Short answer
No. In Islam, no words save anyone by their own power. Only God (﷾) saves, and He hears those who call on Him. Four famous chants make great promises. Nichiren taught chanting the title of the Lotus Sutra. Pure Land Buddhists say Amitabha's name. Many Tibetan Buddhists repeat Om mani padme hum. Krishna devotees chant the Hare Krishna mantra. So the key question is this: who hears the chant, and who answers? Muslims repeat words too, in dhikr (remembrance of God (﷾)). But dhikr is worship of the living God (﷾), who says, "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)" (40:60). Its words have plain meanings. And no formula works by itself, because forgiveness is His alone to give.
Full explanation
The two questions to ask of any chant
To chant is to repeat sacred words, aloud or under the breath. Many faiths do it. This page asks something narrower: can it save you? Saving here means rescue from sin, or from the round of rebirth. A chant can do that in only two ways. Either the words hold the power, or someone hears them and acts. So two questions test any chant: who hears it, and who answers? This page puts them to four famous chants, each as its own tradition states it. Then it puts them to the words Muslims repeat. Muslims face the same two questions, so the test is even.
“And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"”
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
Nichiren: the title of the Lotus Sutra
Buddhism has two great branches. Theravada follows the Pali texts. Mahayana, found mostly in East Asia and Tibet, adds further sutras (scriptures). The three Buddhist chants below are all Mahayana. Nichiren was a Japanese monk of the 13th century. He taught people to chant Namu Myoho-renge-kyo. The scholar Masaharu Anesaki renders it "Adoration be to the Scripture of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth". Anesaki says Nichiren made this one act the heart of religion. For Nichiren the title was no mere name. Said with full belief and faith in the Buddha, it embodied the whole truth of the sutra. The Lotus Sutra itself says that even a preacher who keeps only its name deserves protection. So who hears? Anesaki gives two sides: adoration of the truth embodied in the Buddha, and the realising of the Buddha-nature in ourselves. That is the power to awaken which this teaching finds in everyone. So the chant is aimed at a truth, and at the chanter's own deepest nature. The teaching names no Creator who hears and forgives. That matters because a truth cannot forgive anyone.
“This formula is, according to Nichiren, neither merely the title of the book, nor a mere symbol, but an adequate embodiment of the whole truth revealed in that unique book, when the formula is uttered with a full belief in the truths therein revealed, and with a sincere faith in Buddha as the lord of the world.”
“These two sides are united in the act of religious worship, which is, on the one hand, adoration of the universal Truth embodied in the person of Buddha, and, on the other, the realization, in thought and life, of the Buddha-nature in ourselves.”
“Very well, sisters, very well; you do well in affording guard, defence, and protection to those preachers, even to such who shall keep no more than the name of this Dharmaparyaya”
Pure Land: the name of Amitabha
Pure Land Buddhism teaches that a Buddha named Amitabha has a land of bliss called Sukhavati. He is also called Amitayus, and Amida in Japan. In Japan the chant is Namu Amida Butsu, homage to Amida Buddha. The Smaller Sukhavati sutra makes a promise to whoever keeps his name in mind for up to seven nights. That person will see him at death and be born in his land. The Amitayur-dhyana sutra goes further. A dying man guilty of the gravest wrongs says the name ten times. With each repetition, it says, the sins of eighty million ages are wiped out. Shinran was a Japanese Pure Land teacher of the 13th century. He taught that saying the name is not even the speaker's own good act, because all the power is Amitabha's. So in Pure Land someone is said to hear and answer, and the power lies in a vow, not a sound. That makes everything rest on one claim: that Amitabha is there and can hear. The page on praying to the Buddha weighs that claim.
“whatever son or daughter of a family shall hear the name of the blessed Amitayus, the Tathagata, and having heard it, shall keep it in mind, and with thoughts undisturbed shall keep it in mind for one, two, three, four, five, six or seven nights, — when that son or daughter of a family comes to die, then that Amitayus, the Tathagata, surrounded by an assembly of disciples and followed by a host of Bodhisattvas, will stand before them at their hour of death, and they will depart this life with tranquil minds. After their death they will be born in the world Sukhavati, in the Buddha country of the same Amitayus, the Tathagata.”
“On the strength of (his merit of) uttering Buddha's name he will, during every repetition, expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths during eighty millions of kalpas.”
“O Bhagavat, if those beings who in immeasurable and innumerable Buddha countries, after they have heard my name, when I shall have obtained Bodhi, should direct their thought to be born in that Buddha country of mine, and should for that purpose bring their stock of merit to maturity, if these should not be born in that Buddha country, even those who have only ten times repeated the thought (of that Buddha country), barring always those beings who have committed the (five) Anantarya sins, and who have caused an obstruction and abuse of the good Law, then may I not obtain the highest perfect knowledge.”
