The tasbih prayer

The tasbih prayer is a form of supererogatory (nafl) prayer performed in a specific manner described below. It owes its name to the abundance of glorifications (tasbih) it contains: each of its rak'ahs includes 75 glorifications. This section examines its legal ruling, then its manner of performance and the most suitable time to offer it (Nihayat al-Muhtaj, 2/119).

The legal ruling on the tasbih prayer

The jurists differed over the ruling on this prayer, and the cause of their disagreement lies in their disagreement over the authenticity of the hadith reported concerning it.

First opinion: the Hanafis, the majority of the Shafi'is and Abdallah ibn al-Mubarak held that it is recommended (mustahabb). Ibn Abidin said: it carries a reward that has no limit. For this reason, some of the verifying scholars said: whoever hears of its immense merit and yet abandons it is only careless with his religion (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin, 2/27).

Ibn al-Salah, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked about an imam who leads the people in the tasbih prayer reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on Friday nights and at other times: are he and those praying behind him rewarded? Is it part of the sunnah or an innovation? Was its hadith authentically transmitted through his chain? Is the one who objects to those who pray it right or wrong? And if it were restricted to the night of Friday, would it be valid in itself, and would they then be rewarded for it?

He answered, may Allah be pleased with him: yes, they are rewarded if they act with sincerity. It is a sunnah, not an innovation; its hadith is hasan, sound and acted upon, especially in matters of worship and virtuous deeds. A group of the imams of hadith reported it in their reliable books: Abu Dawud al-Sijistani, Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi, Abu Abdallah Ibn Majah, al-Nasa'i and others. Al-Hakim Abu Abdallah al-Hafiz mentioned it in his Mustadrak with chains of transmission that support one another, as noted by the author of al-Tatimma. The one who rejects it is not right, and the prayer is not restricted to the night of Friday, contrary to what appears in the hadith. And Allah knows best (Fatawa Ibn al-Salah, 1/235).

Al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: a group of the imams of our school expressly affirmed that this prayer is recommended, among them Abu Muhammad al-Baghawi and Abu al-Mahasen al-Ruyani. The latter said in his book al-Bahr, at the end of its chapter on funerals: know that the tasbih prayer is strongly encouraged; it is recommended to make a habit of offering it at all times and not to neglect it. He added: this is what Abdallah ibn al-Mubarak said, and a group of scholars with him; this al-Ruyani is one of the learned and discerning scholars of our school. And Allah knows best (al-Adhkar, 189).

Al-Nawawi himself, however, took varying positions on it. Al-Suyuti reported that al-Isnawi said in al-Muhimmat: al-Nawawi's statements differ over the recommendation of the tasbih prayer and over the authenticity of its hadith. In Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, he reported that al-Qadi Husayn, the authors of al-Tahdhib and al-Tatimma, and al-Ruyani held it recommended on the strength of the hadith reported concerning it. But this recommendation is questionable: its hadith is weak and the prayer alters the well-known structure of prayer; it should therefore not be performed without an authentic hadith, and its hadith is not established; he likewise said in al-Tahqiq that its hadith is weak (al-Adhkar, 189).

He contradicted this in Tahdhib al-Asma wa-l-Lughat, saying: as for the well-known tasbih prayer, it bears this name because of the abundance of glorifications it contains, unlike the customary pattern of other prayers; a hasan hadith concerning it is found in the book of al-Tirmidhi and elsewhere; al-Mahamili, the author of al-Tatimma and others of our school mentioned it, and it is a fine sunnah. Such is his wording. The author of al-Muhimmat adds that Ibn al-Salah said: it is a sunnah; its hadith is hasan, its chains support one another, and it is acted upon, especially in matters of worship. This is the end of what appears in al-Muhimmat (al-Adhkar, 189).

Al-Suyuti said: just as al-Nawawi's statements varied, so did those of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar: he graded the hadith hasan in al-Khisal al-Mukaffira, spoke of it briefly in nine sessions of his Amali, then devoted a separate work to it, before weakening it in Takhrij ahadith al-Rafi'i. Given this disagreement, one must follow what al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi indicated in al-Mawqiza: the hasan is the hadith whose chain falls slightly short of the rank of the authentic.

He continues: do not hope that the hasan obeys a single rule under which every good hadith would fall, for we have despaired of that; how many hadiths left the memorizers hesitating: hasan, weak or authentic? It is said: a single memorizer's judgement may change over one and the same hadith: one day he declares it authentic, another day hasan, another day he weakens it. This is indeed the case: the hasan hadith is weakened by the memorizer who refrains from raising it to the rank of the authentic; in this respect it carries some weakness, and if it were free of it and became authentic, it would be authentic by consensus (Tuhfat al-Abrar Nukat al-Adhkar, 1/92-93).

