The Tallying of Dhikr with Pebbles and the Statement of Ibn Mas'ud

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says, may Allah preserve you, that there is nothing wrong with tallying dhikr with pebbles. He says that it was reported from some of the Companions, Ibn 'Umar or Ibn Mas'ud, that he found people in the mosque reciting tasbih, tahlil, and tahmid using pebbles, so he described them as having opened the door to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) or the door to evil. How do you reconcile that?

Answer:
The root of this is a misunderstanding of the hadith. Ibn Mas'ud did not disapprove of the tasbih with pebbles. Pebbles are used for tasbih; Juwayriyyah, the Mother of the Believers, used them for tasbih, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not disapprove of her. What Ibn Mas'ud disapproved of was when it is said, "Recite tasbih a hundred times, recite takbir a hundred times, remember Allah thus and so." That is what Ibn Mas'ud disapproved of. Yes.