Records the teaching of Shinran, a Japanese Pure Land teacher, that saying the nembutsu (the name of Amida) is neither a religious practice nor a good act on the part of the one who says it. It is not his own doing, because it comes wholly from Amida's power (other-power), with nothing of his own power in it.
Om mani padme hum: six syllables
This is the best-known mantra (sacred formula) of Tibetan Buddhism. Its source is a Mahayana sutra, the Karandavyuha, which ties it to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara (a being vowed to save others). The sutra calls the benefits of the six syllables beyond reckoning, even from one syllable. Yet it does not explain them. Their meaning has been understood in various ways. The popular reading is "the jewel in the lotus". Peter Alan Roberts, who translated the sutra, reads a call to Avalokitesvara by the name Manipadma, Jewel Lotus. So the mantra's promised power does not rest on a meaning its source states. Who hears it? If the words are a call, Avalokitesvara does. The Lotus Sutra says he frees those who call on him from fire and flood. Some Mahayana readers take him as a symbol of compassion in the mind. On that reading, no one outside the chanter hears at all.
This Mahayana sutra is the source of the mantra Om manipadme hum. It introduces the six syllables and describes their benefits as beyond reckoning, even from one syllable, for those who keep, repeat and wear them. It links them to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The sutra gives no explanation of the syllables or of their overall meaning.
Says the mantra's meaning has been understood in various ways. The common reading, the jewel in the lotus, takes padme as a locative. Mantras usually address someone, so he reads a vocative: Manipadma, Jewel Lotus, a name for Avalokitesvara. He refers readers to Donald Lopez's account of how the mantra has been read in the West.
“All the hundred thousands of myriads of kotis of creatures, young man of good family, who in this world are suffering troubles will, if they hear the name of the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokitesvara, be released from that mass of troubles. Those who shall keep the name of this Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokitesvara, young man of good family, will, if they fall into a great mass of fire, be delivered therefrom by virtue of the lustre of the Bodhisattva Mahasattva. In case, young man of good family, creatures, carried off by the current of rivers, should implore the Bodhisattva Mahasattva Avalokitesvara, all rivers will afford them a ford.”
Hare Krishna: the sixteen names
The maha-mantra (great mantra) is sixteen words: Hare, Krishna and Rama, repeated. A minor Upanishad, the Kalisantarana, gives it. There Brahma teaches the sage Narada how to cross Kali, the last of the four ages of the world. He says that all the Vedas show no better means. Asked what rules go with it, he says there are none, and that it may be said pure or impure. The text adds that thirty-five million repetitions cross even the sin of killing a Brahmin (a priest). The Vishnu Purana, a text of the smriti layer (tradition, below the Vedas), says the same of Kali. What earlier ages gained by meditation and sacrifice comes "by merely reciting the name". The Bhagavata Purana says the Lord's name removes all sin, even when said in jest or carelessly. Krishna devotees of the Bengal school follow Chaitanya, a teacher who lived around the year 1500. They hold that Krishna is the Supreme Lord, and that his name is not different from him. So here Krishna is the one who hears and answers. Everything therefore rests on who Krishna is, which the page on whether God became a man weighs.
“These sixteen names (words) are destructive of the evil effects of Kali. No better means than this is to be seen in all the Vedas.”
“To which Brahma replied that there were no rules for it. Whoever in a pure or an impure state, utters these always, attains the same world of, or proximity with, or the same form of, or absorption into Brahma.”
“Whoever utters three and a half kotis (or thirty-five millions) times this mantra composed of sixteen names (or words) crosses the sin of the murder of a Brahmana.”
“That reward which a man obtains in the Krita by abstract meditation, in the Treta by sacrifice, in the Dwápara by adoration, he receives in the Kali by merely reciting the name of Keśava.”
Says that taking the name of the Lord removes all sin, even when it is said by a hint, in jest, in a song or carelessly. The verse comes in the story of Ajamila, a sinner who at death called his son, whose name was Narayana, and was saved by the name.
Chaitanya was a Hindu ascetic of Bengal, who lived around the year 1500. He founded the Gaudiya Vaishnava school, which treats Krishna as the supreme God, and he stressed the chanting of Krishna's names.
Says that the name of Krishna is complete, pure and ever free, because the name and the one named are not different.