The proof of those who hold it recommended is the hadith reported concerning it. Abu Dawud and others reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib:

O Abbas, O my uncle, shall I not give you, shall I not grant you, shall I not show my love to you, shall I not do for you ten qualities such that, if you fulfil them, Allah will forgive your sin, its first and its last, its old and its new, its unintentional and its deliberate, its minor and its major, its secret and its public? These ten qualities are: you pray four rak'ahs, reciting in each of them the Opening of the Book (al-Fatihah) and a surah. When you finish the recitation in the first rak'ah, while standing, say fifteen times: 'Glory be to Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest'. Then bow and say it ten times while bowing. Then raise your head from bowing and say it ten times. Then prostrate yourself and say it ten times while prostrating. Then raise your head and say it ten times. Then prostrate yourself again and say it ten times. Then raise your head and say it ten times. That makes 75 glorifications in each rak'ah. Do this over four rak'ahs. If you can offer them once every day, do so; if not, once every Friday; if not, once every month; if not, once every year; if not, once in your lifetime.

Authentic hadith, reported by Abu Dawud (1297), al-Tirmidhi (482) and Ibn Majah (1386)

Al-Suyuti reported that al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in al-Khisal al-Mukaffira: Ibn al-Jawzi did wrong to list this hadith among the fabricated reports. And he said in his Amali: the tasbih prayer is transmitted through the reports of Abdallah ibn Abbas, his brother al-Fadl and their father al-Abbas, of Abdallah ibn Omar, of Abu Rafi', of Ali ibn Abi Talib, of his brother Ja'far, of the latter's son Abdallah ibn Ja'far, of Umm Salama, of al-Ansari and others. Ibn Khuzayma, al-Hakim and Ibn Mandah graded it authentic, and Ibn Mandah devoted a book to it; the same applies to al-Ajurri, al-Khatib, Abu Sa'id al-Sam'ani, Abu Musa al-Madini, al-Daylami, Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Mufaddal, Ibn al-Salah, al-Mundhiri, al-Nawawi in Tahdhib al-Asma wa-l-Lughat, al-Subki and others.

Al-Zarkashi said in Takhrij ahadith al-Rafi'i: Ibn al-Jawzi erred beyond doubt by placing the hadith of the tasbih prayer in his book of fabricated reports: it is authentic, not even weak, let alone fabricated; Ibn al-Jawzi is lax in pronouncing the verdict of fabrication. Al-Hafiz Salah al-Din al-Ala'i and the shaykh Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini likewise graded it authentic in al-Tadrib. He mentions that he devoted to it a treatise entitled al-Tasih fi salat al-tasbih, the authentication concerning the tasbih prayer (Tuhfat al-Abrar Nukat al-Adhkar, 1/93, 95).

Second opinion: some Hanbalis held that there is no harm in offering it, which means its permissibility. They said: even if its hadith is not established, it falls under the virtues of deeds (fada'il al-a'mal), where a weak hadith is sufficient. Ibn Qudama, may Allah have mercy on him, said: if a person offers it, there is no harm in it, for supererogatory prayers and virtuous deeds do not require the authenticity of the hadith (al-Mughni, 2/328; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/444).

Third opinion: this prayer is not prescribed by the Law and is not a sunnah. This is the view of Imam Ahmad, and one of the views of al-Nawawi. Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmu': its recommendation is questionable, for its hadith is weak and it changes the well-known structure of prayer; it should therefore not be performed without a hadith, and its hadith is not established (al-Majmu', 5/82).

Ibn Qudama reported that Ahmad did not authenticate the hadith and did not consider the prayer recommended. He said: Ahmad said: it does not appeal to me. He was asked: why? He replied: nothing in it is authentic. Then he waved his hand in disapproval (al-Mughni, 2/327; Masa'il al-Imam Ahmad narrated by Abdallah, 1/89; Masa'il al-Imam Ahmad narrated by al-Marwazi, 2/541; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/444; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/250).

Ibn al-Jawzi had placed this hadith among the fabricated reports. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in Talkhis al-Habir (2/7): the truth is that all of its chains are weak; the hadith of Ibn Abbas, however, comes close to the condition of hasan, but it is odd because of its extreme isolation, the absence of any supporting witness through a reliable channel, and the fact that its form differs from that of the other prayers. Ibn Taymiyyah and al-Mizzi weakened it, while al-Dhahabi suspended judgement, as reported by Ibn Abd al-Hadi on their authority.

How the tasbih prayer is performed and when it is offered

Those who hold the tasbih prayer recommended or permissible followed, for its manner, what the hadith mentions: four rak'ahs, the glorifications (tasbih), the proclamation of oneness (tahlil) and the formula of strength (hawqalah) recited the reported number of times and at their assigned places, along with the rest of its modalities (Ibn Abidin, 2/27; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/225; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/444). The most complete way is to offer it according to the following rhythm:

• once every day, if possible;
• failing that, once every Friday;
• failing that, once every month;
• failing that, once every year;
• failing that, once in a lifetime.