and the believing men and the believing women …’—until His words: ‘and the men who remember Allah much and the women who do likewise; for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a tremendous reward’ ⦗33:35⦘.
He, exalted is He, also says: ‘So remember Me, and I will remember you. Give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful.’ ⦗2:152⦘
Verses on this subject are many; all of them testify to the excellence of dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and urge the believers to practice it. Indeed, Allah has praised those who remember Him while standing, sitting, and lying on their sides, and He declared that such people are the ones endowed with understanding. He says: ‘Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of night and day are signs for people of insight—those who remember Allah while standing, sitting, and on their sides, and who contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying, “Our Lord, You have not created all of this in vain. Glory be to You! So protect us from the punishment of the Fire.”’ ⦗3:190-191⦘
The point, then, is that we must encourage ourselves and you to make the remembrance of Allah continual. It costs the tongue nothing: it never grows weary or tired. Let it keep repeating, ‘la ilaha illa Allah’ (there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah), ‘Subhan Allah’ (Glory be to Allah), ‘al-hamdu lillah’ (praise be to Allah), and ‘Allahu akbar’ (Allah is the Greatest). It is easy—praise be to Allah—yet its reward is immense. May Allah make us and you among the men and women who remember Him much; He is able to do all things.
1408 – Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Two phrases are light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and beloved to the All-Merciful: ‘Subhan Allah wa bi-hamdih; Subhan Allah al-ʿAzim’ (Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him; Glory be to Allah, the Magnificent).” Agreed upon.
1409 – And from him (Abu Hurayrah) also, he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “For me to say: ‘Subhan Allah…’"