Faith, sound and number
Followers of these chants would reject the word magic. Nichiren asks for full belief. Shinran puts the power in Amitabha, not the voice. Krishna teachers list offences against the name, and sinning on the strength of it is one. So the sound alone is not the whole claim. Yet the texts themselves do tie the promise to the sound and the count. They speak of ten repetitions, each wiping out the sins of eighty million ages. They set a count of thirty-five million against the sin of killing. They say there are no rules, that "merely reciting" is enough, and that a name said in jest still works. Either way the same question returns. If the sound has power, what gave it that power? If faith is what counts, faith in whom, and does that one hear? A chant cannot answer those questions by being repeated.
“This formula is, according to Nichiren, neither merely the title of the book, nor a mere symbol, but an adequate embodiment of the whole truth revealed in that unique book, when the formula is uttered with a full belief in the truths therein revealed, and with a sincere faith in Buddha as the lord of the world.”
Records the teaching of Shinran, a Japanese Pure Land teacher, that saying the nembutsu (the name of Amida) is neither a religious practice nor a good act on the part of the one who says it. It is not his own doing, because it comes wholly from Amida's power (other-power), with nothing of his own power in it.
Krishna teachers of the Bengal school list ten offences against the name. One of them is to commit sin on the strength of the name.
“On the strength of (his merit of) uttering Buddha's name he will, during every repetition, expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths during eighty millions of kalpas.”
“Whoever utters three and a half kotis (or thirty-five millions) times this mantra composed of sixteen names (or words) crosses the sin of the murder of a Brahmana.”
“To which Brahma replied that there were no rules for it. Whoever in a pure or an impure state, utters these always, attains the same world of, or proximity with, or the same form of, or absorption into Brahma.”
“That reward which a man obtains in the Krita by abstract meditation, in the Treta by sacrifice, in the Dwápara by adoration, he receives in the Kali by merely reciting the name of Keśava.”
Says that taking the name of the Lord removes all sin, even when it is said by a hint, in jest, in a song or carelessly. The verse comes in the story of Ajamila, a sinner who at death called his son, whose name was Narayana, and was saved by the name.
If the sound has power
What gave it that power?
If faith is what counts
Faith in whom, and does that one hear?
A chant cannot answer those questions by being repeated.
What the Pali texts say about words
Theravada Buddhists follow the Pali texts, and these point the other way. A chief asks the Buddha about brahmins (priests) said to send the dead to heaven. The Buddha answers with a rock thrown in a lake. A crowd may beg it to float, but it sinks. In the same way, he says, the pleas of a crowd do not lift a wrongdoer to heaven. Elsewhere he says that heaven is not gained by asking or wishing, only by the way that leads there. The Dhammapada says that one who recites much and does not act is like a cowherd counting other people's cattle. It says one meaningful saying is better than a thousand meaningless ones. It says no one can purify another. So Buddhism gives two answers to this page's question. Some Mahayana sutras promise rescue through a name. These Pali texts say that pleas and recitation lift no one. A reader cannot settle that by chanting, because the chant is the thing in question.
“Chief, suppose a person were to throw a broad rock into a deep lake. And a large crowd were to come together to offer up supplication and entreaty, circumambulating it with cupped palms, and saying: 'Rise, good rock! Float, good rock! Float to shore, good rock!' What do you think, chief? Would that broad rock rise up or float because of their supplications?”
“A noble disciple who wants to go to heaven ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to heaven.”
“Much though they may recite scripture, if a negligent person does not apply them, then, like a cowherd who counts the cattle of others, they miss out on the blessings of the ascetic life.”
“Better than a thousand meaningless sayings is a single meaningful saying, hearing which brings you peace.”
“For it is by oneself that evil's done, one is corrupted by oneself. It's by oneself that evil's not done, one is purified by oneself. Purity and impurity are personal matters, no one can purify another.”
| Text | Branch | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller Sukhavati | Mahayana | Keep Amitabha's name in mind for up to seven nights, and he will meet you at death. |
| Amitayur-dhyana | Mahayana | Each repetition of the name wipes out the sins of eighty million ages. |
| Samyutta Nikaya 42.6 | Pali | A rock sinks however a crowd pleads. Pleas do not lift a wrongdoer to heaven. |
| Anguttara Nikaya 5.43 | Pali | Heaven is not gained by asking or wishing. |
| Dhammapada 19 | Pali | One who recites much and does not act is like a cowherd counting other people's cattle. |
Muslims repeat words too
They do, and the likeness is real. Dhikr means remembrance. Tasbih means glorifying God (﷾), above all by saying Subhan Allah (glory be to Allah (﷾)). The Qur'an tells believers to remember Allah (﷾) often. The Prophet (ﷺ) taught the poor among his companions to glorify, praise and magnify Allah (﷾) thirty-three times after each prayer. Some Muslims count them on their fingers, and some on a string of beads. So a fair reader will ask whether this is one more chant. Three things answer that: who it is said to, what the words mean, and where the power lies. The page on why Muslims remember God (﷾) so often says what dhikr is for.
