A woman recites the dhikr "Allahu Akbar" and "La ilaha illa Allah" several times using a tasbih, then recites al-Fatihah for the souls of her parents; what is the ruling on this?

The questioner : The listener Fahd says in this question: A woman recites the tasbih filling the entire string several times, "Allahu Akbar and La ilaha illa Allah", then recites al-Fatihah for the souls of her parents. What is the ruling on this, and is such a practice permissible?

The Shaykh : The tasbih should be performed with the fingers, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided us to do. He said, and counting with a tasbih is not appropriate because it contradicts what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided us to. Also, tasbih with a tasbih leads to heedlessness, for a person may place beads in the tasbih equal to the number of times he wishes to recite the dhikr, and then he finds himself counting these beads while his heart, sight, and hearing are occupied with other things. Furthermore, it may lead to showing off, as we observe in some people who wear necklaces of tasbih beads around their necks, as if they are saying to people, "Look at us, for we recite the dhikr according to the number of these pebbles or these beads."
As for reciting al-Fatihah and dedicating it to the souls of her parents, this is permissible, but it is better to leave it and instead make du'a for her parents, for that is better than dedicating the Qur'an or other righteous deeds to them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, and he did not say, "or a righteous son who works for him, or prays, or reads, or fasts, or the like." Make your acts of worship for yourself, and make du'a for your parents and others among the Muslims whom you love, for this is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) guided us to. Also, I do not know a basis for worshipping Allah by specifically dedicating the recitation of al-Fatihah. It is true that al-Fatihah is the best surah in the Book of Allah, but this does not imply that we should worship Allah the Exalted by reciting it alone.

The questioner : Very well.

The Shaykh : As for reciting , the Sunnah has established the permissibility of dedicating it specifically. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said, . Yes.