Tasbih After Salah: SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar 33 Times

Short answer: After each obligatory prayer, say SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 33 times, then complete a hundred with “La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah…”. In Sahih Muslim the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever does so will have his sins forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea.

What to say

1. سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ — SubḥānAllāh: “Glory be to Allah” — 33 times.
2. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ — Al-ḥamdu lillāh: “All praise is for Allah” — 33 times.
3. اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ — Allāhu akbar: “Allah is the Greatest” — 33 times.
4. Then, once, to complete a hundred — Lā ilāha illallāhu waḥdahū lā sharīka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamd, wa huwa ‘alā kulli shay’in qadīr: “There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He has power over all things.”

لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Its reward

Abu Hurayrah reported Allah’s Messenger ﷺ as saying: “If anyone extols Allah after every prayer thirty-three times, praises Allah thirty-three times, and declares His greatness thirty-three times, ninety-nine times in all, and says to complete a hundred: ‘There is no god but Allah, having no partner with Him; to Him belongs sovereignty and to Him is praise due, and He is Potent over everything,’ his sins will be forgiven even if they are as abundant as the foam of the sea.”

In Sahih al-Bukhari, poor companions complained that the wealthy could spend in charity and on Hajj while they could not. The Prophet ﷺ taught them this same dhikr as something that would let them catch up with those ahead of them:

“Shall I not tell you a thing upon which if you acted you would catch up with those who have surpassed you? … Say ‘Subhan Allah’, ‘Al-hamdu lillah’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ thirty-three times each after every (compulsory) prayer.”

Before sleep: 33, 33 and 34

When Fatimah asked her father ﷺ for a servant to help with the hand-mill, he taught her and ‘Ali something he called better than a servant — a similar dhikr at bedtime, with Allahu Akbar 34 times:

“May I inform you of something better than that? When you go to bed, recite ‘Subhan Allah’ thirty-three times, ‘Al-hamdu lillah’ thirty-three times, and ‘Allahu Akbar’ thirty-four times.” ‘Ali added: “I have never failed to recite it ever since.”

How to count

• On your fingers — the Prophet ﷺ himself counted this way: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ counting the glorification of Allah on his fingers” (Abu Dawud 1502).
• With prayer beads — a string of 33 or 99 beads keeps your place without thinking about numbers.
• With a counter — useful when you want to keep a running total or a daily goal.

Before the tasbih, it is also sunnah to say Astaghfirullāh three times and “Allāhumma antas-salām wa minkas-salām, tabārakta yā dhal-jalāli wal-ikrām” — narrated by Thawban in Sahih Muslim.