The ruling on using the right and left hands for counting dhikr
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Question:
When I recite dhikr, or say takbir, or say tahlil, I count on the fingers of my right hand, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) loved to use the right hand. But my question is: I have heard that there is no harm in counting with the fingers of the left hand, but it is better to use only the right hand. Generally, I count my dhikr with the fingers of my right hand, but I wonder about the left hand: will it not speak on the Day of Resurrection? This is in reference to the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Yasin:65]?
Answer:
The Sunnah is to count with the right hand, as you did, counting the dhikr with the right hand. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do this.
And if one counts with both hands, there is no blame, and there is no harm. There is evidence indicating this. The hand is accountable, and the foot is likewise, and the skin is likewise, and the hearing and the sight.
The point is: the believer, male and female, must guard his or her limbs from the sins of Allah. The hand is asked about what it has done; the right hand is asked, and the left hand is asked. So you must beware of what Allah has forbidden, and strive in obedience to Allah Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. What is your comment on the noble verse I cited?
The Shaykh: As the Qur'an indicates, their hands and their feet testify against them when Allah seals their mouths. Yes, Allah is the One to be sought for help.
The presenter: So, the fact that it is recommended to say tahlil and tasbih with the right hand does not indicate that the left hand will not speak on the Day of Resurrection?
The Shaykh: No, no, this one has its function, and this one has... just as the right hand is used for shaking hands, and not the left; one eats with the right hand, and not the left; and drinks with the right hand. None of this indicates that the left hand is not accountable. It is accountable for its task. Every organ is accountable for its task: the eye is accountable for seeing, the ear is accountable for hearing, the tongue is accountable for speaking, the right hand is accountable for what it is entrusted with, and the left hand for what it is entrusted with. Yes, Allah is the One to be sought for help.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
When I recite dhikr, or say takbir, or say tahlil, I count on the fingers of my right hand, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) loved to use the right hand. But my question is: I have heard that there is no harm in counting with the fingers of the left hand, but it is better to use only the right hand. Generally, I count my dhikr with the fingers of my right hand, but I wonder about the left hand: will it not speak on the Day of Resurrection? This is in reference to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
That Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us
الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْAnswer:
The Sunnah is to count with the right hand, as you did, counting the dhikr with the right hand. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do this.
And if one counts with both hands, there is no blame, and there is no harm. There is evidence indicating this. The hand is accountable, and the foot is likewise, and the skin is likewise, and the hearing and the sight.
The point is: the believer, male and female, must guard his or her limbs from the sins of Allah. The hand is asked about what it has done; the right hand is asked, and the left hand is asked. So you must beware of what Allah has forbidden, and strive in obedience to Allah Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. What is your comment on the noble verse I cited?
The Shaykh: As the Qur'an indicates, their hands and their feet testify against them when Allah seals their mouths. Yes, Allah is the One to be sought for help.
The presenter: So, the fact that it is recommended to say tahlil and tasbih with the right hand does not indicate that the left hand will not speak on the Day of Resurrection?
The Shaykh: No, no, this one has its function, and this one has... just as the right hand is used for shaking hands, and not the left; one eats with the right hand, and not the left; and drinks with the right hand. None of this indicates that the left hand is not accountable. It is accountable for its task. Every organ is accountable for its task: the eye is accountable for seeing, the ear is accountable for hearing, the tongue is accountable for speaking, the right hand is accountable for what it is entrusted with, and the left hand for what it is entrusted with. Yes, Allah is the One to be sought for help.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.