‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-‘Aas (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said:
There are two characteristics that no servant possesses except that he will enter Paradise. They are both very easy, but those who act upon them are quite few:
The first is that one of you says ‘Subhan Allah’ ten times, ‘al-Hamdu lillah’ ten times, and ‘Allahu Akbar’ ten times after each prayer. This is 150 (30 X five prayers) with the tongue, and 1,500 in the Scale.
The second is that if he goes to bed, he says ‘Subhan Allah’ thirty-three times, ‘al-Hamdu lillah’ thirty-three times, and ‘Allahu Akbar’ thirty-four times. This is 100 with the tongue, and 1,000 in the Scale.
So, which of you performs 2,500 sins in the course of a day and night?
‘Abdullah (رضي الله عنه) said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah counting them on his fingers.”
It was asked: “O, Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم)! Why is it that those who do this are few?”
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) replied: “Shaytaan comes to one of you in his prayer and says to him: ‘Remember such-and-such that you have to attend to after the prayer!’ Likewise, he comes to one of you when he goes to bed and causes him to fall asleep (without making these adhkar).” [1]
[Reported by at-Tabrizi in ‘Mishkat al-Masabih’ (2406), and it is in ‘Sahih Mawarid ath-Thaman’ (449)]
So there you go–an easy way to get into Paradise. Ok, not easy; you need to be consistent, very consistent. And that is what makes this adhkaar a little more tricky than it looks. Its easy to do once or twice, but hard to remain steadfast on it for months upon months and years upon years.
But insha’Allah if you remain on this, its one way to earn the mercy of Allah, which will result in Paradise. Why? Because almost no matter what you do, you can hardly do 2500 sins in a day! And this is like a bank acount; every day, you deposit $2500 into your account, and withdraw $100. Or $1000. Or $2000. But day by day, week by week, month by month, your balance grows and grows.
Here are some tricks and tips we use to make sure we don’t forget to do this daily:
- Make a habit of doing it after every salaah. It’s hard after the first few days, but then, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) makes it easy.
- Post reminders around your house! Place sticky-notes on your fridge, reminders in your computerized to-do list, your cell phone, and so on.
- Do the last 100 while you’re getting ready for bed, instead of when you’re lying down. This makes it easier not to fall asleep before you finish.
What are some tips and tricks you use to remember to perform these adhkaar consistently? Let us know in the comments insha’Allah!
May Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) allow us to remain firm on this deen, to live and die upon it, and to implement this simple adhkaar throughout our lives, ameen ya rabbi!
[1] http://www.ummah.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-91104.html
[2] Anwar al-Awlaki. The Hereafter. Part 2.