Dhikr means remembering Allah. The Prophet ﷺ described the remembrance of Allah as among the best and purest deeds, and the Qur’an repeatedly calls believers to remember Allah abundantly.
Simple, established phrases of remembrance
- SubḥānAllāh — Glory be to Allah.
- Alḥamdulillāh — All praise is for Allah.
- Allāhu Akbar — Allah is the Greatest.
- Lā ilāha illAllāh — None has the right to be worshipped except Allah.
- Astaghfirullāh — I seek Allah’s forgiveness.
“There is no power and no strength except with Allah”
لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh.
The Prophet ﷺ described this as one of the treasures of Paradise.
“Glory is to Allah and praise is to Him”
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
SubḥānAllāhi wa biḥamdih.
An authentic report gives a daily count of one hundred for this phrase and mentions forgiveness of sins even if they are like the foam of the sea.
Two phrases beloved to the Most Merciful
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ
SubḥānAllāhi wa biḥamdih, SubḥānAllāhil-ʿAẓīm.
These are described as light on the tongue, heavy on the Scale and beloved to the Most Merciful.
Tahlīl
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Lā ilāha illAllāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamd, wa huwa ʿalā kulli shay’in qadīr.
This concise, well-attested wording is preferable here to treating longer unsourced additions as one fixed formula.
A special duʿā for Laylat al-Qadr
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
Allāhumma innaka ʿafuwwun tuḥibbul-ʿafwa faʿfu ʿannī.
ʿA’ishah رضي الله عنها was taught this specifically when asking what to say if she knew which night was Laylat al-Qadr. It is a duʿā, not merely a generic tasbīḥ phrase.