Tasbih


Tasbīḥ is a form of dhikr that involves the repetitive utterances of short sentences in glorification of Allah in Islam, by saying Subḥānallāh. To keep track of counting either the phalanges of the right hand or a misbaha is used.

Etymology

The term tasbeeh is based on in the Arabic root of sīn-bāʾ-ḥāʾ. The meaning of the root word when written means to glorify. 'Tasbeeh' is an irregular derivation from subhan, which is the first word of the constitutive sentence of the first third of the canonical form of tasbeeh. The word literally means, as a verb, "to travel swiftly" and, as a noun, "duties" or "occupation". However, in the devotional context, tasbih refers to Subhana Allah, which is often used in the Qur'an with the preposition 'an, meaning "'God is void' ". Without this preposition, it means something like "Glory be to God."

Interpretation

The phrase translates to "Glory be to God" but a more literal translation is, "God is above ". The root of the word سبحان is derived from the word سبح, giving the phrase a meaning that God is above any imperfection or false descriptions.
The phrase often has the connotation of praising God for his total perfection, implying a rejection of any anthropomorphic elements or associations with God, or any attribution of mistakes or faults to him. Thus, it serves as testimony to God's transcendence.
For example, the Quran says subḥāna llāhi ʿammā yaṣifūn and subḥāna llāhi ʿammā yušrikūn.
The phrase is mentioned in the hadith Sahih Bukhari, VBN 5, 57, 50.
There is no exact counterpart for this phrase in the English language, so all the above meanings combined hold the meaning of that word.

Variants

Various Islamic phrases include the Tasbih, most commonly:
Arabic
Qurʾanic Spelling		Transliteration
IPA		Phrase
سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّٰهِ
سُبْحَٰنَ ٱللَّٰهِ		subḥāna -llāh
/sub.ħaː.na‿ɫ.ɫaː.hi/		Glorified is Allah.
سُبْحَانَكَ ٱللَّٰهُمَّ
سُبْحَٰنَكَ ٱللَّٰهُمَّ		subḥānaka -llāhumm
/sub.ħaː.na.ka‿ɫ.ɫaː.hum.ma/		Glorified are you, O Allah.
سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
سُبْحَٰنَ ٱللَّٰهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ		subḥāna -llāhi wa-bi-ḥamdih
/sub.ħaː.na‿ɫ.ɫaː.hi wa.bi.ħam.di.hiː/		Glorified is Allah and by His praise.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ ٱلْعَظِيمِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
سُبْحَٰنَ رَبِّيَ ٱلْعَظِيمِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ		subḥāna rabbiya l-ʿaẓīmi wa-bi-ḥamdih
/sub.ħaː.na rab.bi.ja‿l.ʕa.ðˤiː.mi wa.bi.ħam.di.hiː/		Glorified is my Lord, the Great, and by His praise.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
سُبْحَٰنَ رَبِّيَ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ وَبِحَمْدِهِ		subḥāna rabbiya l-ʾaʿlā wa-bi-ḥamdih
/sub.ħaː.na rab.bi.ja‿l.ʔaʕ.laː wa.bi.ħam.di.hiː/		Glorified is my Lord, the Most High, and by His praise.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّالِمِينَ
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ		lā ʾilāha ʾillā ʾanta subḥānaka ʾinnī kuntu mina ẓ-ẓālimīn
/laː ʔi.laː.ha ʔil.laː ʔan.ta sub.ħaː.na.ka ʔin.niː kun.tu mi.na‿ðˤ.ðˤaː.li.miː.na/		There is no God except You, glorified are you! I have indeed been among the wrongdoers.

Usage

It is also often cited during the Islamic prayer, supplication, during a sermon in the mosque and commonly throughout the day. It is sometimes used to express shock or amazement.
Muslims are also encouraged to say the phrase 33 times after prayer and throughout the day. Muhammad taught Muslims that it is one of the four praises that God likes Muslims to say continuously.

Fatimah bint Muhammad

In the early years of the marriage of Ali and Fatimah, Ali earned very little money and was unable to afford a servant for Fatimah. Fatimah’s hands were blistered from constant grinding; her neck had become sore from carrying water; her clothes had become dirty from sweeping the floor.
One day Ali was aware that Muhammad had some servants, and advised Fatimah to ask him for one of his servants. Fatimah went, but she was unable to ask. Finally, Ali went with Fatimah to Muhammad's house. He did not accept their request, saying "there are many orphans, I must sell these servants to feed them".
Then Muhammad said "I will give you one thing better than helping of servant". He taught them a special manner of Dhikr which is known as the "tasbih of Fatimah".
  1. 33 repetitions of subḥāna -llah, meaning "Glorified is God". This saying is known as Tasbih.
  2. 33 repetitions of al-ḥamdu lillāh, meaning "Glorified is God". This saying is known as Tahmid.
  3. 34 repetitions of ʾallāhu ʾakbar, meaning "God is Greater ". This saying is known as Takbir.

    Hadith

A hadith of the Prophet Muhammad relates:
Dhikr is of great importance to Muslims who believe it should be done as taught.