What is the ruling on making tasbih with pebbles or a misbaha?
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The questioner : My teacher, I have a question regarding the misbaha.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : It is well known that using the misbaha is not from the Sunnah. Some people have argued against us by saying that there are some authentic athar (reports) in which the use of the misbaha is prescribed. They claim that these athar were found in a book by al-Ghumari in his refutation of you. How accurate is this statement? And how authentic are these athar?
The Shaykh : There are no athar regarding the misbaha; there are athar regarding making tasbih with pebbles.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for those that are marfu' (traced to the Prophet), they are not authentic. As for those that are mawquf (stopping at some of the Companions), we have deemed them all weak. Even if something among them were authentic, it would be different from what is established in the Sunnah regarding counting on the right hand and the command to do so. If it were established that some of the Companions counted with pebbles, it would be contrary to the Sunnah. Therefore, one should not pay attention to counting with pebbles, let alone the misbaha. The misbaha has no basis. Those who argue with these athar are overlooking the Sunnah. The Sunnah is counting on the fingers, and the Messenger of Allah commanded that. He said: You do not need to ask about pebbles and the misbaha. Anything that contradicts the Sunnah is undoubtedly a bid'ah (religious innovation). Do not concern yourself with the noise they make around some of these athar and the words of some of the Ghumariyyah, these Sufi order followers. They try to support their innovations with some of the narrations they have found. I am in the process of saving time to complete my refutation of them.
The questioner : May Allah protect you, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : May Allah prolong your life.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : Our teacher, there is a second question.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : It is well known that using the misbaha is not from the Sunnah. Some people have argued against us by saying that there are some authentic athar (reports) in which the use of the misbaha is prescribed. They claim that these athar were found in a book by al-Ghumari in his refutation of you. How accurate is this statement? And how authentic are these athar?
The Shaykh : There are no athar regarding the misbaha; there are athar regarding making tasbih with pebbles.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for those that are marfu' (traced to the Prophet), they are not authentic. As for those that are mawquf (stopping at some of the Companions), we have deemed them all weak. Even if something among them were authentic, it would be different from what is established in the Sunnah regarding counting on the right hand and the command to do so. If it were established that some of the Companions counted with pebbles, it would be contrary to the Sunnah. Therefore, one should not pay attention to counting with pebbles, let alone the misbaha. The misbaha has no basis. Those who argue with these athar are overlooking the Sunnah. The Sunnah is counting on the fingers, and the Messenger of Allah commanded that. He said:
They will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection
إنهن مسئولات يوم القيامةThe questioner : May Allah protect you, O our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : May Allah prolong your life.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.
The questioner : Our teacher, there is a second question.
The Shaykh: Go ahead.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.