Introduction of prayer:
This prayer refers to the statement of angels at the time when they observed the virtue of Sayyidna Adam (as) over them. This occurred after they prostrated to him. It happened when Allah Kareem informed the angels that He Almighty would appoint Man as His Calif on earth. They said,” Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood?” Allah Kareem taught Sayyidna Adam (as) the names of all the objects and then asked the angles to tell the names of those objects. They could not tell and said;
سُبْحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
“Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are truly the All-Knowing, All-Wise. (2: 32)
These verses are a testament to how all creations have their limitations set by Allah and without His permission, they could not know anything beyond what was allowed for them.
Exposition & virtue of prayer:
1- سُبْحَـٰنَكَ (Glory be to You):
سُبْحَـٰن Means “praise, exalted, glory“. The angels praised Allah Kareem before their statement. They praised Allah’s holiness and perfection above every kind of deficiency. Saying “Subhan Allah” is called “Tasbih”.
Qur’an Kareem has mentioned that the angels worship Allah Kareem and always praise Him by saying, ‘Subhan Allah’;
وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ
And the angels glorify the praises of their Lord. (Surah Ash-Shura: 5)
Subhanallah encompasses the main principles of Tawheed, i.e. Allah is the one and only, the most glorious, and is a declaration that he is be above any fault, or shortcoming.
2- لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ(We have no knowledge except what You have taught us):
After glorifying the name of Allah the angels admitted that they did not know except what He the Exalted had taught them. Their statement leads us to the fact that no creature could ever acquire any part of Allah’s knowledge, except by His permission, nor could anyone know anything except what Allah teaches them. So, anyone who wants to acquire knowledge and wants to increase his capacity for learning and memorizing should recite this prayer regularly.
3- إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ (You are truly the All-Knowing, All-Wise):
At the end of their statement, the angels praised Allah Kareem by calling Him with His two Beautiful Names; Al-‘alim and Al-Hakim.
ٱلْعَلِيمُ (The Knowledgeable, The Omniscient, The Knower):
This Beautiful Name has appeared for 157 in the Qur’an. He Exalted is the Knower of all things. Nothing is secret from Him. He knows everything from the beginning till the end. He is not only aware of our outward actions but knows the state of our hearts when we make them. Allah Kareem says in Qur’an;
۞ يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُ ٱللَّهُ ٱلرُّسُلَ فَيَقُولُ مَاذَآ أُجِبْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ عَلَّـٰمُ ٱلْغُيُوبِ
˹Consider˺ the Day Allah will gather the messengers and say, “What response did you receive?” They will reply, “We have no knowledge ˹compared to You˺! You ˹alone˺ are indeed the Knower of all unseen.”(5: 109)
Allah, the Exalted, informs about Fir`awn that he said to Musa, in his rejection of the existence of a Supreme Maker and Creator, Who is the God of everything and his own Lord and Owner,
Qur’an states the description of Sayyidna Musa (as) when Fir’awn asked him about his Creator, Lord and Owner;
قَالَ عِلْمُهَا عِندَ رَبِّى فِى كِتَـٰبٍۢ ۖ لَّا يَضِلُّ رَبِّى وَلَا يَنسَى
He replied, “That knowledge is with my Lord in a Record. My Lord neither falters nor forgets ˹anything˺.”(20 :52)
By reciting this Beautiful Name we may ask Allah Kareem to increase our knowledge, capacity for learning and ability for memorising.
ٱلْحَكِيمُ (The Wise, The Judge of Judges, The One who is correct in His doings):
Allah calls Himself Al-Hakeem— The All-Wise, The Judicious— on 33 occasions in the Quran. Al-Hakeem is the One with ultimate wisdom, who did not create and legislate anything in vain. He possesses the ability to determine right from wrong and is free from error and misunderstanding. His designs in nature and life are perfect and accurate. He is the only one qualified to judge the worth of all things.
As a true believer, we should have a firm belief in this attribute of Allah Kareem being All-Knowing and All-Wise. Things may not make sense to us at the moment, and to iterate the point, we can not connect the dots looking forward. We know Allah knows the truth in every situation. We must find the good in every ‘tragedy,’ “Do not think it bad for you; rather it is good for you.”As Allah Kareem says in Surah Al-Baqarah,verse 216;
وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know.
How to recite the prayer:
- Recite Salawat upon Sayyidna Muhammad (pbuh) at least for three times
- Recite this prayer 11 times
- Recite Salawat upon Sayyidna Muhammad (pbuh)
- Do it after every obligatory prayer
