The Top 10... | The Best of Dhikr & Dua | The Classroom of the Sahaba

By Shaykh Naveed Aziz, Shaykh Abdullah, Mufti Abdul Wahab | 2026-07-30T16:40:08.485936+00:00 | Topic: Khutbah

The Classroom of the Sahaba — Session 3: The Best of Dhikr & Du'a

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome back to our third session of this top 10 series known as the Classroom of the Sahaba — where we're going through different questions that the Sahabahs asked the Prophet and the different responses that the Prophet gave in regards to the best of different things.

Alhamdulillah, we've covered two sessions. The first session we were blessed with Ustadh Ubaidullah Evans' presence and we spoke about the best amal — to bring happiness to another person. Yesterday we were blessed with our one and only Shaykh Muhammad al-Masmari and we spoke about the best muhajir, which is a muhajir who leaves those things that Allah has forbade them from going towards.

Today we're blessed with Shaykh Naveed Aziz all the way from the cold of Calgary, Canada, as well as Shaykh Abdullah joining us as well, inshaAllah. We just finished Taraweeh, so our voices are not as clear, but inshaAllah as the session continues, hopefully our voices will clear up a little bit.

So today's session, inshaAllah, we'll be speaking about a narration in which the Prophet talks about two great things — the best of dhikr and the best of du'a. It's a very interesting narration where, rather than thinking about long narrations and long du'as and long adhkar, the Prophet tells us:

أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَفْضَلُ الدُّعَاءِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, Sunan al-Nasa'i; narrated by Jabir ibn Abdillah, رضي الله عنه. Graded hasan by Imam al-Tirmidhi and al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Haythami.)

That the best dhikr is La ilaha illallah, and the best du'a is Alhamdulillah.

Part One: The Best Dhikr — La ilaha illallah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ وَسَلَّمَ وَبَارَكَ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ، أَمَّا بَعْدُ

This hadith is narrated from Jabir رضي الله عنه. It's reported in the Sunan of Imam al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Nasa'i from the major books of the Sunan. And then you have Ibn Hibban and others as well. Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar al-Haythami commented on saying that the hadith was hasan, as well as Imam al-Tirmidhi رحمه الله. Even from the scholars of our time, they differed on the ruling on the hadith itself. But the meaning of the hadith without a shadow of a doubt is true.

Why is La ilaha illallah the Best Dhikr?

When you actually look at the reasoning behind this — why the Prophet said that the best dhikr is La ilaha illallah — it is very important to understand what dhikr actually entails. Dhikr is your connection with Allah. It is your consciousness of Allah. It is a reminder for you of your purpose of existence. So when you think of La ilaha illallah — that there is no one worthy of worship besides Allah, there is no God besides Allah — you come to realize that you cannot have iman without La ilaha illallah. There is no iman without La ilaha illallah. And that is why it is the best consciousness, the best reminder of your purpose of existence.

Firmness in This Life and the Next — Surah Ibrahim

Number two, you tie this directly into the verse in Surah Ibrahim, verse 27, where Allah tells us:

يُثَبِّتُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ بِٱلْقَوْلِ ٱلثَّابِتِ فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَفِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ ۖ وَيُضِلُّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ۚ وَيَفْعَلُ ٱللَّهُ مَا يَشَآءُ

That Allah makes us firm with this statement — the qawl thabit — in this life and the next. And this qawl thabit is none other than La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah. So now you see that it brings certainty to your life, it brings consistency and structure to your life in this world, and it also brings certainty and structure to your life in the hereafter.

This is particularly important when you tie this in to the life of the Barzakh. When you are asked:

مَنْ رَبُّكَ؟ وَمَا دِينُكَ؟ وَمَنْ نَبِيُّكَ؟

All these questions — the qawl thabit gives that to you. So those that lived with it, those that continuously made this dhikr, they will be given that firmness in the hayat al-barzakhiyya. May Allah grant us that at that time. Ameen.

In the hereafter, it is only those that said La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah with certainty that will be entered into Jannah. And if any of the people of La ilaha illallah do enter into the hellfire — may Allah protect us all — it will only be for a limited amount of time. And even then, it is hoped that through the intercession of the Prophet , that time is completely eliminated, or at the very least reduced to as little a time as possible. SubhanAllah.

