Dua al-Istiftah

✦

Between the first Allahu akbar of the prayer and the first word of Al-Fatiha, the Prophet ﷺ spoke to his Lord. Dua al-Istiftah is that speech, the supplication of opening. The form called the Thana, Arabic for praise, is five short phrases, and the Quran already holds every one of them. The people of Paradise say the first. The angels say the second. Allah says the third about His own name. The jinn say the fourth. The prophets say the fifth. Before you recite a single verse, you speak with all of them.

The Words · Arabic, Transliteration, Translation

The Thana · Sunan Abi Dawud 775

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ

Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaraka ismuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruka

Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god other than You.

Another Opening · Sahih al-Bukhari 744

اللَّهُمَّ بَاعِدْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ خَطَايَاىَ كَمَا بَاعَدْتَ بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ، اللَّهُمَّ نَقِّنِي مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ، اللَّهُمَّ اغْسِلْ خَطَايَاىَ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ

Allahumma ba'id bayni wa bayna khatayaya kama ba'adta bayna al-mashriqi wal-maghrib. Allahumma naqqini min al-khataya kama yunaqqa ath-thawbu al-abyadu min ad-danas. Allahumma ghsil khatayaya bil-ma'i wath-thalji wal-barad

O Allah, set me apart from my sins as You have set apart the East and the West. O Allah, cleanse me of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, wash my sins away with water, snow and hail.

The Tafsir · The Breakdown

What The Thana Means

Overview

Istiftah means opening. It comes from the root fa, ta, ha, to open, the same root as Al-Fatiha, the Opening. Dua al-Istiftah is said after the takbirat al-ihram, the Allahu akbar that begins the prayer, and before the Ta'awwudh and Al-Fatiha.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported that when the Prophet ﷺ stood to pray at night, he said Allahu akbar and then the Thana (Sunan Abi Dawud 775). 'A'ishah reported that he said it when he began the prayer (Sunan Abi Dawud 776). Al-Albani graded both reports sahih, authentic. Abu Dawud noted that only one narrator, Talq ibn Ghannam, carried 'A'ishah's report from his teacher. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab used to say these words aloud (Sahih Muslim 399c).

The Prophet ﷺ also opened with a second supplication. Abu Hurayrah asked him what he said in his silence between the takbir and the recitation, and he answered with the request to be set apart from his sins as the East is set apart from the West (Sahih al-Bukhari 744).

Every phrase of the Thana ends on ka, You. Subhanaka, bihamdika, ismuka, jadduka, ghayruka. The whole supplication is spoken to Allah directly.

Subhanaka Allahumma · Glory Be to You, O Allah

The words of the people of Paradise.

Subhan comes from the root sin, ba, ha. The Quranic Arabic Corpus counts the root ninety-two times in the Quran, forty-one of them as subhan, glory be. The same root describes the sun and the moon: each one swims in an orbit, kullun fi falakin yasbahun (Al-Anbiya 21:33, Ya-Sin 36:40).

The Quran shows what the word does. Subhanahu wa ta'ala 'amma yasifun: exalted is He and high above what they describe (Al-An'am 6:100). Subhanaka sets Allah above every description that falls short of Him.

Allahumma is the address, O Allah. The Quranic Arabic Corpus finds it five times in the Quran. One of the five is the call of the people of Paradise: their call therein will be, subhanaka Allahumma, and their greeting therein will be, peace (Yunus 10:10).

The first words of the Thana are spoken in the Gardens. You say them standing on the earth, at the start of the prayer.

Wa Bihamdika · And With Your Praise

The words of the angels.

Hamd is praise. Wa bihamdika, and with Your praise, joins the praise to the glory in one breath.

When Allah told the angels He would place a successor on the earth, they answered: we glorify You with Your praise and sanctify You, nusabbihu bihamdika wa nuqaddisu lak (Al-Baqarah 2:30). Two verses later, when they had no answer to give, they opened with the same word: subhanaka, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us (Al-Baqarah 2:32).

