What Is Dhikr? Meaning, Best Dhikr, Adhkar and Benefits

Dhikr is the remembrance of God in Islam, usually through short phrases such as SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar, said with the tongue and felt in the heart. The Quran says "by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured" (13:28), and the Prophet called La ilaha illallah the best dhikr.

Dhikr is one of the simplest and most portable forms of worship. It needs no special place, clothing or time, and a person can do it while walking, cooking or lying in bed. This guide explains what dhikr means, which phrases matter most, the morning and evening remembrances, and what research on calm and attention can and cannot tell us.

Key takeaways

• The Quran links remembrance to inner calm: "Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured" (Quran 13:28).
• The Prophet said "the best remembrance" is La ilaha illallah (there is none worthy of worship except Allah), according to Jami at-Tirmidhi 3383, graded hasan.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 6407 compares a person who remembers God with one who does not to "a living creature compared to a dead one."
• Saying SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 33 times after prayer is taught in Sahih Muslim 597.
• The Prophet counted his dhikr on his fingers, according to Sunan Abi Dawud 1502 and Jami at-Tirmidhi 3486, both graded sahih.

What does dhikr mean?

Dhikr (dhikr, ذكر) comes from an Arabic root meaning to remember, mention or keep in mind. In Islam it refers to any act of remembering God: repeating His praise, reciting the Quran, making dua, or simply being aware of Him. The plural, used for set collections of remembrance, is adhkar.

Scholars often describe three levels of dhikr. There is dhikr of the tongue (saying the words), dhikr of the heart (awareness and feeling), and the ideal, where both work together. The Quran describes believers who "remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides" (Quran 3:191), which means in every posture of life.

The Quran also asks for quantity, not only quality:

O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance

— Quran 33:41

It warns against the opposite state, heedlessness: "let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah" (Quran 63:9).

Why do Muslims do dhikr?

The central verse on dhikr comes from Surah ar-Ra'd:

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."

— Quran 13:28

The word translated "assured" (tatma'innu) carries a sense of settling and becoming tranquil. Muslims do dhikr because God commands it, because it brings that tranquility, and because it is reciprocal: "So remember Me; I will remember you" (Quran 2:152).

In a hadith qudsi, God says: "if he remembers Me in himself, I too remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they" (Sahih al-Bukhari 7405). The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also gave a stark image: the one who remembers his Lord compared with the one who does not is like the living compared with the dead (Sahih al-Bukhari 6407).

What is the best dhikr?

The Prophet said: "The best remembrance is: 'there is none worthy of worship except Allah (La ilaha illallah)' and the best supplication is: 'All praise is due to Allah (Al-hamdulillah)'" (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3383, graded hasan). La ilaha illallah is the heart of Islamic belief, the first half of the declaration of faith, so it is natural that it ranks first.

In Sahih Muslim (2137), the Prophet named the four phrases dearest to God, adding that it does not matter which one you begin with. Here are those four with other well-known phrases:

Each of these phrases has its own story and meaning. See our guides to Alhamdulillah, SubhanAllah and Astaghfirullah for more.

What are the morning and evening adhkar?

The Quran asks believers to glorify God "morning and afternoon" (Quran 33:42) and to "remember your Lord within yourself in humility" in "the mornings and the evenings" (Quran 7:205). From this, Muslims keep a set of morning and evening remembrances, usually said after the dawn prayer and after the afternoon or sunset prayer.

Collections differ in length, but these core items are reported in strong hadith:

1. The three Quls. Surah al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas, three times each, morning and evening. The Prophet said they "will serve you for every purpose" (Sunan Abi Dawud 5082, graded hasan). See our guide to the four Quls.
2. Protection by God's name. "In the name of Allah, with whose name nothing on earth or in heaven can cause harm, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing," three times. A hadith says whoever says it will not suffer sudden affliction until the next morning or evening (Sunan Abi Dawud 5088, graded sahih).
3. The master supplication for forgiveness (Sayyid al-Istighfar). The Prophet said that whoever says it with firm faith during the day and dies before evening, or at night and dies before morning, will be among the people of Paradise (Sahih al-Bukhari 6306).
4. SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, 100 times a day. Whoever says it will have their sins forgiven "even if they were as much as the foam of the sea" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6405).
5. La ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in qadir, 100 times a day. The Prophet said it brings the reward of freeing ten slaves and is a shield from Satan for that day until evening (Sahih al-Bukhari 6403).

Before sleep, many Muslims also recite Ayatul Kursi, based on a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. Our page of daily duas gathers more remembrances for the day.