Rectifying the Inner Being

Number three: this statement rectifies your inner being. You can talk about the nafs, you can talk about the ego, whatever you want to call it. But Allah warns us in the Qur'an that those individuals who do not worship Allah — the antithesis, the inevitable reality is that you're going to take your hawa as your ilah, meaning you're going to take your desires as your deity. So either you're worshipping Allah or you're worshipping your desires — there's no in-between.

There is a beautiful statement of Qatada, the student of Anas ibn Malik, that he says: Allah created the angels, human beings, and animals. The angels He created with intellect but without desire, and thus they obey Allah all the time — they cannot disobey Allah. The animals He created with desire but without intellect, so all they're doing is focusing on just fulfilling their desires. And human beings He created with intellect and with desire. So when you use your intellect to overcome your desire, you're better than the angels. Yet if you let your desires overcome your intellect, you become worse than the animals. And that is the reality — that with La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah and this objective code of morality and ethics, inshaAllah you become as close as possible to the angel. And then when you actually overcome your haram desires, you become better than the angels in that situation. SubhanAllah.

The Greatness of the Kalima

One of the first things that comes to mind with La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah is that you're able to identify the greatness of a blessing based upon the outcome of those that don't have it. So for example, if a person doesn't have a car, they've lost a great blessing, but they can at least walk, they can use a bicycle, they can get around. But if a person doesn't have this kalima, the outcome is that — as Allah says — if they had the entire world full of gold, they would want to give that up just so they could receive some forgiveness and earn Allah's mercy. So us being blessed with the kalima, there's nothing else we could ask for.

There is a famous narration in Ibn Kathir: when Musa عليه السلام asked Allah, he said: "O Allah, give me something to say that I can just cling on to, something very special — just between you and I." So Allah told him: "O Musa, say La ilaha illallah." He said: "O Allah, that's what everyone says. I want something different." And Allah said: "O Musa, if this kalima were put on one side of the scale and everything else in the world were put on the other side of the scale, this would outweigh the latter." Just the kalima.

When speaking about the kalima La ilaha illallah, it is more than just the words. It's actually what comes behind it — the idea that there is no power but Allah, there is no provider but Allah, there is no Creator but Allah, there is no sustainer but Allah, there is no one that can nourish me but Allah, there is no one that can help me but Allah, there is no one that can protect me but Allah.

The Prophet told Ibn Abbas:

يَا غُلَامُ، وَاللَّهِ لَوِ اجْتَمَعَ النَّاسُ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْفَعُوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يَنْفَعُوكَ إِلَّا بِمَا قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَكَ

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516; graded hasan sahih)

"O my blessed son, if the entire world were to gather together to give you one benefit — just benefit you in one way — they would not be able to benefit you if Allah has not written it for you." And the opposite is also true.

So if I know that it is Allah that benefits me — and not my car, not my family — I would make sure that I don't compromise the orders of Allah, even if that means I have to compromise the requests of different people. I can compromise the request of my spouse, but I cannot compromise the request of Allah.

One of my teachers would say: what is the difference between a king and a khalifa? A malik and a khalifa? They are both used historically in Islam. He said that a king is a person who, if needed, would be prepared to ignore a command of Allah to protect his kingdom — his kingdom is primary. But a khalifa would rather allow the kingdom to be broken than let the command of Allah be broken. And he says: "I don't care who they are — if they don't give me zakat, it's game over."

There's a quote of Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله where he was saying: when a person is struggling with something and says La ilaha illallah, he or she will come to the realization that that struggle is either from Allah as a test, or through that statement, Allah will bring them help. La ilaha illallah is a source of rahat (rest), a source of nusrah (victory), a source of rizq. It's a source of everything.

The Hadith of Abu Huraira: Whoever Says the Kalima Enters Jannah

One time the Prophet was in a garden. Abu Huraira came to him and found him, and the Prophet was smiling. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, why are you smiling?" He said: "I've just been told by Jibreel that Allah informed him that whoever says the kalima —

مَنْ قَالَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُخْلِصًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 128; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 32 — narrated by Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه)

— whoever says the kalima will enter Jannah." So Abu Huraira got really happy. He said: "Really, O Messenger of Allah?" He said yes. He said: "Can I tell the people about it?" He said go ahead, tell people. And as he was walking to inform people, the first person he bumped into was Umar رضي الله عنه. Umar said: "Why are you running all excited, what's going on?" He said: "I got this hadith from the Prophet — that whoever says the kalima will enter Jannah." And Umar actually got a little upset and told him to be quiet, and kind of pushed him a little bit out of love. Then he took Abu Huraira to the Prophet and said: "O Messenger of Allah, this man is saying that whoever says the kalima will enter Jannah." The Prophet said: "He's right, he's not lying, it's true." So Umar رضي الله عنه said: "O Messenger of Allah, please don't tell people this hadith — then everyone will start just relying upon this."