The Prophet ﷺ received the same pairing as a command: fa sabbih bihamdi Rabbik, so glorify with the praise of your Lord (Al-Hijr 15:98, An-Nasr 110:3).

Wa Tabaraka Ismuka · Blessed Is Your Name

Allah's own words, turned into address.

Tabaraka comes from the root ba, ra, kaf, the root of barakah, blessing. The Quranic Arabic Corpus counts tabaraka nine times in the Quran. It opens Al-Furqan and Al-Mulk: tabaraka alladhi biyadihi al-mulk, blessed is He in whose hand is dominion (Al-Mulk 67:1).

Ar-Rahman closes with this phrase: tabaraka ismu Rabbika dhi al-jalali wal-ikram, blessed is the name of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor (Ar-Rahman 55:78). Allah says it about His own name. In the prayer the servant says it back to Him: tabaraka ismuka, blessed is Your name.

Wa Ta'ala Jadduka · Exalted Is Your Majesty

The words of the jinn.

Ta'ala means exalted, high above. Jadd is majesty. The Quranic Arabic Corpus finds the word jadd once in the whole Quran, and the ones who say it are jinn.

A group of jinn listened to the Quran and said: we have heard an amazing recitation, it guides to the right course, and we have believed in it (Al-Jinn 72:1 to 2). Then: and exalted is the majesty of our Lord, ta'ala jaddu Rabbina; He has not taken a wife or a son (Al-Jinn 72:3).

Ibn Kathir records what the early scholars said jadd means in that verse. Mujahid and 'Ikrimah: the magnificence of our Lord. Qatadah: His magnificence, His greatness and His command. Ibn 'Abbas: His actions, His command and His power.

The jinn learned this sentence by listening to the Quran. You say it right before you recite the Quran.

Wa La Ilaha Ghayruka · There Is No God Other Than You

The words of the prophets.

Ilah is a god, one who is worshipped. Ghayr means other than. La ilaha ghayruka, there is no god other than You.

In Al-A'raf, Nuh, Hud, Salih and Shu'ayb, ʿalayhim as-salām, peace be upon them, each open their call to their people with the same sentence: O my people, worship Allah, you have no god other than Him, ma lakum min ilahin ghayruh (Al-A'raf 7:59, 65, 73 and 85).

The prophets said it about Allah to their people. In the prayer you say it to Allah Himself: ghayruka, other than You. The Thana ends where the prophets began.

Structural Summary

Five Phrases. Five Witnesses. One Lord.

Subhanaka Allahumma.

The people of Paradise.

Yunus 10:10

Wa bihamdika.

The angels.

Al-Baqarah 2:30

Wa tabaraka ismuka.

Allah's own words.

Ar-Rahman 55:78

Wa ta'ala jadduka.

The jinn.

Al-Jinn 72:3

Wa la ilaha ghayruka.

The prophets.

Al-A'raf 7:59

The Practice · Daily Integration

Praise First. Then Recite.

Abu Sa'id's report gives the order the Prophet ﷺ followed in his night prayer: Allahu akbar, the Thana, la ilaha illallah three times, Allahu akbar three times, then the Ta'awwudh, then the recitation (Sunan Abi Dawud 775).

This week, learn the Thana one phrase a day. Say the Arabic, then the meaning, then who in the Quran says it: the people of Paradise, the angels, Allah Himself, the jinn, the prophets. On the sixth day, say the whole Thana slowly at the start of every prayer.

Notice where your mind is when you reach ghayruka. If it is still on your phone, say the next one slower.

Before you ask Him for anything, you tell Him who He is.

آمِين

Prepared with discipline · Ameen

Verse-By-Verse · Test Yourself

The Quiz

Two questions per verse. Translation and a key Arabic word. Walk through it slow. The goal is comprehension, not speed.

Subhanaka Allahumma1 / 10

The Phrase

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ

Subhanaka Allahumma

Who in the Quran call out subhanaka Allahumma (Yunus 10:10)?