Minimum and Maximum Tasbih in Ruku‘ and Sajdah

Al-Kāfi|Volume 3|Book 4|Chapter 26
Al-Kāfi

Volume 3, Book 4, Chapter 26

Minimum and Maximum Tasbih in Ruku‘ and Sajdah

5ـ عَلِيٌّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ الْسَّلام) مَا مِنْ كَلِمَةٍ أَخَفَّ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ مِنْهَا وَلاَ أَبْلَغَ مِنْ سُبْحَانَ الله قَالَ قُلْتُ يُجْزِئُنِي فِي الرُّكُوعِ وَالسُّجُودِ أَنْ أَقُولَ مَكَانَ التَّسْبِيحِ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ الله وَالْحَمْدُ لله وَالله أَكْبَرُ قَالَ نَعَمْ كُلُّ ذَا ذِكْرُ الله قَالَ قُلْتُ الْحَمْدُ لله وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ الله قَدْ عَرَفْنَاهُمَا فَمَا تَفْسِيرُ سُبْحَانَ الله قَالَ أَنَفَةٌ لله أَ مَا تَرَى الرَّجُلَ إِذَا عَجِبَ مِنَ الشَّيْ‏ءِ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ الله.
5. Ali has narrated from his father from ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Mughirah from Hisham ibn al-Hakam who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah عليه السلام, has said, ‘No word is lighter, easier and more eloquent for the tongue than Subhana Allah (Allah is free of all defects).’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘Can I say Tahlil (no one deserves worship except Allah), Tahmid (it is Allah only who deserves all praise) and Takbir (Allah is great beyond description), instead of Tasbih (Allah is free of all defects)?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, all of them are speaking of Allah.’ I (the narrator) said, ‘We know the meaning of Tahmid (it is Allah only who deserves all praise) and Tahlil (no one deserves worship except Allah). What is the explanation of Tasbih (Allah is free of all defects)?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is to speak of the glory of Allah, consider when a man is marveled because of something says, ‘Subhana Allah (Allah is free of all defects).””
  • Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi
    Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (15/142)
  • Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi
    Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī, vol. 1, p. 280