It's a reality that we're blessed with the kalima, and the more we say it, the more our heart will accept it, and the more our heart accepts it, the more it will play a role in our decisions. The Prophet said that everyone should be saying the kalima at least 100 times a day — La ilaha illallah. If we say it 100 times a day, our heartbeat will also connect with this kalima.

Training the Soul: The Last Words

When you think about the hadith of the Prophet :

مَنْ كَانَ آخِرُ كَلَامِهِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 3116; narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه)

— that whoever's last statement in this life is La ilaha illallah will be entered into paradise — you realize that you need to train your soul for that. As human beings, we have a natural reaction when calamity strikes to turn towards something, to say something. The reaction of the believer needs to be to say La ilaha illallah, because you never know when that last moment is for you. Train your nafs so that any time you're going through some sort of calamity, or even when you're shocked or astonished, just say La ilaha illallah — to train your nafs to do that. This is an important tarbiyah that we need to do for ourselves, for our children, for anyone that we care for. That's how you get those last words to be La ilaha illallah — you prepare yourself for it.

The Hadith of Abu Huraira: Who Is Most Fortunate for the Prophet's Intercession?

There is a very similar version in Sahih al-Bukhari as well, when Abu Huraira asks the Prophet :

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، مَنْ أَسْعَدُ النَّاسِ بِشَفَاعَتِكَ؟

"O Messenger of Allah, who are the most fortunate people to have your intercession?" And he said:

مَنْ قَالَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ خَالِصًا مِنْ قَلْبِهِ

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 99; narrated by Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه)

"Whoever says La ilaha illallah sincerely from their heart." And if you combine both hadiths together, it's such a powerful meaning: the statement of La ilaha illallah is a perfect statement, but we as human beings are not perfect — we are deficient. So in our deficiency, we may not live up to that statement. But even if we don't live up to it, how merciful Allah is that as long as we were sincere in trying to live up to it, we get the intercession of the Prophet .

The Hadith of Abu Dharr: Even the Greatest Sinners

There is the hadith of Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه, where the Prophet said that whoever says the kalima will be forgiven and will enter Jannah. And Abu Dharr said:

وَإِنْ زَنَى وَإِنْ سَرَقَ؟

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5827; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 94 — narrated by Abu Dharr al-Ghifari رضي الله عنه)

"Even if they commit adultery or they steal?" The Prophet said: "Yes — even if they commit adultery and even if they steal." And he said it three times. Abu Dharr couldn't believe it: "Even if they commit all of these sins, saying the kalima will be an expiation for them?" And the Prophet said yes. And after he asked three times, the Prophet added:

وَإِنْ رَغِمَ أَنْفُ أَبِي ذَرٍّ

"Even if Abu Dharr doesn't like it, this is the way it is." Allah has put the power in this kalima. And for all of us, a lot of times we think about what is that special thing that I can do — but the reality is that it doesn't have to be special. It's the little things in life that make great people, not the great things. It's the little things like punctuality, dedication, and so on and so forth.

إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَٰتُهُۥ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَٰنًۭا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

Allah says: the sign of a believer is that when the name of Allah is mentioned, his heart shakes out of fear and happiness. It's like a loved one when they hear their beloved's name. Wajalat quloobuhum. There's a beautiful connection, right? So if we say it more in our homes, it will bring more love for Allah in our hearts.

Speaking About Allah: The Example of Mu'adh ibn Jabal

Mu'adh ibn Jabal رضي الله عنه had a very different sunnah — a different perspective — where he would not only say the kalima, he would actually speak about the kalima. The Sahabahs actually complained to the Prophet that every time they were walking in the masjid, he would come to them and say:

اجْلِسْ مَعَنَا نُؤْمِنْ سَاعَةً

"Come sit down, let's talk about Allah. Let's talk about Allah." If we were to ask our children today — our nephews and nieces — "let's talk about Allah for a few minutes," how much do we have? And this is Allah — there's no one better than Him. But a few sentences and we end, because speaking about Allah has become difficult for us. If speaking about Him has become difficult for us, then accepting the kalima is also difficult for us. In order for us to be able to accept the kalima and let it truly live in the veins of our bodies, we must learn how to speak about it more and more and say the kalima as much as we possibly can.

