Is the hadith of the prayer of tasbih valid or not?
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The questioner : Is the hadith of the prayer of tasbih valid or not?
The Shaykh : The scholars have differed greatly regarding the hadith of the prayer of tasbih, because some said it is valid, while others said it is fabricated, with various degrees in between. The view that is stronger in my opinion, following some of the renowned preservers who preceded me and are known for their precision in tracing the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as al-Hafiz Ibn Nasir al-Dimashqi, who was a contemporary of al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi of Damascus, is that he has a treatise in which he collected the chains of the prayer of tasbih. Whoever studies it and studies the chains of this prayer, or the chains of the hadith of the prayer of tasbih, will find that the hadith is valid in the aggregate of its chains. As for the individual chains, there is no hadith among them that can be called valid, nor can any be called good in itself. Rather, its validity comes from the aggregate of its chains. This is the reason for the great difference of opinion among the scholars.
Ibn al-Jawzi, along with Ibn Taymiyyah and others, held that this hadith is fabricated. They did not mean by this that its chain of narration is fabricated, for some of its chains are in Sunan Abu Dawud and elsewhere, and there is no one in them who has been accused of fabrication, nor is there anyone who is a fabricator or a liar. Rather, there is no one in its chain accused of lying or fabrication, but only of poor memory. However, Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyyah looked at the text of the hadith and found it strange in its context and strange in the virtue attributed to this prayer, even if it is only once in a lifetime. They said that a prayer like this has no similarity to the known prayers established by authentic hadiths. Therefore, they leaned toward the view that it is fabricated. Those who elevated their judgment and rose slightly above ruling it as fabricated stopped at the apparent chains and narrations, if they had collected them and examined their aggregate. I am in doubt that they did so, for whoever did so did not rule it as fabricated or weak.
They looked at some of the individual chains of these paths and ruled the hadith as weak. As for those who strengthened it and held it to be valid, they looked at the aggregate of its chains and saw that the hadithological principle established by the scholars of hadith in the principles of hadith science is that a weak hadith is strengthened by the multiplicity of its chains. They examined this multiplicity of chains and found a portion that is acceptable in terms of its suitability to strengthen the hadith through the aggregate of these chains. They thus held the hadith to be strong, between being graded as good and being graded as valid. The difference between the one who grades it valid and the one who grades it good is not a fundamental difference, because both the one who grades it valid and the one who grades it good hold that the hadith is established, and consequently that it is legislated and that acting upon it is legitimate.
This judgment is further supported by the fact that it is reported from Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to perform this prayer. Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak is an imam among the imams of the Muslims, and he is one of the teachers of the Imam of the Sunnah, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). If the hadith had not been established in his view, he would not have worshipped Allah with this prayer, which has that strangeness in its form and manner. This strangeness led Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyyah to rule it as fabricated. And their ruling, as we mentioned, was not based on looking at the chains of this hadith and finding that all of them contain fabricators and liars. No.
By the aggregate of what we have mentioned, my soul was reassured that the hadith is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Accordingly, it is obligatory for the Muslim—and upon you be peace, the mercy of Allah, and His blessings—to do that once every day. If he cannot, then once every week. If he cannot, then once every month. If he cannot, then once every year. If he cannot, then at least once in a lifetime. This is my opinion regarding the prayer of tasbih.
The Shaykh : The scholars have differed greatly regarding the hadith of the prayer of tasbih, because some said it is valid, while others said it is fabricated, with various degrees in between. The view that is stronger in my opinion, following some of the renowned preservers who preceded me and are known for their precision in tracing the hadiths of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), such as al-Hafiz Ibn Nasir al-Dimashqi, who was a contemporary of al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi of Damascus, is that he has a treatise in which he collected the chains of the prayer of tasbih. Whoever studies it and studies the chains of this prayer, or the chains of the hadith of the prayer of tasbih, will find that the hadith is valid in the aggregate of its chains. As for the individual chains, there is no hadith among them that can be called valid, nor can any be called good in itself. Rather, its validity comes from the aggregate of its chains. This is the reason for the great difference of opinion among the scholars.
Ibn al-Jawzi, along with Ibn Taymiyyah and others, held that this hadith is fabricated. They did not mean by this that its chain of narration is fabricated, for some of its chains are in Sunan Abu Dawud and elsewhere, and there is no one in them who has been accused of fabrication, nor is there anyone who is a fabricator or a liar. Rather, there is no one in its chain accused of lying or fabrication, but only of poor memory. However, Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyyah looked at the text of the hadith and found it strange in its context and strange in the virtue attributed to this prayer, even if it is only once in a lifetime. They said that a prayer like this has no similarity to the known prayers established by authentic hadiths. Therefore, they leaned toward the view that it is fabricated. Those who elevated their judgment and rose slightly above ruling it as fabricated stopped at the apparent chains and narrations, if they had collected them and examined their aggregate. I am in doubt that they did so, for whoever did so did not rule it as fabricated or weak.
They looked at some of the individual chains of these paths and ruled the hadith as weak. As for those who strengthened it and held it to be valid, they looked at the aggregate of its chains and saw that the hadithological principle established by the scholars of hadith in the principles of hadith science is that a weak hadith is strengthened by the multiplicity of its chains. They examined this multiplicity of chains and found a portion that is acceptable in terms of its suitability to strengthen the hadith through the aggregate of these chains. They thus held the hadith to be strong, between being graded as good and being graded as valid. The difference between the one who grades it valid and the one who grades it good is not a fundamental difference, because both the one who grades it valid and the one who grades it good hold that the hadith is established, and consequently that it is legislated and that acting upon it is legitimate.
This judgment is further supported by the fact that it is reported from Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to perform this prayer. Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak is an imam among the imams of the Muslims, and he is one of the teachers of the Imam of the Sunnah, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him). If the hadith had not been established in his view, he would not have worshipped Allah with this prayer, which has that strangeness in its form and manner. This strangeness led Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn Taymiyyah to rule it as fabricated. And their ruling, as we mentioned, was not based on looking at the chains of this hadith and finding that all of them contain fabricators and liars. No.
By the aggregate of what we have mentioned, my soul was reassured that the hadith is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Accordingly, it is obligatory for the Muslim—and upon you be peace, the mercy of Allah, and His blessings—to do that once every day. If he cannot, then once every week. If he cannot, then once every month. If he cannot, then once every year. If he cannot, then at least once in a lifetime. This is my opinion regarding the prayer of tasbih.