The Ruling on the Prayer of Tasbih

Question : The questioner says: Does the prayer of tasbih have a report, even though some scholars have permitted it?

Answer : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. There is a report regarding the prayer of tasbih from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Shaykh al-Islam said it is an invalid hadith. Two things indicate its invalidity. The first is that if this prayer were prescribed, it would be among the well-known prayers, because its benefit is great and because it is part of the Shari'ah of Allah, and the Shari'ah of Allah must be preserved among the community from the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) until this day. Since this prayer is not well-known, and only this weak hadith has been reported about it, and none of the Imams—Malik, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, or Abu Hanifa—recommended it; indeed, none of the Imams recommended it, this indicates that it is not a prayer from the Shari'ah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The second thing indicating that it is not prescribed is that it is a prayer in which it is mentioned that a person prays it every day, or every week, or every month, or every year, or once in a lifetime. Such a thing does not fit an act of worship that is beneficial for the hearts, because an act of worship that is beneficial for the hearts must be continuous, not subject to such a wide range of choice, from a day to a year to a whole lifetime. The argument of Hajj does not apply here, where it is not obligatory for a person except once in a lifetime, because Allah only made Hajj obligatory upon His servants once because it is difficult and hard for them. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as is reported from him, when asked about Hajj every year: "If I had said yes, it would have become obligatory, and you would not have been able to perform Hajj. Whatever is more than that is voluntary."
Therefore, the prayer of tasbih cannot be compared to Hajj; because if Hajj were obligatory every year, it would be difficult for every individual among the people who is able to perform Hajj to do so every year. It would also be difficult for the people to gather in this place. What do you think if all the capable Muslims in the corners of the world gathered in these sacred sites every day? Would it not be a great hardship for them?
It is not possible to bear; this is the reality. For this reason, Allah lightened the burden for His servants by making Hajj obligatory once in a lifetime. As for the prayer of tasbih, there is no hardship in it if it were established, and if it were prescribed every day, there would be no hardship in that. In fact, what is prescribed for people every day is greater in number and manner. This indicates that this prayer is not among the prescribed matters. For this reason, a person should not worship Allah with it, but rather worship Allah with what is established from His Shari'ah in His Book or on the tongue of His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).