Abu Huraira said that God’s messenger would say in the morning, "O God, by, Thee we come to the morning, by Thee we come to the evening, by Thee we live, by Thee we die, and to Thee do we come." In the evening he said, “O God, by Thee we come to the evening, by Thee we come to the morning, by Thee we live, by Thee we die, and to Thee are we resurrected.”
Abu Huraira said that when Fatima went to the Prophet and asked him for a servant, he said, “Let me guide you to something which is better than a servant. You should say ‘Glory be to God thirty-three times, ‘Praise be to God" thirty-three times, and ‘God is most great’ thirty-four times at each time of prayer and when you go to bed.”
He told how Abu Bakr said he had asked God’s messenger to command him something to say in the morning and the evening, and he had told him to say, “O God, who knowest the unseen and the seen, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Lord and Possessor of everything, I testify that there is no god but Thee; I seek refuge in Thee from the evil within myself, from the evil of the devil and his .”* He instructed him to say it morning and evening, and when he went to bed.
*The Arabic word may be read either as shirk (attributing a partner to God), or as sharah
(snare). The former is preferred. Cf. Mirqat, ili, 99.
Narrated ‘Ali said that Fatima went to the Prophet to complain of the effect of the grinding-stone on her hand, as she had heard that he had acquired some slaves, but did not find him, so she mentioned the matter to ‘A'isha. When he came ‘A'isha informed him. ‘Ali said:
He visited us when we had gone to bed, and when we were about to get up he told us to stay where we were. He then came and sat down between her and me, and I felt the coldness of his foot on my belly. He then said, “Let me guide you to something better than what you have asked. When you go to bed, say ‘Glory be to God’ thirty-three times, ‘Praise be to God’ thirty-three times, and ‘God is most great’ thirty-four times. That will be better for you than a servant.”
