#sheikh muhsin qaraati

[rose1water]

SubhanAllah {Glory be to God} To glorify God is to recognise Him as free from any and all defect. As is intrinsic to our nature, we fall in love with the One Who is good and perfect. Glorification, in essence, is a declaration of love. Tasbih {glorification} brings about a state of contentment within our souls, for we can only be satisfied with God's decree when we recognise that He is free from all defect, and so everything He wills is the result of His perfect wisdom. Tasbih is also the source of tawwakul {reliance upon God.} It follows that only when we recognise that God is immune from any weakness or inability, only then can we truly come to rely on Him. "Immaculate is He—He is the All-Sufficient!" 10:68 Tasbih also works to protect and cleanse us from flawed, man-made understandings of God, that distort and misguide. To declare "Subhanallah" is to clear away such misconceptions. "Clear is God, of what they allege concerning Him!" 21:22 Hence, it is perhaps for these reasons that the command for tasbih has been mentioned more frequently compared to other adhkar {forms of remembrance to God.} The command for tasbih has been repeated 16 times; for istighfar {asking forgiveness from God} eight times; for the remembrance of God {dhikr} five times; and for takbir {to say, “Allahu akbar/God is Greater”} twice. The command for tasbih is recommended for all times and conditions, emphasising that one should always remember God as He Who is free from any defect or shortcoming: ﴿ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ غُرُوبِهَا وَمِنْ آنَاءِ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْ وَأَطْرَافَ النَّهَارِ ﴾ “Celebrate the praise of your Lord before the rising of the sun and before the sunset, and glorify Him in watches of the night and at the day’s ends.” 20:130 God is to be celebrated in times of celebration and joy: "When God's help comes… then celebrate the praise of your Lord" 110:1-3 God is also to be celebrated in the depths of adversity, for glorification is the source of deliverance: “And had (Jonah) not been of those who celebrate God’s glory, he would have surely remained in the belly of the whale until the end of time.” 37:143-144 On a final note, one should consider the tranquil thought that indeed all of creation—the seven heavens and the earth, and whatever there is within them—glorifies God. The birds and the trees, the mountains and the thunderstorm, "each knows its prayer and glorification" 24:41 We are admonished not to strike a blow onto the face of an animal, for they are glorifying God. In a narration from Imam Sadiq (a) it is said, "Whenever Prophet David (a) would recite the Zabur, there was no mountain, stone, or bird, that would not also recite with him. Similarly, the Holy Prophet (s) revealed that "There is not a single layer of the heavens except that therein is an angel glorifying their Lord" گر تو را از غيب چشمى باز شد با تو ذرّات جهان همراز شد نطق آب و نطق خاك و نطق گل هست محسوس حواس اهل دل جمله ذرّات عالم در نهان با تو مى گويند روزان و شبان ما سميعيم و بصيريم و هوشيم با شما نامحرمان ما خاموشيم If you could see the unseen, to you would be revealed the secret behind every particle of the world. The voice of the water, soil and mud can be heard by the gnostics. Every single particle of the world would secretly tell you during the day and night: "We are hearing, discerning and vigilant. We are silent with you the strangers" Once a group of chirping birds passed in front of Imam Sajjad (a). The Imam turned to those with him and said, "Indeed, every morning the birds glorify their Lord and pray to Him for strength for the day" How can the truth of this universal glorification be denied when God Himself says in the Holy Qur'an, "There is not a thing except that it sings His praise, but you do not understand their glorification" 17:44

— A Commentary on Prayer, Muhsin Qara'ati