“O ye who believe! Celebrate the praises of Allah, and do this often;”
Abu Hurayra reports that the poor emigrants came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said the wealthy had the highest ranks, because they gave charity and freed slaves and the poor could not. He taught them to glorify, praise and magnify Allah thirty-three times after every prayer. Later the poor emigrants came back and said their wealthy brothers had heard of it and did the same. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: this is the grace of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills.
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said there are two phrases that are light on the tongue, heavy in the balance and dear to the Most Merciful: Subhan Allah al-Azim (glory be to Allah, the Supreme) and Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi (glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him).
Dhikr is said to the One who hears
Dhikr is not aimed at a truth, or at a deeper self. It is said to a living Lord, and the Qur'an records His reply: "Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you". The Prophet (ﷺ) reported that Allah (﷾) says He is with His servant when the servant remembers Him. He also reported that in prayer Allah (﷾) answers the opening chapter line by line. When the servant praises Him, He says that His servant has praised Him. The Qur'an says Allah (﷾) heard a woman pleading over her husband. It says He is close and listens to every suppliant, and nearer to us than the vein in the neck. So the Muslim's words are never said into empty air. That is the difference the two questions were looking for. In Islam, the One who hears is the One who made the one speaking, and no go-between stands in the way.
“Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me, and reject not Faith.”
The Prophet (ﷺ) reports that Allah says: I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me; if he comes a hand-span nearer to Me, I come an arm's length nearer to him, and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running. Also in Sahih Muslim 2675.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said a prayer without Umm al-Qur'an (al-Fatiha) is incomplete, and that he heard him say that Allah the Exalted said: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant in two halves, and My servant shall have what he asks. Allah then answers each verse of al-Fatiha as the servant says it: to the praise He says that His servant has praised Him, to the verse of mercy that he has extolled Him, and to the verse of the Day of Judgement that he has glorified Him; of "Thee do we worship, and Thine aid we seek" He says that it is between Him and His servant, and of the closing prayer for guidance that it is for His servant, who shall have what he asks.
“Allah has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement of the woman who pleads with thee concerning her husband and carries her complaint (in prayer) to Allah: and Allah (always) hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees (all things).”
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.”
| Chant | Said to | Who hears and answers, in its own teaching |
|---|---|---|
| Namu Myoho-renge-kyo | The Lotus Sutra and its truth | The truth embodied in the Buddha, and the Buddha-nature in the chanter |
| Namu Amida Butsu | Amitabha | Amitabha, through his vow |
| Om mani padme hum | Avalokitesvara, on one reading | Avalokitesvara; if he is a symbol, no one outside the chanter |
| Hare Krishna | Krishna | Krishna, whose name devotees hold is not different from him |
| Dhikr | Allah (﷾) | Allah (﷾), who says He hears and answers |
The words of dhikr say something
Each phrase of dhikr is a plain sentence. Subhan Allah means glory be to Allah (﷾). Al-hamdu lillah means all praise is for Allah (﷾). Allahu akbar means Allah (﷾) is the greatest. La ilaha illa Allah (﷾) means there is no god but Allah (﷾). Astaghfirullah means I ask Allah's (﷾) forgiveness. These set words come from the Qur'an and from what the Prophet (ﷺ) taught, as the page on Naam simran explains. Anyone can learn these meanings in a few minutes. None is a sound of power. Each says something true of God (﷾) or asks Him for something. The Qur'an warns believers not to come to prayer with a clouded mind, "until ye can understand all that ye say". It asks why people do not seek to understand it. So Islam ties the tongue to the mind. This matters because worship is meant to change the speaker. That needs the mind as well as the tongue. Some of the chants above have a meaning too, such as homage to Amida Buddha. But the promises in their texts do not depend on understanding it. The Dhammapada's test, one meaningful saying over a thousand meaningless ones, is a test dhikr meets.
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said there are two phrases that are light on the tongue, heavy in the balance and dear to the Most Merciful: Subhan Allah al-Azim (glory be to Allah, the Supreme) and Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi (glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him).
“Praise be to Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds;”
“Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe: for Allah knows how ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes.”
“O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.”
“Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Qur'an, or are their hearts locked up by them?”
