SubhanAllah

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What does SubhanAllah mean?

SubhanAllah (سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ) means "Glory be to Allah." More precisely, it declares that Allah is exalted above every flaw, weakness, partner or comparison. It comes from the Arabic root s-b-ḥ, and saying it is called tasbih. Muslims use it in awe at something beautiful, in surprise, after every prayer, and as one of the most common phrases of daily dhikr.

So SubhanAllah is not just "wow." It says: Allah is more perfect than anything I could imagine.

SubhanAllah word by word

Grammatically, subhana is a verbal noun. Arabic grammarians explain it as standing in for an unspoken verb, so the full sense is "I glorify Allah with a complete glorification."

The root s-b-ḥ (س ب ح) carries the idea of moving swiftly and freely, like swimming or floating. The Quran uses it for the sun and moon: "each, in an orbit, is swimming" (Quran 36:40). From that picture of moving far away comes the sense of placing Allah far above anything unworthy of Him. Scholars call this tanzih. Related words from the root:

• Tasbih (تَسْبِيح): the act of saying SubhanAllah.
• Subbuh (سُبُّوح): "the Glorified," said by the Prophet ﷺ in ruku and sujood (Sahih Muslim 487).
• Misbaha / subha: prayer beads, named after tasbih.

You can see every Quranic word from this root in the Quranic Arabic Corpus.

When do Muslims say SubhanAllah?

• In awe or surprise. A sunset, a newborn, unexpected news. The Prophet ﷺ said "Subhan Allah!" when Abu Hurairah slipped away because he was in a state of janabah, then told him "A believer never becomes impure" (Sahih al-Bukhari 283).
• After every obligatory prayer. 33 times, alongside Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar. The full sequence is in our guide to dhikr after salah.
• Before sleeping. The Prophet ﷺ taught Ali and Fatimah to say Allahu Akbar 34 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and SubhanAllah 33 times when going to bed, and told them "This is better for you than what you have requested" (Sahih al-Bukhari 3113). See more adhkar before sleeping.
• On a journey. Jabir said: "Whenever we went up a place we would say, 'Allahu Akbar', and whenever we went down a place we would say, 'Subhan Allah'" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2993).
• Inside salah. "Subhana Rabbiyal Azim" in ruku and "Subhana Rabbiyal A'la" in sujood are both tasbih (Sahih Muslim 772). The opening prayer Subhanakallahumma wa bihamdika starts with it too.
• To correct an imam. "The saying 'Subhan Allah' is for men and clapping is for women" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1203), meaning this is how the congregation alerts the imam to a mistake.

There is no fixed reply; people often just repeat it.

SubhanAllah in the Quran and Sunnah

The Quran opens the story of the Night Journey with the word itself: "Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa" (Quran 17:1, Sahih International). That journey is covered in Isra and Miraj.

After listing Names of Allah, it says: "Exalted is Allah above whatever they associate with Him." (Quran 59:23) This is the core meaning of tasbih: denying any partner or flaw.

Prophet Yunus called out from inside the whale: "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." (Quran 21:87)

The whole of creation does it: "there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting." (Quran 17:44)

In the Sunnah, the Prophet ﷺ said: "There are two expressions which are very easy for the tongue to say, but they are very heavy in the balance and are very dear to The Beneficent (Allah)," naming SubhanAllahil Azim and SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi (Sahih al-Bukhari 6406; also Sahih Muslim 2694).

He also said: "The dearest phrases to Allah are four: Subhan Allah, Al-Hamdulillah, La ilaha illa-Allah, Allahu Akbar" (Sahih Muslim 2137). And: "Subhan Allah and al-Hamdu Lillah fill up what is between the heavens and the earth" (Sahih Muslim 223).

For the prayer tasbih, whoever says SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar 33 times each after every prayer and completes a hundred with the tahlil "his sins will be forgiven even if these are as abundant as the foam of the sea" (Sahih Muslim 597).

SubhanAllah vs Alhamdulillah vs Allahu Akbar vs MashaAllah

These four phrases get mixed up. Each one does a different job:

Tasbih negates what does not befit Allah; tahmid affirms His perfection and praises Him. That is why they are so often paired, as in SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi.

Common mistakes

• Thinking it only means "wow." The words are an act of worship. A moment of attention turns a reaction into dhikr.
• Assuming it is wrong to say in surprise. The Prophet ﷺ used it exactly that way (Bukhari 283 above).
• Pronouncing the h as a plain "h". The ḥ in subḥāna is a breathy sound from the middle of the throat. Also stretch the "aa": sub-HAA-nal-laah.
• Swapping it for MashaAllah on compliments. Neither is forbidden, but when praising someone's child or new home, MashaAllah or Allahumma Barik is the usual phrase.

Related terms

• Dhikr: SubhanAllah is one of its four core phrases.
• La ilaha illallah: the tahlil that completes the 100 after prayer.
• Astaghfirullah: the phrase of istighfar said right after salah.
• What SubhanAllah means in daily life: a longer read on building the habit.
• What is tasbih in Islam: the practice of glorification in depth.
• Morning and evening adhkar: where SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi fits into your day.
• Tasbih on Wikipedia: an overview of how the practice and prayer beads developed.

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