The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

Always freshen your tongues with the word La Ilaha illa Allah. (There is no god but Allah).

Always keep dhikr (remembrance) of Allah on your tongue no matter what.

Why?

Whenever Allah Almighty tries you and tests you, the first thing you’ll say is the dhikr of Allah.

I have a friend back in Australia, who was a teacher from Uganda. And, you know, sometimes we look at people from Uganda or from different countries, we think they’re primitive!

But we learn so many lessons from these people because from their primitive lives, big lessons are learned. Every Prophet is a sheepherder for example.

Read: A Life of Remembrance

We were driving and as he was parking the car, he hit the curb. Suddenly he said: “Astaghfirullah!”

I said: “Brother, you haven’t done anything wrong! It’s ok, you asked Allah for forgiveness…”

He said: “No. It’s not that. Subhanallah! I made a decision ten years ago, anytime I’m startled, I got used to saying something that Allah is pleased with. So sometimes I say Astaghfirullah, sometimes I say subhan’Allah, sometimes I say la ilaha illa Allah, la hawla wa la quwwata illa bi Allah…”

I said: “Subhan’Allah! That is an enormous lesson. At the time of calamity when you are startled, you say subhan’Allah, la ilaha illa Allah…”

We were on our way over here and we almost had an accident… And I could hear whispers of remembering Allah in time of startling.

Imagine if you’re crossing the road and a car hits you… what would your last words you want to say in that time of calamity? Dhikr of Allah.

And if Allah loves a servant, He will try him or her.