Subhana rabbiyal a'la, the tasbih of sujood

Subhana rabbiyal a'la means "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High". It is the tasbih you say in every sujood of the prayer, at least three times in the Hanafi school. It comes from the prayer of the Prophet ﷺ, and it echoes the verse Sabbihisma rabbikal-a'la, "Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High" (87:1).

Dua 1: In every sujood3 times or more

سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى

Subḥāna rabbiyal-aʿlā

Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.

Sahih Muslim 772

Dua 2: The verse behind it

سَبِّحِ ٱسْمَ رَبِّكَ ٱلْأَعْلَى

Sabbiḥisma rabbikal-aʿlā

Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High.

Quran 87:1, translation by Sahih International

Dua 3: Also said in ruku and sujood

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا وَبِحَمْدِكَ، اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي

Subḥānaka Allāhumma rabbanā wa bi-ḥamdik, Allāhummagh-fir lī

Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise be to You. O Allah, forgive me.

Sahih al-Bukhari 817

Dua 4: A sujood dua of the night prayer

اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ سَجَدْتُ، وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ، وَلَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ، سَجَدَ وَجْهِي لِلَّذِي خَلَقَهُ وَصَوَّرَهُ، وَشَقَّ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ، تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

Allāhumma laka sajadt, wa bika āmant, wa laka aslamt, sajada wajhī lilladhī khalaqahū wa ṣawwarah, wa shaqqa samʿahū wa baṣarah, tabārakallāhu aḥsanul-khāliqīn

O Allah, to You I have prostrated, in You I believe and to You I submit. My face has prostrated to the One who created it and shaped it, and opened its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators.

Sahih Muslim 771

Dua 5: What Aishah heard him say in sujood

اللَّهُمَّ أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ، وَبِمُعَافَاتِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ، لَا أُحْصِي ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ، أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ

Allāhumma aʿūdhu bi-riḍāka min sakhaṭik, wa bi-muʿāfātika min ʿuqūbatik, wa aʿūdhu bika mink, lā uḥṣī thanāʾan ʿalayk, anta kamā athnayta ʿalā nafsik

O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your anger, in Your pardon from Your punishment, and in You from You. I cannot count Your praises: You are as You have praised Yourself.

Sahih Muslim 486

Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.

Guide

When and how to say it

Why a'la in sujood

Hudhayfah prayed behind the Prophet ﷺ at night and heard him say Subhana rabbiyal azeem in ruku and Subhana rabbiyal a'la in sujood.¹ Uqbah ibn Amir reported that when "Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High" (87:1) was revealed, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Put it in your sujood." Al-Albani graded that report weak and others accepted its chain, but the practice itself is established by Muslim.² The meaning fits the posture: with your forehead on the ground, the lowest a person can be, you declare that your Lord is the Most High.

How many times?

Three times is the sunnah minimum in the Hanafi school. Five, seven or more, in odd numbers, are better when you pray alone, and an imam should not lengthen it so much that it burdens those behind him.

Hanafi position

Saying Subhana rabbiyal a'la in sujood is sunnah, at least three times. The prayer is valid without it, but leaving it on purpose is disliked. In fard prayers keep to the tasbih; the longer sujood duas are best in nafl prayers such as tahajjud, in Arabic.

Other madhhabs

Hanbali: Saying it once is wajib. Leaving it on purpose breaks the prayer, and forgetting it calls for sajdah sahw.
Shafi'i, Maliki: It is sunnah, and duas in Arabic are welcome in the sujood of any prayer, fard or nafl.

Make dua in sujood

The Prophet ﷺ said: "As for ruku, glorify your Lord in it. As for sujood, strive in dua in it, for it is likely to be answered." He also said a servant is closest to his Lord while in sujood.³ After the tasbih, Duas 3 to 5 are among the words he used there.

Saying it correctly

A'la has the letter ʿayn in the middle and a long ā at the end: al-aʿlā. Spellings you will see are subhana rabbiyal ala, a'la, aala and subhana rabbi al a'la. They are all the same words. Join rabbiya to al-a'la with a short a: rabbiyal-a'la. For ruku, see Subhana rabbiyal azeem.

Sahih Muslim 772.
Sunan Abi Dawud 869, graded weak by al-Albani; others graded its chain sound.
Sahih Muslim 479, 482.
Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, on the sunnahs of salah. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
Sahih Muslim 772
Quran 87:1, translation by Sahih International
Sahih al-Bukhari 817
Sahih Muslim 771
Sahih Muslim 486

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know

What does Subhana rabbiyal a'la mean?

Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. It is said in sujood, while Subhana rabbiyal azeem (the Magnificent) is said in ruku.

How many times do you say Subhana rabbiyal a'la?

At least three times in the Hanafi school, and more in odd numbers when you pray alone. The Hanbali school requires it at least once.

Is it a'la or ala?

The Arabic is al-a'la (ٱلْأَعْلَى), with an ayn and a long a at the end. Ala is a common English spelling of the same word.

What if I forget to say it in sujood?

In the Hanafi school the prayer is still valid and no sajdah sahw is needed, since it is sunnah. In the Hanbali school, forgetting it calls for sajdah sahw.

Can I make dua in sujood?

Yes. The Prophet ﷺ told us to strive in dua in sujood (Muslim 479). Hanafi scholars say to keep it in Arabic and, in fard prayers, to keep to the tasbih.