Mentioning Allah is a great rank from which those who know Allah seek their provision in their journey towards the hereafter … it is the profitable merchandise with which they trade … it is the means they use to become one of the devout worshippers of Allah, and the one deprived of which is truly the unfortunate … it is the life of their hearts without which their body turns into a grave … it is the means through which they flourish … it is their weapon with which they fight … it is their water with which they cool they heat of the road in their journey … it is the cure with which they treat diseases, which if ever departed them their hearts would be ruined … it is the bond connecting them with their Lord.

Imaam Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: “Look for the sweetness of faith in three things: prayer, the mention Allah and the recitation of the Quran. If you do not find such sweetness, then know that the gate towards Allah is sealed” [End of quote].

Mentioning Allah has many benefits which the slave will reap, both in this world as well as the Hereafter. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim recorded more than seventy benefits of mentioning Allah in a famous work of his. The following is a summary of what he stated in this regard.

1. It expels, dismisses and humiliates Satan. It pleases Allah, glorified be He. It removes the worries and anxieties of the heart.
2. It engulfs the heart with happiness and joy; it strengthens both heart and body; it illuminates the face and heart; it is a means for obtaining provision.
3. It garnishes the one who practices it with nobility, delightfulness and radiance; it leads the person to be loved by Allah, which is the very essence of Islam and the cornerstone of happiness and salvation. One who strives to attain the love of Allah must be zealous in his mentioning of Allah.
4. It causes the person to be conscious of Allah, to the point where he would reach the state of Ihsaan (i.e., perfection of faith), and once this is attained, he will worship Allah as if he sees Him. It also brings the slave nearer to His Lord. The more one mentions Allah, the closer he will be to Him, and the more heedless he is in mentioning Allah, the further from Him he will be.
5. It makes Allah mention His slave, as Allah Says (what means): “So mention Me; I will mention you…” [Al-Baqarah: 152] Despite its greatness, if the mentioning of Allah had no other benefits than this, it would have been virtue and honour enough. Allah Said in the Qudsi Hadeeth: “And if he (i.e., Mmy servant) mentions Me within himself, I shall mention him to Myself, and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I will mention him in a better assembly.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
6. It revives the heart. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “I heard Imaam Ibn Taymiyyah saying: `The similitude of the importance of the mentioning of Allah to the heart is like that of water for fish. How would a fish be if it left water?`” [End of quote]
7. It clears the heart from the rust that accumulates on it. Everything becomes rusty, and the rust of the heart is when one becomes heedless and follows his desires, and the only cure is by mentioning Allah, repenting and returning to Him.
8. Righteous deeds eradicate sins, and mentioning Allah is one of the greatest righteous deeds; Allah Says (what means): “…Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds…” [Hood: 114]. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “He who utters: `Subhaanallaahi wa bihamdihi (Allah is free from imperfection and His is the praise)' one hundred times a day, his sins will be obliterated even if they are equal to the extent of the foam of the ocean.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
9. It results in the descent of mercy and tranquillity, and the company of the angels. The Messenger said: “It is never that a group of people assemble in one of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah, learning it and teaching it, except that there will descend upon them tranquillity, and mercy will cover them, and the angels will flock around them, and Allah will mention them in the presence of those nearest to Him.” [Muslim]
10. It busies the tongue away from backbiting, tale-bearing, lying and foul speech. Thus, the only way to protect oneself from this is by using the tongue to mention Allah. He whose tongue is not busied with the mention of Allah will certainly be busied with all types of falsehood and evil.
11. The mentioning of Allah plants the trees of Paradise. Jaabir, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “He who says: `Subhaanallaah Al-‘Atheem Wa Bihamdih' (i.e., Glory be to Allah, and to Him belongs all praise) will have a palm-tree planted for him in Paradise.” [At-Tirmithi]
12. The reward granted for it and its virtue exceeds all other deeds. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “If one utters a hundred times a day these words: `Laa Ilaaha Illallaahu Wahdahu Laa Shareeka Lahu Lahul-Mulk Wa Lahul-Hamd Wa Huwa ‘Alaa kulli Shay’in Qadeer` (i.e., There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, the One, having no partner with Him, His is the Kingdom and His is the praise and He is Omnipotent) he will have a reward equivalent to that of freeing ten slaves and there will be recorded a hundred virtues to his credit, and a hundred of his sins will be erased from his record of deeds, and he will be safeguarded against the devil for that day until the evening, and no one will surpass him in doing more excellent deeds except one who has recited these words more often than him.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]