When we do tasbeeh, is it necessary that we count it only on our fingers?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Assalam
alaikum
burhan
bhai ham tasbeeh padhte hain to kya wo sirf fingers par padhni hai. Agar hum
tasbih par padhe to ye galat hai. Zikr agar tasbih par kare to ye bida hai
kya. Meri friend ne mujhse kaha k jo bhi zikr hai wo fingers par padhna
chahiyye. Aur counting nahin karni chahiyye. Pls mujhe bataiyye ke sahi kya
hai.
Pls do
remember me in your supplication
Jazakallah
Translation
of Question: When we do ‘tasbeeh’, is it necessary that we count it only on our
fingers? If we do ‘tasbeeh’ through a rosary, would it be wrong? If ‘dhikr’ is
done through a rosary, would it be considered ‘bida’? My friend told me that whatever ‘dhikr’ one
does, its count should only be done through one’s fingers. And one should not
count the ‘dhikr’. Please do let me know what is right.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Tasbeeh rosary or
fingers
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verses 41-42:
41 O ye who believe! Celebrate
the ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance) of Allah and do this (as) much (as possible);
42 And glorify Him morning and evening.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 29 Surah
Ankabut verse 45:
45 Recite what is sent of the Book (Al-Quran) by inspiration to thee
and establish regular prayer, for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust
deeds; and the ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance)
of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah Knows
all that ye do.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 13 Surah
Raad vers 28:
28 Those who believe, their hearts find satisfaction in the ‘Dhikr’ of
Allah: for without doubt, (only) in
the ‘Dhikr’ of Allah do hearts find satisfaction!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 152:
152 Then do ye remember Me; I will remember you. Be grateful to Me and reject not faith.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 43 Surah
Zukhruf verse 36:
36 If anyone withdraws
himself from ‘Dhikr’ of (Allah) Most Gracious, We appoint for him a Shaytaan to be an intimate companion to him!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 63 Surah
Munafiqoon verse 9:
9 O ye who believe! Let
not your wealth or your children divert you from the ‘Dhikr’ of Allah. If any act thus, the
(severe) loss is their own!
Hadrat Said ibn Jubair (r.a.) reported that
the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "Anyone engaged in obeying Allah is in
fact engaged in the ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance) of Allah."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.502 Narrated by Abu Huraira
The Prophet (saws) said, "Allah, The
High and Exalted, Says: 'I am just as My slave thinks I am, and I am with him
if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me
in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of
people, I remember him in a group that is better than they (the Angels); and if
he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes
one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him;
and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running!'"
Hadrat Abu Sa'id
Al-Khudri (r.a.) and Hadrat Abu Hurairah (r.a.) reported that the Prophet
(saws) "When any group of men do ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance) of Allah, the Angels
surround them and mercy covers them, tranquility descends upon them, and Allah
mentions them to those who are with Him (the Angels)."
The Prophet (saws) said, "The devotees
have surpassed all." The companions asked, "Who are these exceptional
people (‘Mufarridoon’), O Messenger of Allah (saws)?" The Prophet (saws)
replied, "Those men and women who remember Allah unceasingly."
Related by Muslim.)
Hadrat Abu Musa Al-Ashari (r.a.) reported
that the Prophet (saws) said: "The likeness of the one who remembers his
Lord and the one who does not remember Him is like that of a living to a dead
person!''
Related by Bukhari.
A man came to the Messenger of Allah (saws)
and complained, "The laws of Islam are too heavy for me, so tell me
something that I can easily follow".
The Prophet (saws) told him, "Let your tongue be always busy with
the ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance) of Allah."
The Prophet (saws) would often tell his
companions, "Shall I tell you about the best of deeds, the most pure in
the Sight of your Lord, about the one that is of the highest rank and is far
better for you than spending gold and silver, even better for you than meeting
your enemies in the battlefield where you strike at their necks and they at
yours?" The companions replied, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah
(saws)!" The Prophet (saws) said, "The ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance) of
Allah.''
Related by Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and Al-Hakim.
Hadrat Mu'adh (r.a.) reported that the
Prophet (saws) said, 'No other act of man is a more effective means for his
deliverance from the Chastisement of Allah than the ‘Dhikr’ (Remembrance) of
Allah.''
Related by Ahmad.
