh and al-ḥamdu li-llāh fill—or he said: fill up—the space between…”