“Better than a thousand meaningless sayings is a single meaningful saying, hearing which brings you peace.”
| Said | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Subhan Allah | Glory be to Allah (﷾) |
| Al-hamdu lillah | All praise is for Allah (﷾) |
| Allahu akbar | Allah (﷾) is the greatest |
| La ilaha illa Allah (﷾) | There is no god but Allah (﷾) |
| Astaghfirullah | I ask Allah's (﷾) forgiveness |
No formula works by itself
In Islam even the holiest words do nothing without belief. The Qur'an records hypocrites who bore witness in words, and it calls them liars. It tells of people who said "We believe" when faith had not entered their hearts. It warns worshippers who pray only to be seen. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (﷾) looks at hearts and deeds, and that deeds are judged by their intentions. He said no one's deeds will save him. Asked if that included him, he said not even him, unless Allah (﷾) covers him with His mercy. So dhikr does not save by itself either. It is worship, and the One who is worshipped decides. Only He forgives sins, and what helps on the Last Day is a sound heart. So for a Muslim the answer to this page's question is also no. Words do not save. God (﷾) saves, and He hears those who turn to Him.
“When the Hypocrites come to thee, they say, "We bear witness that thou art indeed the Messenger of Allah." Yea, Allah knoweth that thou art indeed His Messenger, and Allah beareth witness that the Hypocrites are indeed liars.”
“The desert Arabs say, "We believe." Say, "Ye have no faith; but ye (only) say, 'We have submitted our wills to Allah,' For not yet has Faith entered your hearts. But if ye obey Allah and His Messenger, He will not belittle aught of your deeds: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."”
“Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe.”
“So woe to the worshippers Who are neglectful of their prayers, Those who (want but) to be seen (of men), But refuse (to supply) (even) neighbourly needs.”
Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Allah does not look at your faces or your wealth, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds.
Umar ibn al-Khattab heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say that deeds are judged by their intentions, and each person receives what he intended. A man who emigrated for worldly gain or to marry a woman has only what he emigrated for.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said no one's deeds will save him. Asked whether that included him, he said: not even me, unless Allah covers me with His mercy. He then told them to do good deeds properly, sincerely and in moderation.
“And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sins,- and who can forgive sins except Allah?- and are never obstinate in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done.”
“"But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart;”
Bearing witness in words, without belief
Saying "We believe" when faith has not entered the heart
Praying only to be seen
Remembering Allah (﷾) with a sincere heart
What Islam promises for these words
Islam does attach promises to these words, so this page states one exactly. The Prophet (ﷺ) spoke of whoever says Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi a hundred times in a day. He said that person's sins are taken off him, even if they were like the foam of the sea. Ibn Hajar, in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, explains the foam as a figure of speech for a great number. Which sins are meant? The Prophet (ﷺ) set the limit himself when he spoke of the five daily prayers. They wipe out what lies between them, he said, as long as major sins are not committed. Ibn Hajar writes of a promise worded like this one that its plain sense looks general. Yet the scholars limit it to minor sins, he says, because another report excepts the major ones. Ibn Baz was asked about the hundred tasbih directly. He answered that they wipe out the minor sins and not the major ones, and he cited Qur'an 4:31. An-Nawawi says the same of wudu (washing for prayer) and the prayer after it. Ibn Taymiyyah says it of prayer and fasting. So a major sin needs sincere repentance: to stop, to regret it and to resolve not to return. A wrong done to another person must also be put right with that person. And the words count only from someone who believes and means them. These terms matter. A promise with no terms would make the words a formula, and these terms keep them worship.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: whoever says Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi (glory and praise be to Allah) a hundred times a day will have his sins forgiven, even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.
Says that the words "like the foam of the sea" are a figure of speech for a very great number. He applies an-Nawawi's point that it is best to say the hundred together, at the start of the day and of the night. In this passage he does not say which sins are meant.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: the five prayers, and one Friday prayer to the next, wipe out the sins between them, as long as major sins are not committed.
On the hadith that whoever makes wudu well and prays two units has his past sins forgiven, Ibn Hajar says of the words "his sins" that their plain sense covers major and minor sins. But the scholars, he says, have limited them to the minor ones, because the promise comes in another narration with the major sins excepted.
Says that Allah can forgive whenever He wishes, but the scholars generally hold that major sins need repentance, and that the deeds which hadiths say bring forgiveness wipe out minor sins. It quotes Ibn Rajab (Lata'if al-Ma'arif) that this is the view of most scholars, with Sahih Muslim's hadith that the five prayers and Friday to Friday expiate sins as long as major sins are avoided, and Ibn Hajar that the general reports are read in its light.
Asked whether saying the tasbih a hundred times forgives all sins, minor and major, Ibn Baz answers that the correct view is the minor sins and not the major ones. He cites Qur'an 4:31, and the Prophet's (ﷺ) words that the five prayers, Friday to Friday and Ramadan to Ramadan wipe out what lies between them when major sins are avoided.
“If ye (but) eschew the most heinous of the things which ye are forbidden to do, We shall expel out of you all the evil in you, and admit you to a gate of great honour.”
On the hadith of wudu followed by two units of prayer, which says that a person's past sins are forgiven, al-Nawawi says that the forgiveness meant is of the minor sins, not the major ones. On the words "as long as he has not committed a major sin" (Muslim 228), he says the meaning is that all the sins are forgiven except the major ones, which are not forgiven by this.
Quotes an-Nawawi that fasting the day of Arafah expiates all minor sins, and that if a person has major sins and no minor ones, it is hoped they will be lessened; and Ibn Taymiyyah that the expiation promised for purification, prayer, fasting Ramadan, Arafah and Ashura applies to minor sins only, while major sins need their own repentance.
Al-Nawawi reports from the scholars that repentance is a duty from every sin. If the sin is between a person and Allah and touches no human being's right, it has three conditions: to stop the sin, to regret having done it, and to resolve never to return to it. If one of the three is missing, the repentance is not sound. If the sin touches a human being, there is a fourth condition: to be cleared of that person's right. Property is returned to him, and for backbiting his pardon is sought.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: whoever has wronged another, in his honour or in anything else, should seek his release from it today, before the Day when there will be no money. If he has good deeds, they will be taken from him in proportion to the wrong. If he has none, some of the wronged person's bad deeds will be laid on him.
Umar ibn al-Khattab heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say that deeds are judged by their intentions, and each person receives what he intended. A man who emigrated for worldly gain or to marry a woman has only what he emigrated for.
A count is never enough
Set that promise beside the texts above. In them ten repetitions clear the gravest wrongs. A count crosses the sin of killing, and a name said in jest still works. In Islam no count does any of that. This does not make God's (﷾) mercy small. The Qur'an says that Allah (﷾) forgives all sins, and its next verse says to turn to Him in repentance. What opens that door is turning back to Him, and no number can stand in for it. So the Muslim's hundred tasbih are worship offered to the One who forgives. They are not a payment that clears an account.
“On the strength of (his merit of) uttering Buddha's name he will, during every repetition, expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths during eighty millions of kalpas.”
“Whoever utters three and a half kotis (or thirty-five millions) times this mantra composed of sixteen names (or words) crosses the sin of the murder of a Brahmana.”
Says that taking the name of the Lord removes all sin, even when it is said by a hint, in jest, in a song or carelessly. The verse comes in the story of Ajamila, a sinner who at death called his son, whose name was Narayana, and was saved by the name.
Abu Hurayra reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: whoever says Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi (glory and praise be to Allah) a hundred times a day will have his sins forgiven, even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.
“Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
“"Turn ye to our Lord (in repentance) and bow to His (Will), before the Penalty comes on you: after that ye shall not be helped.”
| Text | The words and the count | What is promised | On what terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amitayur-dhyana sutra | Amitabha's name, ten times | Each repetition wipes out the sins of eighty million ages | Said by a dying man guilty of the gravest wrongs |
| Kalisantarana Upanishad | The sixteen names, thirty-five million times | Crossing the sin of killing a Brahmin | No rules, pure or impure |
| Bhagavata Purana | The Lord's name | All sin removed | Even in jest or carelessly |
| Sahih al-Bukhari 6405 | Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi, a hundred times in a day | Minor sins taken off, however many | Belief and a sincere intention. A major sin needs sincere repentance. A wrong done to a person must be put right. |
A calm heart does not settle it
Many people who chant feel calm and joy. This page does not doubt it. The Qur'an also speaks of hearts finding rest in remembrance. But calm only shows what a practice does in the one who practises it. It does not show who is listening. The case for Islam does not rest on a calm heart, because any faith can claim one. So the question moves from the feeling to the source. Each chant rests on a text, and the promise is only as good as the text. Which words come from God (﷾)? The Qur'an sets its own test: produce a chapter like it, or find the discrepancy a human book would hold.
“"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
The One to call on
No chant is needed to begin. No teacher has to pass on a word, and no count has to be reached. The Qur'an says, "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer)". It says that Allah (﷾) hears and sees all things, so no seeker goes unheard. It also says those invoked besides Him cannot hear or answer. It tells people to invoke no one along with Him. So anyone may call on God (﷾) now, in their own words and their own language, and ask Him for guidance. Then read the Qur'an for yourself, and test it as it asks to be tested. It came through Muhammad (ﷺ), who was sent to all people. If it is God's (﷾) word, the One who hears has already spoken.
“And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"”
“Allah has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement of the woman who pleads with thee concerning her husband and carries her complaint (in prayer) to Allah: and Allah (always) hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees (all things).”
“He merges Night into Day, and he merges Day into Night, and he has subjected the sun and the moon (to his Law): each one runs its course for a term appointed. Such is Allah your Lord: to Him belongs all Dominion. And those whom ye invoke besides Him have not the least power.”
“If ye invoke them, they will not listen to your call, and if they were to listen, they cannot answer your (prayer). On the Day of Judgment they will reject your "Partnership". and none, (O man!) can tell thee (the Truth) like the One Who is acquainted with all things.”
“"And the places of worship are for Allah (alone): So invoke not any one along with Allah;”
“And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
“Say: "O men! I am sent unto you all, as the Messenger of Allah, to Whom belongeth the dominion of the heavens and the earth: there is no god but He: it is He That giveth both life and death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the Unlettered Prophet, who believeth in Allah and His words: follow him that (so) ye may be guided."”
Line by line
Sahih Muslim 595a — Kitab al-Masajid (Mosques and Places of Prayer), hadith 595a
Abu Hurayra reports that the poor emigrants came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said the wealthy had the highest ranks, because they gave charity and freed slaves and the poor could not. He taught them to glorify, praise and magnify Allah thirty-three times after every prayer. Later the poor emigrants came back and said their wealthy brothers had heard of it and did the same. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: this is the grace of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills.
Cited for
Muslims repeat Subhan Allah thirty-three times and count it on beads. That is a mantra with a different sound.
The response
The outward act looks alike. The difference is in what it is. A Muslim says a plain sentence to the living God (﷾), who says He hears (2:186; 2:152). The count is a habit the Prophet (ﷺ) taught, and it holds no power of its own.
Where it lands — Repetition is common to both. Who it is said to, and what it means, are not.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6405 — Kitab al-Da'awat (Invocations), hadith 6405
Abu Hurayra reports that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: whoever says Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi (glory and praise be to Allah) a hundred times a day will have his sins forgiven, even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.
Cited for
A hadith makes a promise to whoever says Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi a hundred times a day. His sins are taken off him, even if they are like the foam of the sea. So Islam also promises forgiveness by count.
The response
The promise is real, and it has terms. Ibn Baz says of this very hadith that it means the minor sins, not the major ones (Qur'an 4:31). The Prophet (ﷺ) set the same limit for the five prayers (Muslim 233a). A major sin needs sincere repentance. A wrong done to a person must be put right with that person (Bukhari 2449). The words count only from a believer who means them (Bukhari 1). No one's deeds save him without Allah's (﷾) mercy (Bukhari 6463).
Where it lands — The promise is God's (﷾) to give, for minor sins, to a believer who means the words. No count clears a major sin or a wrong done to someone.
Qur'an 4:43 — Surat al-Nisa (The Women), verse 43
“O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when travelling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.”
Cited for
Many Muslims repeat Arabic they do not understand. How is that better than a mantra?
The response
Every phrase has a fixed, plain meaning that anyone can learn in minutes. Islam never says the sound is enough, and it calls the worshipper to understand (4:43; 47:24). In several of the texts above, the promise does not depend on understanding.
Where it lands — Islam calls every Muslim to understand what is said.
Qur'an 40:60 — Surat Ghafir (The Forgiver), verse 60
“And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"”
Cited for
You say Allah hears. A Pure Land Buddhist says Amitabha hears. Each side only asserts it.
The response
A chant cannot prove its own hearer, and neither can a dhikr. So the case does not rest on a feeling or on answered prayers. It rests on whether the Qur'an is God's (﷾) word, and the Qur'an asks to be tested on that (2:23; 4:82).
Where it lands — The claim stands or falls with the source behind it. The Qur'an invites the test.
Perspectives
Nichiren Buddhist teaching
Nichiren taught that the title of the Lotus Sutra embodies its whole truth when said with full belief. Chanting it adores the truth embodied in the Buddha and brings out the Buddha-nature in the chanter.
Mahayana: the teaching of Nichiren
The title of the Lotus Sutra is no mere name. Said with full belief, it embodies the whole truth of the sutra.
Rebuttal
A title can only carry what its book truly holds, so this rests on the book. The Pali texts have the Buddha say that words lift no one (Samyutta Nikaya 42.6). For Muslims the test of any book is whether it comes from God (﷾). The Qur'an asks to be tested on exactly that (2:23; 4:82).
We do not chant to an outside god. We chant to bring out the Buddha-nature within us, so the question of who hears does not arise.
Rebuttal
Then no one hears, and no one can forgive what the chanter has done. The Qur'an asks, "who can forgive sins except Allah?" (3:135). A person cannot pardon himself for a wrong done to another, or rescue himself from his own nature.
Pure Land Buddhist teaching
Pure Land Buddhists hold that Amitabha vowed to bring to his land those who turn to him. Saying his name relies on his power and not on one's own. Shinran taught that it is not the speaker's own good act.
Mahayana: the Pure Land schools
The sutras promise that those who keep Amitabha's name in mind will be met by him at death. They will then be born in his land.
Rebuttal
That is what the sutras say. The Pali Buddha says the Buddhas only show the way (Dhammapada 276), and that no one can purify another (165). A being who hears every caller in every world does what only God (﷾) does (35:13-14; 2:186).
We do not claim the sound saves. Shinran taught that saying the name is not our own act at all. All the power is Amitabha's.
Rebuttal
This comes close to Islam's own point that no one saves himself (Bukhari 6463). So the whole question becomes who holds that power. The page on praying to the Buddha shows why Islam gives it to Allah (﷾) alone (72:18).
Om mani padme hum in Tibetan Buddhism
The six syllables are tied to the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokitesvara. The Karandavyuha calls their benefits beyond reckoning.
Mahayana, as taught in Tibet
The Karandavyuha says the six syllables bring benefits beyond reckoning to those who keep and repeat them. A mantra works through compassion and does not need a dictionary meaning.
Rebuttal
If the meaning does not matter, then what works is the sound. A sound needs someone to have given it power. If Avalokitesvara does, that claim rests on the sutra alone. The Qur'an teaches that those invoked besides Allah (﷾) cannot hear or answer (35:13-14).
Theravada Buddhist teaching (the Pali texts)
The Pali texts say that heaven is not gained by asking or wishing. The pleas of a crowd do not change what a person has done. Each must do the work.
Theravada, which follows the Pali texts
No words can lift a person, whether a chant, a prayer or a dhikr. A rock sinks however hard a crowd pleads, and that holds for Muslim prayer too.
Rebuttal
Islam agrees that words do not undo deeds by their own power (63:1; Bukhari 6463). But a rock has no one to hear a crowd. The Qur'an says the One who made the rock hears, judges and forgives (2:186; 3:135). A plea to Him is not a plea to a stone.
Krishna devotion (the Bengal school)
Krishna devotees hold that in the age of Kali the Lord's name is the great means of rescue. His name is not different from him, so to chant it is to meet him. They add that the name must not be used as a licence to sin.
Gaudiya Vaishnava teaching, after Chaitanya
The Kalisantarana Upanishad and the Vishnu Purana speak of the age of Kali. They teach that the name then brings what earlier ages gained by meditation and sacrifice.
Rebuttal
Those are the texts' words, and the same Upanishad says no rules are needed, pure or impure. The Qur'an asks for more: a mind that understands in prayer (4:43), and a sound heart on the Last Day (26:89).
The name and Krishna are not different. So the chant does not need a distant hearer: Krishna is present in it.
Rebuttal
This rests on Krishna being the Supreme Lord. The Qur'an says of God (﷾), "He begetteth not, nor is He begotten" (112:3). The page on whether God became a man weighs that claim. Muslims call on God (﷾) by the names He gave Himself (20:8), and they do not worship a word.
Chanting is not mechanical. Our teachers list offences against the name, and to sin on the strength of it is one.
Rebuttal
That warning shows the sound is not enough. But the same tradition keeps the verse that the name removes all sin even in jest. The Qur'an does not pull two ways on this: it calls those who say the right words falsely liars (63:1).
The Islamic perspective
No words save by their own power. Dhikr is worship of the living God (﷾), who hears and answers. Its words are plain sentences. Without belief and a sincere heart, even the testimony of faith is worth nothing. God (﷾) alone forgives, and He can be called on directly by anyone. The promises Islam attaches to these words have terms. They cover minor sins. A major sin needs sincere repentance, and a wrong done to a person must be put right.
Allah (﷾) says He hears and answers those who call on Him, and that He remembers those who remember Him.
In prayer, Allah (﷾) answers the opening chapter of the Qur'an line by line, the Prophet (ﷺ) reported.
The words of dhikr are plain sentences, and the Qur'an ties worship to understanding what is said.
Saying the right words without belief saves no one. The Qur'an calls such speakers liars.
No one is saved by his deeds alone, not even the Prophet (ﷺ), but only by the mercy of Allah (﷾).
The Prophet (ﷺ) promised that a hundred tasbih in a day take a person's sins off him. The scholars read this of minor sins. A major sin needs sincere repentance, and a wrong done to a person must be put right.
Only Allah (﷾) forgives sins, and no one is to be invoked along with Him.
Which words come from God (﷾) rests on whether the Qur'an is His word, and it sets its own test.