Takbeer

...

 قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

Say, "He (is) Allah, the One.

Allah, the Eternal, the Absolute.

Not He begets and not He is begotten.

And not is for Him equivalent any [one]."

[Al-Quran 112]

Sahih International: And say, "Praise to Allah , who has not taken a son and has had no partner in [His] dominion and has no [need of a] protector out of weakness; and glorify Him with [great] glorification."

Pickthall: And say: Praise be to Allah, Who hath not taken unto Himself a son, and Who hath no partner in the Sovereignty, nor hath He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence.

Yusuf Ali: Say: "Praise be to Allah, who begets no son, and has no partner in (His) dominion: Nor (needs) He any to protect Him from humiliation: yea, magnify Him for His greatness and glory!"

Shakir: And say: (All) praise is due to Allah, Who has not taken a son and Who has not a partner in the kingdom, and Who has not a helper to save Him from disgrace; and proclaim His greatness magnifying (Him).

Muhammad Sarwar: Say, "It is only God who deserves all praise. He has not begotten a son and has no partner in His Kingdom. He does not need any guardian to help Him in His need. Proclaim His greatness.

Mohsin Khan: And say: "All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has not begotten a son (nor an offspring), and Who has no partner in (His) Dominion, nor He is low to have a Wali (helper, protector or supporter). And magnify Him with all the magnificence, [Allahu-Akbar (Allah is the Most Great)]."

Arberry: And say: 'Praise belongs to God, who has not taken to Him a son, and who has not any associate in the Kingdom, nor any protector out of humbleness.' And magnify Him with repeated magnificats.

[Q17:111, Ayah Image from translations from corpus.quran.com]

Surah al-Isra begins with the tasbeeh (declaration of perfection) of Allah who took His servant on the Night Journey to show him Our Signs... The last ayah of Surah al-Isra concludes with the above ayah declaring Allah as the only Supreme: 

وَقُلِ الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِىۡ لَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا وَّلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ شَرِيۡكٌ فِى الۡمُلۡكِ وَلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ وَلِىٌّ مِّنَ الذُّلِّ​ وَكَبِّرۡهُ تَكۡبِيۡرًا‏  ١١١

[Q17:111] 

and say (وَقُلِ):

• all praise belongs to Allah (الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰهِ) 
• Who has not taken any son (الَّذِىۡ لَمۡ يَتَّخِذۡ وَلَدًا) 
• and He does not share dominion with anyone (وَّلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ شَرِيۡكٌ فِى الۡمُلۡكِ) 
• and He does not need a protecting friend due to any weakness or humility (وَلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَّهٗ وَلِىٌّ مِّنَ الذُّلِّ) 
• and declare greatly His Greatness (وَكَبِّرۡهُ تَكۡبِيۡرًا‏) 

The triliteral root kāf bā rā (ك ب ر) occurs 161 times in the Quran. 

Muslims repeat the takbeer (Allah o Akbar) several times in each ordained prayer, as well as on other occasions, such as Eid (the two annual festivals), etc.  Allah o Akbar (الله أكبر) means Allah is greater / bigger. 

One of Allah's Name is alMutakkabir (الْمُتَكَبِّرُ) meaning The Absolutely Great / The Supreme. 

الْمُتَكَبِّرُ shares the same root (ك ب ر) with the word أكبر meaning greater / bigger. 

Allah is greater than, superior to, bigger than any and every one. 

Allah is The Greatest, The Biggest, The Supreme. 

Allah is the King of the Heavens and Earth. 

Allah is the Only Deity, the Only God.  

Allah is One and Only. 

List of posts about Allah in my blogs. 

List of posts on Surah al-Isra. 

Last updated on: April 15, 2026