One is at absolute liberty to make as much ‘dhikr’ or
Remembrance of Allah as often as one wills or is easy for them…..and when and
only when a specific number or count of a specific ‘dhikr’ or ‘tasbeeh’ is
given and endorsed by the Messenger of Allah (saws), one should follow the
Sunnah and fulfill that count.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.344 Narrated by Ali
Hadrat Fatimah (the daughter of the Prophet
(saws)) complained of what she suffered from the hand mill and from grinding,
and when she got the news that some slave girls of the booty had been brought
to Allah's Messenger (saws), she went to him to ask for a maid-servant, but she
could not find him, and she told Hadrat Aisha (r.a.) of her need. When the
Prophet (saws) came, Aisha (r.a.)
informed him of that. The Prophet (saws) came to our house when we had gone to
our beds. (On seeing the Prophet (saws)) we were going to get up, but he (saws)
said, 'Keep at your places,' I felt the coolness of the Prophet's (saws) feet
on my chest. Then he (saws) said, "Shall I tell you a thing which is
better than what you asked me for? When you go to your beds, say: 'Allahu Akbar’ (i.e. Allah is
Greatest)' 34 times, and 'Alhamdu
Lillah’ (i.e. all Praise is due to Allah) 33 times, and ‘Subhan Allah’ (i.e.
Glorified be Allah) 33 times. This is better for you than what you have
requested."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.514 Narrated by Abu Huraira
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "If
one says one-hundred times in one day: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Alone Who
has no partners, to Him belongs Dominion and to Him belong all the Praises, and
He has power over all things", one will get the reward of
manumitting ten slaves, and one-hundred good deeds will be written in his
account, and one-hundred bad deeds will be wiped off or erased from his
account, and on that day he will be protected from the morning till evening
from the Shaytan, and nobody will be superior to him except one who has done
more than that which he has done."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2185 Narrated by Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib
The Prophet (saws) said, "If anyone recites ten times 'Say, He is Allah, One and Only …. (Surah
112: Al-Ikhlaas), a palace will be built for him in Paradise because of it;
if anyone recites twenty times two places will be built for him
in Paradise because of it; and if anyone recites it thirty times
three palaces will be built for him in Paradise because of it." Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "I swear by
Allah, O Messenger of Allah (saws), that we shall then produce many palaces for
ourselves”; to which he (saws) replied,
"Allah's abundant Grace is even more comprehensive than that."
Abu Hurairah
reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "If anyone said in the
morning and evening: 'subhana-Allah
wa bihamdihi' (Glory to Allah and all praise to Him), a hundred times,
on the Day of Judgment none will come with anything better than that except the
person who utters similar words or adds some to them."
Abdallah b. Habib
reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "Speak." I asked, "O
Messenger of Allah (saws), what should I say?" He (saws) replied, "Recite Surat
al-Ikhlas (112th Surah), and the two last surahs (of the Qur'an),
i.e.
When the Messenger of Allah (saws) guided the believers on
any aspect of the deen, then it becomes incumbent upon the believers to obey
and accept exactly what is declared by the Messenger of Allah (saws). When the Messenger of Allah (saws) has given
a specific number or count of a ‘tasbeeh’ or a ‘dhikr’, then we should know and
believe with absolute conviction that it is this number of repetitions alone
that is acceptable and best in the Sight of Allah Subhanah; and when the
Messenger of Allah (saws) has not given a specific number or count, then it
would not befit a believer that he should invent or allocate a specific number
towards that repetition from himself without any authority from Allah and His
Messenger (saws).
Your
Question: When we do ‘tasbeeh’, it is necessary that we count it only from our
fingers? If we do ‘tasbeeh’ through a rosary, would it be wrong? If ‘dhikr’ is
done through a rosary, would it be considered ‘bida’?
The Messenger of Allah (saws) would count his repetitions
of ‘tasbeeh’ on his fingers and it would obviously be best for the believers to
follow his (saws) Sunnah and do the same.
The absolute majority of the scholars are of the opinion
that it one counts or finds it easier to count the number of one’s repetitions
of one’s ‘tasbeeh’ on a rosary instead of one’s fingers, there is absolutely no
harm and it would not constitute a ‘bida’ or innovation.
But if one were to believe that the count of a ‘tasbeeh’
or ‘dhikr’ should only be done through a rosary, or one believes that counting
a repetition through a rosary earns more reward or is more meritorious in the
Sight of Allah….then indeed such determinations would be absolutely
incorrect! But if one finds it more
convenient or easier to keep count on a rosary rather than on one’s fingers,
there is absolutely no harm and no restriction in using a rosary. And Allah Alone Knows Best.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister