What Does SubhanAllah Mean?
سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّهِ
sub-HAA-nal-laah
SubhanAllah (سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّهِ) means "glory be to Allah": it declares that Allah is perfect and far above any flaw or anything unworthy of Him. Muslims say it when they are amazed by something beautiful, when they hear something that does not befit Allah, and as part of daily remembrance.
What the word means
Subhan comes from the root s-b-h, which carries the idea of moving far away, as a swimmer moves through water. Saying subhan Allah means declaring that Allah is far removed from every imperfection, weakness or false description. The act of saying it is called tasbih.
English translations use phrases like glory be to Allah, exalted is Allah or how perfect is Allah. None of them is a perfect match, but they all point to the same idea of declaring Allah's perfection.
Where it appears in the Quran
Forms of this word appear often in the Quran. Surah Al-Isra opens with it at 17:1, glorifying the One who took His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque. Several surahs, such as Al-Hadid (57:1) and Al-Hashr (59:1), open by saying that everything in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and 17:44 adds that there is nothing that does not glorify Him, even if people do not understand how.
The prayer of Jonah (Yunus) from inside the darkness in 21:87 includes it: he declares there is no god but Allah, glorifies Him, and admits his own wrong. In 37:180, near the end of Surah As-Saffat, Allah is glorified above what people falsely describe. In 33:41-42 believers are told to remember Allah often and glorify Him morning and evening.
When Muslims say it
People often say SubhanAllah when they see something that amazes them, such as a sunset, a newborn child or a striking coincidence, as a way of directing the wonder to Allah. It is also said when someone hears a statement that is wrong or unfitting, especially about Allah.
In prayer, Muslims say Subhana Rabbiyal-Azim, glory be to my Lord the Most Great, while bowing, and Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la, glory be to my Lord the Most High, while prostrating. In congregational prayer, a man says SubhanAllah to alert the imam to a mistake.
In daily remembrance
A hadith in Sahih Muslim describes saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar thirty-three times each after the obligatory prayers. Another hadith, at the very end of Sahih al-Bukhari, describes SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, SubhanAllahil-Azim as two phrases light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and beloved to the Most Merciful.
Verses mentioned here
سُبۡحَٰنَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أَسۡرَىٰ بِعَبۡدِهِۦ لَيۡلٗا مِّنَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡأَقۡصَا ٱلَّذِي بَٰرَكۡنَا حَوۡلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنۡ ءَايَٰتِنَآۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡبَصِيرُ ﴿١﴾
Glory to Him who journeyed His servant by night, from the Sacred Mosque, to the Farthest Mosque, whose precincts We have blessed, in order to show him of Our wonders. He is the Listener, the Beholder.
تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبۡعُ وَٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّۚ وَإِن مِّن شَيۡءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفۡقَهُونَ تَسۡبِيحَهُمۡۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورٗا ﴿٤٤﴾
Praising Him are the seven heavens, and the earth, and everyone in them. There is not a thing that does not glorify Him with praise, but you do not understand their praises. He is indeed Forbearing and Forgiving.
وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَٰضِبٗا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقۡدِرَ عَلَيۡهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِي ٱلظُّلُمَٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبۡحَٰنَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ ﴿٨٧﴾
And Jonah, when he stormed out in fury, thinking We had no power over him. But then he cried out in the darkness, “There is no god but You! Glory to You! I was one of the wrongdoers!”
وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكۡرَةٗ وَأَصِيلًا ﴿٤٢﴾
And glorify Him morning and evening.
Questions
How do you spell SubhanAllah?
Common spellings include SubhanAllah, Subhanallah and Subhan Allah. In Arabic it is سبحان الله.
What is the difference between SubhanAllah and MashaAllah?
SubhanAllah declares Allah's perfection and is often said in amazement. MashaAllah acknowledges that something good happened because Allah willed it, and is often said when admiring a blessing.
What does SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi mean?
Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him. A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari describes it as light on the tongue and heavy on the scale.