Clarification that dhikr is based on divine prescription, with evidence from the story of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Shaykh : We confront them with the story of Ibn Mas'ud and the people of the special dhikr gatherings. It is reported in "Sunan al-Darimi" with a sound chain that Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the house of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud one morning and found a group of people waiting for him. He asked them, "Has Abu 'Abd al-Rahman—meaning Ibn Mas'ud—come out yet?" They said, "No." So he sat and waited for him. When he came out, he said, "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, I entered the mosque just now and saw people in circles, and in front of each man was a handful of pebbles with which he was counting the tasbih, takbir, and tahmid. In the middle of each circle was a man saying to those around him: 'Say tasbih this many times, say tahmid this many times, say takbir this many times.'" Ibn Mas'ud said, "Did you not disapprove of them?" He said, "No, I was waiting for your command—or waiting for your opinion." He said, "Did you not order them to count their sins and guarantee that none of their good deeds would be lost?" Then he returned to his house and went out wearing a veil so that he would not be recognized until he entered the mosque and saw what had been described to him: the circling and the counted dhikr with a number that was not prescribed. When the matter became clear, he removed the veil from his face and said, "Woe to you! What is this you are doing? I am 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." They said, "By Allah, O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, these are pebbles with which we count the tasbih, takbir, and tahmid." He said, "Count your sins, and I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, how quickly you are destroyed! These are his garments (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and they have not worn out, and these are his vessels, and they have not been broken. By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, are you truly more guided than the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), or are you clinging to the tail of misguidance? He did not say 'clinging to misguidance' and stop there, but rather 'clinging to the tail of misguidance.' They said, 'By Allah, O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman, we did not intend anything but good.'"
This is the answer of the majority of the innovators, specifically the followers among them. As for the leaders, the general rule is that they know the truth but deviate for many motives; Allah knows best what is in their hearts. As for the followers, the majority of them follow their leaders with good intentions. They are made to believe that this is dhikr and that it is prescribed dhikr, so they follow them in this completely, just as the men said to Ibn Mas'ud: "By Allah, we did not intend anything but good." But the decisive answer that makes the truth manifest is the saying of Ibn Mas'ud: "How many are there who seek good but do not attain it!" That is, it is not sufficient for one of you to intend good; rather, it is obligatory that this good intention be accompanied by the fact that the path he takes in seeking good is itself good. It will never be so unless it is the path of the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him), as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Qur'an: . So if the one seeking good takes this path, he is certainly in good. But if he takes another path while intending good, he will never attain this good. This is among the meanings of the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): , and among the objectives of his other saying: . Therefore, Ibn Mas'ud said: "How many are there who seek good but do not attain it!" Because you are seeking good by a path other than the path of Muhammad (peace be upon him); thus, you will not attain this good.
Then he gave them a parable regarding this, a hadith he had heard from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . That is, it does not reach their hearts; it is merely the movement of the tongue and a trade in the recitation of the Qur'an, as is the case in the last of time, . Here ends the story of Ibn Mas'ud with the people of the innovated gatherings. But the lesson is in the complete story as told by its witness, who said: "We certainly saw those people—meaning the people of the un-prescribed dhikr circles—we saw them fighting us on the day of al-Nahrawan." That is, the people of the dhikr circles became among the Khawarij who rebelled against the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, and 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) fought them and uprooted their roots except for a few individuals among them. Their gatherings did not benefit them in any way; that is because they contradicted the Sunnah in this. This is a witness to the saying of the scholars: "Minor sins are the herald of major sins." And I quote from their saying and say: "A minor religious innovation is the herald of a major religious innovation." This is the witness that matches exactly what I am saying. Innovated circles, in which they remember Allah in an un-prescribed manner, led them to the major innovation; which is rebelling against the Commander of the Faithful and fighting him.