Subhanallah Meaning in Islam: Definition, Virtues, and Reward

When you see woefully beautiful flowers or look at strikingly complicated, natural processes, you might say Subhanallah, which means glory for Allah who created this flower in this charming form and all of the creatures on this earth and heavens.

The earth, sky, flowers, mountains, stars, and all of the creatures echo Subhanallah in an eternal, single rhythm. Allah has said in Surah Al-Isra:

All seven skies, the earth, and all those therein extol His purity. And there is nothing that does not extol His purity along with His praise, but you do not understand their extolling.

In this article, you’ll learn the meaning of Subhan Allah, How to say it, and the numerous virtues and rewards of saying it.

Subhanallah Meaning in Islam

You might’ve wondered before. What does Subhan Allah mean?

Subhan is a word used to indicate glorification of any Imperfection or flaw. Being the creator of this complicated, beautiful world, Allah has all the traits of perfection and majesty, and as Muslims, we should pay homage to his all-supreme power and glorify him in each salah.

Ibn Tamiya defined tasbih as glorifying god from any imperfection, defect, or evil thoughts and endorsing its lordship over all of his creatures. Tasbih is one of the great origins of monotheism.

The linguistic root of Tasbih تسبيح is سبّح which means keeping sth away. In this respect, it means keeping the bad traits and claims that paganists attribute to Allah away from him.

So, we can say the word Subhanallah is a blend of glorification, praise,, and admiration for God.

How to pronounce Subhanallah?

This video will show you the pronunciation of this word

How to write Subhan Allah in Arabic?

Here is how to say Subhanallah and its variations in Arabic.

Tasbih تسبيح is the Arabic parallel for glorification. Here, we will show you how to use tasbeeh phrase in Arabic

سبحان الله Subhanallah
سبحان الله وبحمده Glory and Praise be to Allah,
سبحان الله وتعالى Glory be to God Almighty
سبحان الله العظيم Glory to Allah the Great (in English)

What Is the Difference Between Subhanallah and Mashallah?

Masha Allah is used when a person praises someone’s beauty or any other thing by attributing that beauty to ALLAH as the creator. For example, you can say to your child: Masha Allah, you’ve got an excellent grade. It means your kid is clever, but you attribute his cleverness and intelligence to Allah.

Subhan Allah is used when a person praises or extol God. for example when seeing the sky upon us and wondering how it could be elevated without any pillars. Automatically, you’ll see Subhanallah.

When to say subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar and mean?

Many people might confuse the meanings of those words. Though all of them are Islamic expressions, Allah and his prophet Mohammed instructed to say repeatedly, there is some difference between them.

Subhan Allah (سبحان الله): Meaning Allah is perfect in an absolute sense without any defects or imperfections of any kind. Usually translated as Glory be to Allah.

Alhamdulillah (الحمد لله): Meaning all praise and thanks belong to Allah alone as being the originator of everything. All good traits and blessings are attributed to him. Usually translated as Praise be to Allah.

Allahu Akbar (الله أكبر): Meaning Allah is greater than everything. He comes before anything, and your whole life is dedicated to worshiping him. Usually translated as Allah is great.

What Is the Reward for Saying Subhanallah?

Extolling God has a great reward in Islam. For it, you should always remind yourself to echo it while doing your work or when you’re in your free time. Always, wet your tongue by saying Zekr. Aside from feeling happiness and inner peace, the following rewards can motivate you to do so.

You Will Get a Date Palm Tree in Paradise.

Prophet Mohamed said: Whoever says: Subhanallah wa bihamdihi will have a date palm planted for him in Paradise. (At-Tirmidhi)

2- You’ll Get Allah’s Forgiveness

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Whoever says: Subḥānallāhi wa biḥamdihi. one hundred times a day, will have his sins forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea.

3. You’ll Earn Allah’ Pleasure

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “There are two statements that are light for the tongue to remember, heavy in the Scales and are dear to the Merciful: ‘Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdih, Subhan-Allahil-Azim

4. You’ll Get a Reward Equal to 1000 Hasnaa

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Is anyone of you incapable of earning one thousand Hasanah (rewards) in a day?”Someone from his gathering asked, “How can anyone of us earn a thousand Hasanah?”He said, “Glorify Allah a hundred times and a thousand Hasanah will be written for you, or a thousand sins will be wiped away.” (Muslim).

What Are the Virtues of Saying “Subhanallah?

