Which is better and more rewarding: engaging in the repetition of magnified glorification (such as "Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi, adada khalqihi, wa rida nafsihi, wa zinata arshihi, wa midada kalimatihi" - Glory be to Allah and with His praise, as many times as the number of His creation, and to the extent of His pleasure, and to the weight of His Throne, and to the extent of the ink of His words) or performing supererogatory prayers?
Prayer is the best of deeds, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Which deed is most beloved to Allah?" He said: "Prayer on its appointed time." And his saying: "The best of your deeds is prayer." Therefore, scholars have stipulated that the best voluntary bodily worship is prayer. As for the best remembrance (dhikr), it is the recitation of the Qur'an, except for what has been specified for a certain time, in which case something else takes precedence, such as his, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "The best words after the Qur'an are four: Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah), Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah), La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god but Allah), and Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest)." And reciting the Qur'an is better than absolute tasbih (glorifying Allah) and tahlil (saying La ilaha illa Allah), unless a text specifies otherwise.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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