The Homes That Are Lit Up in the Heavens

There is a beautiful narration from Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه, where he said that the Prophet told him:

إِنَّ أَهْلَ السَّمَاءِ يَرَوْنَ بُيُوتَ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِيهَا كَكَوْكَبٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ

Just like how we look up and see the stars in the sky and are marveled by their beauty and take guidance from them, the angels in the sky look down at the homes in which the dhikr of Allah takes place. And those homes are lit up, and they look at those homes and they take pride in them and see their beauty. And one narration comes:

يُبَاهِي بِهِ الْمَلَائِكَةَ

That Allah takes pride in those homes in which the dhikr of Allah is happening, in front of the angels. So imagine that right now Allah is saying our names to the angels — "yeah, these people are speaking about Me." And He used to say "they won't worship Me, they won't speak about Me, they won't talk about Me" — and here they are doing it right now. That's a very fulfilling feeling. No matter how many times you speak about Elon Musk or LeBron James, these people will never mention our names. But the fact that Allah is saying our names is a very powerful feeling.

The Hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: Allah Said Your Name

The Prophet came to Ubayy ibn Ka'b and said:

اقْرَأْ عَلَيَّ

"Read Qur'an to me." And Ubayy ibn Ka'b said:

أَقْرَأُ عَلَيْكَ وَأَنْتَ تُنَزَّلُ عَلَيْكَ؟

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3809; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 799 — narrated by Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه)

"You want me to read Qur'an to you whilst the Qur'an was revealed upon you?" And the Prophet said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَسْمَعَ مِنْكَ

"Allah has ordered me to listen to the Qur'an from you." And Ubayy ibn Ka'b stopped for a second and said:

أَسَمِعَ مِنِّي اللَّهُ؟

"Are you serious? Allah said my name?" And the Prophet said:

سَمَّاكَ اللَّهُ

"Allah said your name. Because you are a person that remembers Allah, so Allah remembers you." And he just started to cry. This is happening to us right now.

أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ

The Hadith of the Card (Hadith al-Bitaqa)

We have the famous hadith al-bitaqa, where a man comes with 99 scrolls of sins — and each scroll is as far as the eye can see from east to west. This man thinks he's destroyed, he thinks he's done for, there's no way he's getting out of this situation. But then a card is brought and weighed on the other side of the scale. And that card outweighs all 99 scrolls of sins — SubhanAllah. And all that card said was:

لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2639; graded hasan by al-Tirmidhi — narrated by Abdallah ibn Amr رضي الله عنه)

This shows you the weight of it, and how it is the best form of forgiveness. So to go back to the basics — just be that basic Muslim that has perfected his tawhid, perfected his La ilaha illallah, and that will save you. That will save you in this life and the next.

Part Two: The Best Du'a — Alhamdulillah

The scholars divided du'a into two categories: du'a al-talab and du'a al-ibadah. Du'a al-talab is when you're asking Allah for something. Du'a al-ibadah is to call out to Allah for the sake of worshipping Him. Based upon your interpretation of what this hadith is referring to, the scholars went in one of two ways.

Those scholars that said the du'a over here is referring to du'a al-ibadah said that it is just the statement of Alhamdulillah — that Alhamdulillah is the best form of du'a. Why? Because it is developing gratitude to Allah and it is only the select slaves of Allah that will truly be grateful to Allah. Interestingly, they tied in du'a al-talab as well, and said that if you look at the verse where Allah says:

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِى لَشَدِيدٌۭ

— "if you were to thank Allah, I will give you more" — the best way of making shukr is to say Alhamdulillah. You have the hadith in the Sunan that whoever says Alhamdulillah has returned more than he was given.

The second group of scholars said that this hadith is referring to du'a al-talab — the du'a of requesting. They said Alhamdulillah over here is actually short for Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen, meaning Surah al-Fatiha. And the best du'a is Ihdina al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem. This is a minority opinion, but they are not mutually exclusive. When referring to du'a al-ibadah, it refers to Alhamdulillah. When referring to du'a al-talab, it refers to Surah al-Fatiha. They are both encompassing and inclusive of one another.

The Difference Between Hamd and Shukr

When you look at the statement of Alhamdulillah, people confuse it with shukr. They confuse hamd with shukr. And there's a very distinguishing factor between the two. Shukr is usually a result of an action — someone does something to you, someone says something nice to you, you do shukr for that. So Allah gives you something, you do shukr by utilizing it in a halal way and thanking Allah for it. Hamd is to praise Allah for who Allah is — with His beautiful names, His lofty attributes, and His greatness. We praise Allah for that greatness, for His existence itself.

