What is the ruling on the Sufi shaykhs compelling their followers to recite a specific number of tasbih using a large prayer bead?
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The questioner : Your Eminence, regarding the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): , the Sufi shaykhs among us took the phrase from this meaning: , and they compelled their followers to recite tasbih ten thousand times, for example, or one hundred thousand times. They say: Say "Subhan Allah" or send blessings upon the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) one hundred thousand times. And they give them a prayer bead that may contain about a thousand beads, and the bead is the size of a date!
The Shaykh : A date.
The questioner : A sugar date. So is this tasbih of ten thousand times and one hundred thousand times to be followed?
The Shaykh : The specified tasbih, may Allah reward you, is to be taken as specified by the Shari'ah, and the unspecified is to be taken as unspecified and not limited. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 3812Sahih (Darussalam).
But if you increase without a limit,, and Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ahzab 33:35].
But limiting it to ten thousand times or one hundred thousand times, and then adopting this prayer bead that you describe: a person wears it and it weighs down his neck if it has a thousand sugar dates. Who can carry this?!
So all of this, without doubt, must be forbidden, and it is said: The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not adopt a prayer bead, neither small beads nor large beads, nor did he prescribe for his Ummah one hundred thousand or ten thousand or the like. Remember Allah much, without a limit.
Whoever says in the morning and in the evening: "Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi" (Glory be to Allah and His praise) one hundred times, no one will come on the Day of Resurrection with anything better than what he brought, except one who said what he said or more than that.
من قال حين يصبح وحين يمسي : سبحان الله وبحمده مائة مرة ما جاء أحد يوم القيامة بأفضل مما جاء إلا أحد قال مثلما قال أو زاد عليهOr more than that.
ما زاد عليهThe Shaykh : A date.
The questioner : A sugar date. So is this tasbih of ten thousand times and one hundred thousand times to be followed?
The Shaykh : The specified tasbih, may Allah reward you, is to be taken as specified by the Shari'ah, and the unspecified is to be taken as unspecified and not limited. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever says: Subhan Allahi wa bi hamdihi (Glory and praise is to Allah) one hundred times, his sins will be forgiven even if they were like the foam of the sea.
من قال : سبحان الله وبحمده مائة مرة غفرت خطاياه ولو كانت مثل زبد البحرBut if you increase without a limit,
A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "The rulings of Islam have become too many for me, so advise me." He said: "Let your tongue be moist with the remembrance of Allah."
فقد جاء رجل إلى النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام وقال : إن شرائع الإسلام قد كثرت علي فأوصني؟ قال : لا يزال لسانك رطبا بذكر اللهand the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so
وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيراً وَالذَّاكِرَاتِBut limiting it to ten thousand times or one hundred thousand times, and then adopting this prayer bead that you describe: a person wears it and it weighs down his neck if it has a thousand sugar dates. Who can carry this?!
So all of this, without doubt, must be forbidden, and it is said: The best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not adopt a prayer bead, neither small beads nor large beads, nor did he prescribe for his Ummah one hundred thousand or ten thousand or the like. Remember Allah much, without a limit.