Every utterance that draws a person nearer to Allah is therefore an act of remembrance of Allah.
As for remembering Allah through deeds, this is remembrance performed by the limbs: every action that brings one closer to Allah—such as standing in prayer, bowing, prostrating, sitting, and the like—belongs to this category. Yet, by common usage the phrase “remembrance of Allah” is usually applied to verbal glorifications: tasbih (saying “Subhan Allah”), tahmid (“al-hamdu lillah”), takbir (“Allahu akbar”), and tahlil (“la ilaha illa Allah”).
The author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites several verses on the matter, among them Allah’s words: “O you who believe, remember Allah with much remembrance and glorify Him morning and evening” ⦗33:41-42⦘. In this verse Allah addresses the believers and commands them to remember Him abundantly—at every time, in every circumstance, and in every place—and to “glorify Him morning and evening,” that is, to say “Subhan Allah” at dawn and at dusk, meaning the beginning and the end of the day; it may also be understood to cover the entire day and the whole night.
Allah the Exalted also says: “And remember Allah much so that you may prosper” ⦗62:10⦘—a directive He repeats in the context of facing an enemy: “O you who believe, when you meet a detachment, stand firm and remember Allah much so that you may prosper” ⦗8:45⦘. Remembrance of Allah, then, is one of the prime causes of steadfastness and success, and the word falah (success) is all-encompassing: it signifies attaining what is sought and being saved from what is feared.
He further says: “Recite what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish the prayer; indeed, the prayer restrains from indecency and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater still” ⦗29:45⦘. Some scholars explain “and the remembrance of Allah is greater” to mean that what the prayer contains of remembrance is, in itself, the greatest element. Others understand it more generally: the remembrance of Allah in all its forms is greater, for when a person prays it revives his heart and leads him to remember Allah frequently.
And He, exalted is He, says in describing His servants: “Indeed, the Muslim men and the Muslim women …”