So when we're talking about Alhamdulillah, it shouldn't be conflated with shukr. Al-hamd is much greater than shukr. It is for who Allah is. And a part of who Allah is: He is our Razzaq, He is al-Mannan, He is al-Wahhab, the One that gives us so much. So the shukr ties into it and is a more specific category of the hamd.

Alhamdulillah: The First of Everything

Allah is the most benevolent, the most merciful, the most generous. We can never repay Allah. So Allah says: "Since I've given you the most, I've also given you the simplest way to thank Me — just say Alhamdulillah. Just appreciate it." Appreciation is so important. This is what we say when we start our salah. Imagine praying a salah after losing a loved one and then saying Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen — that Alhamdulillah is far different from the Alhamdulillah you've been saying every single day.

The word Alhamdulillah is the first of everything. It was the first word said by our father Adam عليه السلام, according to the narration. When he was created and he sneezed, Allah — who taught Adam the names of all things — taught him how to say Alhamdulillah. The first thing a human being ever said was Alhamdulillah.

And then Allah opens up the Fatiha, and the first thing He teaches us is: if you want to introduce Me to the world, first learn how to praise Me:

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

It is a combination of praising Allah and thanking Allah — al-jam'u bayna al-shukr wa al-thana'. Sometimes in our life Allah has given us something — we're blessed with a child, we're blessed with a new car, a new job — and we say Alhamdulillah. This is shukr. And sometimes we're not blessed with something, but rather something is taken from us — we say Alhamdulillah, by praising Allah.

Allah did not say al-shukru lillah or al-madhu lillah — He said Alhamdulillah. And Allah did not say Alhamdulillahi al-Rahman or Alhamdulillahi al-Aziz or Alhamdulillahi al-Wahhab. Allah said Alhamdulillah — that all praise and gratitude is not to Me simply because I'm merciful, or simply because I'm giving, or simply because I'm giving you gifts or being merciful towards you. No — all praise and gratitude is inclusive to Me and exclusively for Me because of all of My qualities. So I don't have to be merciful to you at this moment for you to praise Me. I can be 'Aziz and you still have to say Alhamdulillah. I can be Sabur and you still have to say Alhamdulillah. So all of the qualities — but the quality that we are mostly thanking Allah for is al-Rahman al-Rahim.

And someone might say: "How am I praising Allah when I'm praising someone else? How am I praising Allah when I'm praising Shaykh Naveed or praising Shaykh Abdullah?" It's a very simple answer — you're not praising the painting, you're praising the artist. You're not praising the child, you're praising the father and the mother. You're praising Allah even when you're praising other people.

The first thing that will be said to us when we enter Jannah is:

وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى ٱلْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَٰبُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَٱدْخُلُوهَا خَٰلِدِينَ

"Peace be upon you, you have been good — go in and relax." And the first thing we will say is:

وَقَالُوا۟ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُۥ وَأَوْرَثَنَا ٱلْأَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَآءُ ۖ فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ ٱلْعَٰمِلِينَ

"All praise is for Allah who was truthful to His promise. He didn't shortcut us." SubhanAllah.

Alhamdulillah in Every Circumstance

The Prophet , when he saw something that he liked, he would say:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ بِنِعْمَتِهِ تَتِمُّ الصَّالِحَاتُ

And when he saw something that he didn't like, he would say:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ

A way to praise Allah in every circumstance. That develops a sense of optimism — no matter what's happening in your life, you have to find a way to recognize the greatness and perfection of Allah. And what's really beautiful is that when you recognize the perfection and greatness of Allah, the Prophet tells us in the hadith of Abu Malik al-Harith ibn Asim al-Ash'ari:

وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ تَمْلَأُ الْمِيزَانَ

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 223 — narrated by Abu Malik al-Ash'ari رضي الله عنه)

"The statement of Alhamdulillah fills the scales." Can you imagine your scales on the Day of Judgment being filled just by saying this statement? The more one increases in that statement, definitely the more Allah increases you in khair — in goodness, in every positive quality.

