What is the ruling on the prayer of tasbih?

The questioner : What is the definitive ruling in the matter of the Shari'ah?

The Shaykh : Regarding the prayer of tasbih and the extent to which it is an innovation. My view on this prayer is what Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, which is that its hadith is invalid or a lie, and that none of the Imams recommended it. This is because if this prayer, with the virtue attached to it, were authentic and from the legislation of Allah, it would not be the case that only a few exceptional people would know of it. This is because the incentives for transmitting it are abundant, and people would have transmitted it just as they transmitted the witr prayer, the rawatib, the duha prayer, and other well-known, established sunnahs. The virtue attached to the prayer of tasbih necessitates that it be known and circulated. Its departure from the analogy of other prayers and its distinctiveness from them also necessitate that it be transmitted, because people are eager to transmit anything unusual, as is well known; unusual things are always transmitted by some people from others. Since that was not the case—neither the practice of the Ummah nor its fame among the Ummah—it is known that it has no basis. So, his statement regarding it, as Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, is that it is not recommended.