I said four words three times after I had left you; if they were to be weighed against what you have been saying since morning, they would outweigh them

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left the house of his wife Juwayriyah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) early in the morning after performing the Fajr prayer, while she was sitting in her place of prayer. He returned after the sun had passed its zenith, during the time of Duha, and she was still sitting in the same spot. He then said: Are you still in the state I left you in? She replied: Yes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: I said four words after I had left you, and I repeated them three times. If they were to be weighed in terms of reward against all that you have been saying during the time you have been sitting here, they would outweigh them. (Glory be to Allah) and may He be Exalted above all imperfections (and all praise is due to Him). For to Him belongs the beautiful praise for having guided to that (by the number of His creation) whom none can count but Allah, (by His own pleasure) as much as pleases Him with those of His slaves with whom Allah is pleased—something that cannot be encompassed, (by the weight of His Throne), which is the greatest and heaviest of the whole creation, (and by the ink of His words) and the words of Allah are countless and endless. This encompasses and includes the three aspects, as the ink of His words, exalted is He, is limitless in its extent, description, and number. However, the intent here is to emphasize the great abundance. First, a countable measure is mentioned—the number of His creations. Then, it progresses to something even greater, expressed as "His own pleasure." Next is the weight of the greatest creation, the Throne. The first relates to number and quantity, the second to description and quality, and the third to greatness and weight.

Benefits

• Manifesting the merit of these words and encouraging their saying.
• The forms of Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) vary in their merit as some forms are preferable to others.
• An-Nawawi commented on his statement (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him, by the ink of His words), saying: The intent here is to emphasize the abundance. First, it mentions what can be contained by a large count—the number of creations—then the weight of the Throne. It then ascends to something even greater, expressed by this phrase, meaning something that cannot be counted, just as His words cannot be counted.
• Ibn al-Qayyim said: What arises in the heart of the one who remembers Allah saying: (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Him, by the number of His creation...)—of awareness, exaltation, and glorification of Allah to this specified extent—is greater than what arises in the heart of the one who simply says: "Glory be to Allah" alone.
• Guidance to comprehensive phrases that contain few words but bring immense virtue and reward.