Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

 

1- Tasbeeh and istighfar entail tremendous benefits. Together they bring us closer to Allah and bring peace, healing, freedom from worry and grief.

 

We read in the Qur’an that the Prophet Yunus turned to Allah supplicating as follows:

 

“There is no god but You; glory be to You; verily I am one of those who have wronged their souls.  No sooner he did so, the whale that had swallowed him spit him out and he was saved.”

 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) also said, “Whoever clings to istighfar, Allah will appoint for him release from all difficulties and provide for him in ways he would never imagine.”

 

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim lists a hundred benefits for dhikr including the divine help and ease of difficulties and salvation.

 

Therefore, it behooves us to resort to dhikr as it is a true panacea.

 

As for the number, it is comparable to dosages of medicine that a physician prescribes for treatments. The Prophet is a spiritual physician and he is inspired by Allah to prescribe specific doses of spiritual immunizations for various spiritual ailments.

 

We are also told that Allah is One and He loves odd numbers.

 

Allah Almighty knows best.