While in rukū‘ and sujūd, the person praying glorifies God.
When the verse, ﴾ فَسبِّحْ بِاسمِ رَبِّك الْعَظِيمِ ﴿ “So celebrate the Name of your Lord, the All-supreme,”[1] was revealed, the Prophet (ṣ) thus said: “Apply this command to your rukū‘ and say:
“بِحَمدهِ وَ ٱلْعَظيمِ رَبِّيَ سُبْحانَ”
Subḥāna rabbiya’l-‘aẓīm wa biḥamdih.
“Glory be to my Lord, the Great, and praise belongs to Him.”
And when the verse, ﴾ ٱلأَعْلَى إِنَّك كادِحٌ إِلى رَبِّك ﴿ “You are laboring toward your Lord, the Most Exalted,”[2] was revealed, he (ṣ) said: “Applythis command to your sujūd and say:
“بِحَمدهِ وَ ٱلاَعْلىٰ رَبِّيَ سُبْحانَ”
Subḥāna rabbiya’l-a‘lā wa biḥamdih.
“Glory be to my Lord, the Exalted, and praise belongs to Him.”[3]
The station of tasbīḥ
Glorifying [tasbīḥ] and exalting [tanziyyah] God are the root of all authentic Islamic beliefs and thoughts:
Tawḥīd means regarding God as free from any taint of polytheism: ﴾ سُبْحَٰنَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشرِكُونَ ﴿ “Clear is Allah of any partners that they may ascribe [to Him]!”[4]
Justice [‘adl] means considering God as free from any form of injustice: ﴾ سُبْحَٰنَ رَبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا ظالِمِينَ ﴿ “They said, ‘Immaculate is our Lord! We have indeed been wrongdoers!’”[5]
Prophethood [nubuwwah] and Imamate [imāmah] mean treating God as immune from the lack of the purpose, the program and the means delivering the people from the sea of desire and inclination:
﴾ وَ مَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ إِذْ قَالُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلى بَشرٍ مِّن شيْ ءٍ ﴿ “They did not regard Allah with the regard due to Him when they said, ‘Allah has not sent down anything to any human’.”[6]
The Return [ma‘ād] means knowing God not to have made creation in vain and knowing that the end of the world is not annihilation: ﴾ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْت هَذَا بَاطِلاً سُبْحَانَك ﴿ “O Lord, You have not created this in vain! Immaculate are You!”[7]
﴾ أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثاً وَ أَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لا تُرْجَعُونَ ﴿ “Did you suppose that We created you aimlessly, and that you will not be brought back to Us?”[8] Yes, God is guiltless of this futile and vain act.