Dhikr after prayer

After each obligatory prayer, the Prophet taught a short routine. A hadith in Sahih Muslim (597) says that whoever says SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 33 times, then completes a hundred with "There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things," will have their sins forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea.

This takes about three minutes. For many Muslims it is the easiest way to build a daily dhikr habit, because it is attached to something they already do.

Tasbih: counting on fingers or with beads?

Tasbih has two meanings. Strictly, it means glorifying God by saying SubhanAllah. In everyday speech it also refers to the string of prayer beads (also called misbaha or subha) used to count dhikr.

The Sunnah practice is counting on the fingers. Abdullah ibn Amr reported that he saw the Prophet counting tasbih on his hand (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3486, graded sahih; Sunan Abi Dawud 1502). The Prophet also told women of the community to count on their fingers, "for they will be questioned and asked to speak" on the Day of Judgment (Sunan Abi Dawud 1501, graded hasan).

Scholars differ on prayer beads:

• Permissible (majority view). Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Suyuti and many later scholars held that counting with pebbles, date stones or beads is allowed. Al-Suyuti wrote a short treatise defending the practice, and bodies such as Egypt's Dar al-Ifta consider it permissible.
• Permissible, but fingers are better. Scholars such as Ibn Uthaymin said beads are neither forbidden nor an innovation, but counting on the fingers is preferable because it follows the Prophet's practice.
• Discouraged. The twentieth-century hadith scholar al-Albani regarded the bead string as a later innovation and recommended fingers only.

In practice, most Muslims use whichever helps them stay consistent, and many use both.

Does dhikr help with anxiety and stress?

The Quran presents remembrance as a source of calm, and many Muslims describe dhikr that way. Science has not studied dhikr itself in large, high-quality trials, so it is best not to overstate claims.

There is related research on meditation and mindfulness, which share some features with dhikr, such as repetition and focused attention. A major 2014 review in JAMA Internal Medicine, led by Madhav Goyal at Johns Hopkins, pooled 47 trials with 3,515 participants. It found moderate evidence that mindfulness meditation programs improved anxiety, depression and pain, with modest effects, and no evidence they were better than other active treatments (PubMed).

Dhikr is not the same as secular mindfulness. Its focus is God, not the breath, and its purpose is worship, not stress relief. But the research suggests why a practice of calm, repeated, attentive words can feel steadying. For specific Quranic verses and prophetic duas for hard moments, see our guide to dua for anxiety and stress.

How to start a dhikr habit

1. Attach it to prayer. Begin with the 33-33-33 after just one prayer a day.
2. Learn the meaning of each phrase so your heart follows your tongue.
3. Use idle moments: waiting rooms, traffic, walks.
4. Add the morning and evening adhkar once the first habit holds.
5. Reflect on the Names of Allah, such as al-Wadud, the Most Loving, which turns repetition into knowing Him better.

Read the verses on remembrance on Quran Universe

Read Quran 13:28 in its context in Surah ar-Ra'd, and the call to "much remembrance" at Quran 33:41. On Quran Universe each verse comes with the Arabic text, word-by-word meaning, translation and Tafsir Ibn Kathir, which helps you understand the words you repeat in dhikr.

Frequently asked questions

What is the meaning of dhikr?

Dhikr means remembrance. In Islam it refers to remembering God through words, such as SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar, through reciting the Quran and making dua, and through awareness of Him in the heart. The Quran commands believers to "remember Allah with much remembrance" (33:41).

What is the best dhikr in Islam?

The Prophet said the best remembrance is La ilaha illallah, meaning "there is none worthy of worship except Allah," in a hadith in Jami at-Tirmidhi 3383, graded hasan. In Sahih Muslim 2137 he also named four phrases as dearest to God: SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, La ilaha illallah and Allahu Akbar.

What are the morning and evening adhkar?

They are remembrances said after dawn and in the late afternoon or evening. Core items include reciting al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas three times (Abu Dawud 5082), the protection phrase "In the name of Allah, with whose name nothing can cause harm" three times (Abu Dawud 5088), and the Sayyid al-Istighfar (Sahih al-Bukhari 6306).

Is using a tasbih (prayer beads) allowed?

Most scholars, including Ibn Taymiyyah and al-Suyuti, consider using prayer beads permissible. Many add that counting on the fingers is better, because the Prophet counted dhikr on his hand (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3486). A minority view, held by al-Albani, discourages beads as a later innovation. Either way, the words and the heart matter more than the counting method.

Can you do dhikr without wudu?

Yes. Scholars agree that verbal dhikr, such as SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah and La ilaha illallah, can be said without ritual ablution, and even while lying down. The Quran praises those who remember God "standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides" (3:191). Ablution is required for formal prayer, and most scholars require it for touching a printed Quran.