Makkah LiveThe virtue of dhikr
Dhikr — the remembrance of Allah — is among the lightest of deeds on the tongue and the heaviest on the scale. The Prophet ﷺ said:
كَلِمَتَانِ خَفِيفَتَانِ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ، ثَقِيلَتَانِ فِي الْمِيزَانِ، حَبِيبَتَانِ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ
“Two phrases that are light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and beloved to the Most Merciful: SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, SubhanAllahi al-‘Azim.”
And he ﷺ said: “Whoever says SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi one hundred times a day, his sins are wiped away even if they are like the foam of the sea” (Sahih al-Bukhari 6405).
The tasbih after prayer
The best-known counted dhikr is the tasbih after the five obligatory prayers. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever glorifies Allah (SubhanAllah) thirty-three times, praises Allah (Alhamdulillah) thirty-three times, and magnifies Allah (Allahu Akbar) thirty-three times after every prayer — that is ninety-nine — and completes the hundred with:
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“There is no god but Allah alone, without partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He has power over all things.”
— his sins are forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea (Sahih Muslim 597).
The Prophet ﷺ also taught this tasbih to his daughter Fatimah and to ʻAli (may Allah be pleased with them) as words before sleep: thirty-three, thirty-three, and thirty-four — telling them it was better for them than a servant (Sahih al-Bukhari 3705).
Counting on the fingers
Counting dhikr on the fingers is itself Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ instructed: “Count on your fingertips, for they will be questioned and made to speak” (Abu Dawud 1345, At-Tirmidhi 3583). Aids such as the misbaha (prayer beads) or a counter like this one are used by many as a practical way to keep track — particularly for the larger daily counts — while the fingers remain the preferred method when practical.
Frequently asked questions
What is tasbih?
Tasbih is the glorification of Allah — saying SubhanAllah ("Glory be to Allah") — and by extension the general remembrance (dhikr) recited in counted cycles, most commonly 33 or 100 times. The word also names the string of beads (misbaha) traditionally used for counting.
What do I recite after each prayer?
The well-known Sunnah after the obligatory prayers is SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times, and Allahu Akbar 33 times, completing one hundred with: La ilaha illa Allahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir. The Prophet ﷺ said whoever does this, his sins are forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea (Sahih Muslim 597).
Is it permissible to use a digital tasbih counter?
Counting dhikr on the fingers is the Sunnah — the Prophet ﷺ instructed the believing women to count on their fingertips, "for they will be questioned and made to speak" (Abu Dawud 1345, At-Tirmidhi 3583). Scholars permit counting aids such as beads or a counter as a means of keeping track, especially for larger numbers; the fingers remain preferable when practical.
Does this counter save my progress?
Yes. Your count for each dhikr is stored locally in your browser, so you can close the page and continue later on the same device. Nothing is sent to any server, and clearing your browser data clears the counts.
Why are the targets 33, 99, and 100?
They reflect the counts in the authentic Sunnah: 33 for each phrase of the post-prayer tasbih, 99 for the three phrases combined, and 100 for completing the hundred or for adhkar prescribed one hundred times a day, such as SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi.
Does the counter work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded, counting works entirely on your device — no connection is needed, and the vibration feedback (on phones that support it) works offline too.
Related links
- Quran recitations — listen and read along
- Prayer times — daily schedule for cities across Saudi Arabia
- Qibla finder — the direction of the Kaaba from your location
- Makkah Live — Al-Masjid Al-Haram — live HD stream of the Holy Mosque