What is meant by the statement that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would count the tasbih with his right hand? How is the counting done?

The questioner : What is meant by the statement of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) when he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) counting them with his hand—referring to the recommended practices of tasbih—and this is in the hadith regarding the dhikr that is said: “Call upon Allah behind every prayer,” as is known to you; so what is the method of counting? Taking into account that women say they are unable to see; so they hope that this is considered in detailing the method?

The Shaykh : First: Attributing the hadith to Abu Hurayrah in the question is incorrect, yes, that is right. Second: The counting—as far as I know—does not have a specific method; because the narrator was content with reporting that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to count the tasbih with his right hand, so the matter is easy—Allah willing—and every person who prays, whether male or female, should count in the manner and way that he finds easiest for himself. I, for example, count three joints on each finger and consider them as three, so a person can count one finger as one, the second as two, and so on, so he should do what is easy for the one who is remembering in the counting; because we do not have a Sunnah for a specific method in this counting.

The questioner : The word “counting” (yaqqud) does it seem to be a metaphor likening the finger to a knot, the knot of a rope?

The Shaykh : It is.