Allah (SWT) has shown Muslims the virtues of Tasbih as one of the spiritual and religious deeds.

1. By saying Subhanallah and feeling it deeply, the Muslims invoke the greatness of Allah in his heart, thus, solidifying their relationship with God.

2. It’s one of the good deeds that Muslims have a great reward for performing.

3. It’s one of the ways by which Muslims feel nearness to Allah

4. It’s a means of earning Allah’s love and satisfaction

5. It’s one of the reminders for Muslims to realize the existence of God in his life

6. It’s a sunna, our prophet Mohamed, peace upon hun has done it.

7. It’s a sign of a strong belief in God as the a-one single creator and endorsement of his divine power

How Do You Write Subhanallah in Urdu?

“Subhan Allah” means Allah is great. And you can say “Yes he is” or in Urdu you can say “Beshak”

See Subhanallah in Arabic calligraphy

What is the Response to Subhan Allah?

When someone says Subhan Allah in front of you, the best reply is saying (Wane’ma Bellah ونعمة بالله), which means every single blessing you have in your life is granted from Allah. You can also say nothing.

Is Subhan Allah the Same as Subhanallah?

Yes, they mean the same. They just follow a different style of writing.

When to say Subhanallah?

There’re countless times you can say Subhanallah. There’s no fixed time for saying it.

1.When you see the beauty of the nature

You can utter it when seeing the herds of birds flying in the sky and wonder who teach them to do that? When you see the shining moon breaking through the nights. In short, when contemplating the vast world with its marvelous creatures, you’ll say it spontaneously

However, there’re some specific times in Quran when Allah ordered his prophet Mohamed and his nation to glorify him. We’ll quote them for you.

2. During salat or after it

In the sanna Nabwaia, a Muslim begins his salat by glorifying God by saying:

Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. Blessed is Your Name, and Exalted is Your Majesty.

There is none worthy of worship but You. (bu Dawud, Ibn Majah, An-Nasa’i, At-Tirmidhi)

Also, Muslims extol god during kneeling and prostration, and after concluding salat, it’s sunna to say Subhanallah 33 times.

“Whoever glorifies Allah (by saying Subhan-Allah) after every Salat (prayer) thirty-three times, and praises Allah (by saying Alhamdulillah) thirty-three times, and exalts Allah (by saying Allahu Akbar) thirty-three times, those are ninety-nine in all……….. his sins will be forgiven, even if they are as abundant as the foam of the sea.” [Reported by Muslim].

3.In the morning and the evening

Allah said in Surah taha to the prophet Mohamed

So be patient ˹O Prophet˺ with what they say. And glorify the praises of your Lord before sunrise and before sunset, and glorify Him in the hours of the night and at both ends of the day,1 so that you may be pleased ˹with the reward.

Subhanallah Qoutes in Quran

There’re many verses in Quran when the word Subhanallah or the verb extolling God is mentioned. Here we give you some examples to show you a context of how this word is used in the Quran

Allah SWT self-grlorification (repeated in about 30 verses)

Exalted is your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe. Al-Safat,180)

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ (180)

2. All creatures’ glorification for Allah

He is Allah: the Creator, the Inventor, the Shaper. He ˹alone˺ has the Most Beautiful Names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth ˹constantly˺ glorifies Him. And He is the Almighty, All-Wise. (Al-Hashr,1)

سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

3. Angles’ glorification( repeated in about 10 verses)

They said: “Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except that which you have taught us. Verily, it is You, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise”. (al-baqarah,32)

قالوا سبحانك لا علم لنا إلا ما علمتنا إنك أنت العليم الحكيم . [ البقرة: 32]

4. prophets’ glorification

: “Glory to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to. Had I said so, You would surely have known it. You know all that is within my mind whereas I do not know what is within Yours (Surah Al-Maeda, 116)

سُبْحَانَكَ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنْ أَقُولَ مَا لَيْسَ لِي بِحَقٍّ ۚ إِنْ كُنْتُ قُلْتُهُ فَقَدْ عَلِمْتَهُ ۚ تَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِي وَلَا أَعْلَمُ مَا فِي نَفْسِكَ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ (المائدة، 116)

Conclusion

Allah created all these cosmos for humans and asked them to worship him. Saying Subhanallah is a confirmation of Allah’s divine power and acknowledgment of his godhood over all his creatures.

In this article, you’ve learned the deep meaning of tasbih and its virtues in Islam. Don’t forget to do it at any time in your day. Always Keep Allah in your heart.

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