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What is the ruling on saying "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to Allah) when witnessing a reprehensible act (Munkar)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is legislated for a Muslim to say "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) and "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to God) upon seeing or hearing an evil (munkar), as Allah Almighty says: ﴿And why, when you heard it, did you not say, 'It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to You, this is a great slander!'﴾ (An-Nur/16). The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned "Subhan Allah" and "Allahu Akbar" when he heard the companions ask him to designate a Dhat Anwat for them, and when he heard the Bedouin say, "We seek your intercession with Allah, and we seek Allah's intercession with you." The glorification (tasbih) here is to exalt Allah and declare Him free from approving of evil.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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