Better Than a Servant

Fatimah's hands were worn from turning the hand-mill. When some captives were brought to Madinah, she went to her father to ask for a servant to help her. She did not find him at home, so she told 'A'ishah why she had come.

That night, after she and 'Ali had gone to bed, the Prophet ﷺ came to them. They moved to get up, and he told them to stay as they were and sat between them, so close that 'Ali felt the coolness of his feet. Then he said: shall I not tell you of something better than what you asked for? When you lie down to sleep, say Allahu akbar thirty-four times, subhan Allah thirty-three times and al-hamdu lillah thirty-three times — that is better for you than a servant (Sahih al-Bukhari 3113).

'Ali later said he never left these words afterwards — not even on the night of the battle of Siffin.