And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of dhikr and the encouragement thereof: “From Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

Abu Huraira said he heard God’s Messenger say, “The most excellent prayer after that which is obligatory is one in the depth of the night.” Ahmad transmitted it.

سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: أفضل الذكر لا إله إلا الله

Mishkat al-Masabih 1236

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good hadith. And from Abdullah ibn Busr (may Allah be pleased with him)

told of a man saying, “Messenger of God, the ordinances of Islam are too many for me, so tell me something to which I may cling.” He replied, “Your tongue will continue to be supple by making mention of God.”

أن رجلًا قال: يا رسول الله إن شرائع الإسلام قد كثرت علي فأخبرني بشيء أتشبث به، قال: لا يزال لسانك رطبًا من ذكر الله

Mishkat al-Masabih 2279

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good hadith. And from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:

For him who says: 'Subhan-Allahi wa bi hamdihi (Allah is free from imperfection, and I begin with praising Him, and to Him),' a palm-tree will be planted in Jannah.

من قال سبحان الله وبحمده غرست له نخلة في الجنة

Riyad as-Salihin 1439

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good hadith. And from Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "I met Ibrahim (ﷺ) on the Night of Ascension (Al-Asra), and he said to me: 'O Muhammad, convey my greetings to your Ummah, and tell them that Jannah has a vast plain of pure soil and sweet water. It is a plain levelled land. The plants grow there by uttering: Subhan-Allah, Al-hamdu lillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar (Allah is free from imperfection; praise be to Allah; there is no true god except Allah; and Allah is Greatest)."

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لقيت إبراهيم صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلة أسري بي فقال يا محمد أقرئ أمتك مني السلام وأخبرهم أن الجنة طيبة التربة عذبة الماء وأنها قيعان وأن غراسها سبحان الله والحمد لله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر

Riyad as-Salihin 1440

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good hadith. And from Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Shall I not inform you of the best of your actions which are the purest to your Rubb, which exalt you to the high ranks, which are more efficacious than spending gold and silver (in charity), and better for you than you should encounter your enemies whom you will smite their necks and they will smite your necks?" They said, "Certainly." He (ﷺ) said, "Remembrance of Allah the Exalted."

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ألا أنبئكم بخير أعمالكم وأزكاها عند مليككم وأرفعها في درجاتكم وخير لكم من إنفاق الذهب والفضة وخير لكم من أن تلقوا عدوكم فتضربوا أعناقهم ويضربوا أعناقكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: ذكر الله تعالى

Riyad as-Salihin 1441

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it, and al-Hakim said: Its chain is authentic”.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
These hadiths that the author (may Allah have mercy on him) cited in his book *Riyad al-Salihin* all, in their totality, indicate the virtue of dhikr as previously mentioned, but some of them contain weakness. Among them is This hadith has weakness in it, but if it is authentic, the meaning is that this man found the voluntary acts to be too many for him, whereas the obligatory acts are not compensated for by saying La ilaha illa Allah or anything else; the obligatory acts are necessary, but if some of the voluntary acts are difficult for a person, dhikr may fill the gap that results in deficiency. Also, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And there is no doubt that this phrase is a great one; it is the one by which a person enters the religion of Islam, so it is the key to Islam, as came in the hadith: And among them is that the remembrance of Allah the Glorious and Exalted is among the best of deeds, the most complete, and the most beloved to Allah the Glorious and Exalted; indeed, it is among the causes of steadfastness at the time of meeting [the enemy], as Allah the Exalted said: So these hadiths all indicate the virtue of dhikr and that it is incumbent upon a person to increase in the remembrance of Allah. And it has passed us by the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): And success is from Allah.