The Last Hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari

The hadith of Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه — and this is truly amazing. The genius of Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله: look at the very first hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari — Innamal A'malu Binniyyat — it's about the human being and them rectifying their intentions. And then the very last hadith, from the last chapter — Kitab al-Tawhid:

كَلِمَتَانِ حَبِيبَتَانِ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ، ثَقِيلَتَانِ فِي الْمِيزَانِ، خَفِيفَتَانِ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ

"There are two statements that are beloved to al-Rahman, heavy upon the scales, yet light upon the tongue — and they are: Subhanallahi wa bihamdih, SubhanAllahil 'Azeem." Glory be to Allah with all of His praises, and glory be to Allah in His greatness and magnificence.

When you look at this hadith, it is purely about Allah. It is as if Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله starts off his collection by saying: "My intention is sincere and I'm going to try my best to put this compilation together" — and then he concludes it with: "I put my best foot forward and now all praise is due to Allah. It is up to Allah to accept." This is from the genius of Imam al-Bukhari رحمه الله — there are these hidden codes that he has put in. That's the beauty of his book. Any layman or scholar can read Imam al-Bukhari and derive something different. But it is truly those that have dedicated their lives to studying Sahih al-Bukhari that will continue to find gems upon gems throughout the book. رحمه الله رحمةً واسعة.

Gratitude in the Last Nights: The Example of the Prophet's Qiyam

The purpose of standing in Tahajjud is not always to seek forgiveness. The companion actually asked the Prophet : "Why do you continue to pray when Allah has forgiven your past sins and your future sins?" And the Prophet completely reframed the question with his answer.

The question was coming from the perspective of punishment — that you're praying because you're afraid of falling short, afraid of committing a sin. The Prophet was saying: no, that's not why I'm praying. He was already at a level where he didn't even need to address that issue. He was starting off from a place of shukr automatically — "should I not be a grateful slave to Allah by praying to Him? He has forgiven all my sins, He made me a prophet of Allah, He guided me to pray Qiyam al-Layl, Tahajjud." All of these deeper inner meanings are coming out of his answer.

This shows us that when you worship Allah, sometimes you approach it from a place of fear, sometimes from a place of love, and then when you reach that highest level — like the Prophet — you approach it from a place of gratitude. Because you recognize that had it not been for Allah, you wouldn't have been able to worship Him.

This ties in perfectly to the introduction of La ilaha illallah: if you recognize the value of La ilaha illallah, you can't help but say Alhamdulillah — that Allah guided you to it. And this is the famous statement of Imam al-Shafi'i رحمه الله: for every blessing of Allah that you recognize and say Alhamdulillah for, another Alhamdulillah is due, because you couldn't have thanked Allah without Allah guiding you to it.

The fact that the Prophet said the greatest dhikr is La ilaha illallah — and if you're able to say that, you should also just say Alhamdulillah and be grateful to Allah that He guided you to it. That's beautiful.

One Person in the Household Is Enough

Not everyone needs to be doing it in your household. If not everyone is doing it, it's fine. Even if you're the only one doing it, it's enough. Not everyone works in the house — sometimes only one or two providers — but everyone in the home eats. If there's one or two of us that decide to take that responsibility, that is enough.

There is a statement of Hasan al-Basri رحمه الله that he says:

يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ الْمَجْلِسُ الَّذِي فِي الْمَجْلِسِ يَكُونُ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي يَحْمَدُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَيُقْضَى بِذَلِكَ الْحَمْدِ حَوَائِجُ الْمَجْلِسِ

He says that at the end of time, there will be a time where in an entire gathering — in an entire house — there is only one person that is praising Allah, only one person saying Alhamdulillah. And by that one person doing it sincerely, Allah will take care of the needs of everyone in that gathering.

So not everyone needs to be doing it equally. We take the responsibility. As for Ayatul Kursi — reciting it three times, 40 houses benefit. That's the benefit of having beautiful, pious, righteous neighbors. So if we do it, hopefully the whole house will benefit, and everyone can take something from it, inshaAllah ta'ala.

Closing Remarks

JazakAllah khair to Shaykh Naveed Aziz for joining us all the way from Calgary, inshaAllah. May Allah bless you and protect you, Shaykh. We can't wait to see you in person again. As Ramadan is coming to an end, please check out the Miftah Online summer semester — courses are already open for registration, and you can choose which classes you'd like to register for. There is also an Arabic intensive coming up on June 17th — a five-day intensive. Please check it out on our website and spread the word, inshaAllah ta'ala.

Please keep us all in your du'as. May Allah accept from all of us in these blessed last nights.

آمِينَ، وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