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Wednesday, October 19, 2011
A DETAIL ACCOUNT OF THE PRAYER BEADS (TASBEEH,MASBAH, MISBAH )
THE RULING ON MISBAH (PRAYER BEADS)
BY SHAYKH IBN UTHYAMEEN (R.A)
***
Q 260.What is your opinion regarding the use of Misbahah[1]
when making Tasbih, may Allah reward you with goodness?
The use of Sibhah(i.e. Misbahah )is permissible, but it is better to make Tasbih by counting on the finger-joints, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“Count on the fingers, because they will be questioned.”[2]
And (they are also not recommended) because there might be something of show in them, and because in most cases, when a person makes Tasbih using Sibhah, one finds that his heart is not present, so he makes Tasbih with the Misbahah and he looks to right and left. So, the fingers are better and they are more fitting.
_______________
[1] Fatawa Arkan-ul-Islam
[2]Reported by Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad 6:370; by Abu Dawud in the Book of Prayer, in the Chapter: Tasbeeh Using Stones (1501); and by At-Tirmithi in the Book of Supplications, in the Chapter: The Virtues of Tasbih (3583) and the wording of the Hadith is: Count on the finger-joints, because they will be asked and questioned.
Fatawa Arkan-ul-Islam
Fatawa Arkan-ul-IslamBy Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih Al-Uthaymeen. The Fatawa presented in these volumes have been selected from the whole collection of the Fatawa of the learned Shaikh Muhammad bin Salih Al-'Uthaymeen and translated into the English language. These Fatawa are distinguished by their reliance upon the Book of Allah, the Most High, the Sunnah of His Messenger (S) and the opinions of the scholars who are known for their investigative powers. We hope that these Fatawa will provide the people great help, knowledge and understanding of the finer points of religious aspects.
***
Al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih Al- ‘Uthaymeen (Al-Liqa al-Maftooh, 3/30)
was asked whether using the masbahah for tasbeeh is bid’ah, and his reply was: “It is better not to do tasbeeh with the masbahah, but it is not bid’ah, because there is a basis for it, which is the fact that some of the Sahabah (Companions) did tasbeeh with pebbles. But the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us that tasbeeh with the fingers is better, as he said, ‘Count with the fingertips, for they will be made to speak.’
Doing tasbeeh with the masbahah is not haram (impermissible) or bid’ah, but it is better not to do it, because the one who does tasbeeh with the masbahah has shunned something better.
Using the masbahah may also be contaminated with some element of showing off, because we see some people carrying masbahahs that contain a thousand beads, as if they are telling people, ‘Look at me, I do a thousand tasbeehs!’
Secondly, those who use the masbahah for tasbeeh are usually absent-minded and not focused, so you see them doing tasbeeh with the beads, but their gaze is wandering all over the place, which indicates that they are not really concentrating. It is better to do tasbeeh with one’s fingers, preferably using the right hand rather than the left, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to count his tasbeeh on his right hand. If a person counts his tasbeeh using both hands, there is nothing wrong with that, but it is better to use the right hand only.”
We have reviewed rerquest no.2724 for the year 2004 which includes the following question:
What is the ruling concerning prayer beads [subha]?
Answer
Dr. Ali Goma Mohammed
Invocation with prayer beads or any other device used to count is an actthat is religiously sanctioned and confirmed by the Prophet [pbuh]. It is also an act that occurred among the Pious Predecessors [salaf] without any condemnation.
Hadiths demonstrating permissibility
- On the authority of Safiyya bint Hayy whosaid:
The Messenger of Allah entered upon me one day and between my hands werefour thousand date seed which I was using to invoke and I said, "I have been using these to invoke."
He replied, "Shall I teach you something greater than this which you can use to invoke?"
"Yes," replied.
He said, "Say 'praise be to Allah the number of His creation"
[Reported by al-Tirmidhi. Graded rigorously authentic by al-Hakim and confirmed by al-Dhahabi].
- On the authority of Sa'd ibn abu Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I visited a woman With the Prophet [pbuh] who had in her hand’s pebbles or date seeds which she was using to invoke. So, the Prophet said, "Shall I inform you of that which is easier and better than this? Say, 'praise be to Allah the number of His creation in the heavens, praise be to Allah the number of His creation on earth, praise be to Allah the number of His creation that He has created; Allah is the Greatest in the same amount, all thanks is due to Allah the same amount, there is no deity but Allah the same amount, and there is no power nor strength except by Allah the same amount"
[Reported by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi. It has been graded authentic by Al-Nisa`i and Ibn Majah and graded rigorously authentic by Ibn Habban and Al-Hakim].
- On the authority of al-Qasim ibn abd al-Rahman who said:
Abu al-Darda` kept date seeds in a bag. When he would pray the Dawn Prayer, he would take them out and invoke with them until they finished"
[Reported by Ahmed in al-Zuhd and graded rigorously authentic].
- On the authority of abu Nadra al-Ghaffari who said:
An old man from Tufawa informed me: "Abu Hurayra settled in Madina and I have never seen anyone more diligent than him nor more honorable towards his guests. One day I was with him and he was on a bed with a bag of pebbles or date seeds which he was using to invoke. Below him was a black slave girl who would collect them once he would finish and return them to the bag"
[Reported by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi and graded authentic by al-Nisa`i].
- On the authority of Na'im ibn Muharar ibn Hurayra who narrated that his grandfather, Abu Hurayra, said that he had a rope with one thousand knots and he never slept without invoking with it
[Reported by Abdullah ibn Al-Imam Ahmad in Al-Zawa`id al-Zuhd and by Abu Na'im in his Hilyat al-Awliya].
The same has been narrated by our master Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, abu Safyya, the Prophet's servant, Fatima, the daughter of al-Hussayn who is the son of Ali ibn abu Talib and others from among the companions and their successors.
Many scholars have composed works demonstrating that the use of prayer beads is religiously sanctioned. Among the well-known works are the following:
- The treatise by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti al-Munha fi al-Subha;
- Sheikh Muhammad ibn 'Allan al-Sidiqi's Iyqad al-Masabih Limashru'iyat al-Masabih;
- Abu Hasanat al-Laknawi's treatise Nuzhat al-Fikr fi Subhat al-Dhikr.
Imam al-Suyuti, may Allah have mercy on him, said after mentioning the above Prophetic texts concerning the issue of taking prayer beads for invocation that, "were the only reason for taking prayer beads for invocation to be in accordance with these masters (the ones mentioned in the proof texts), to follow their way and be granted some of their Divine Grace [baraka], then it would become by this virtue one of the most important and sound acts.
It is even more so when one considers that prayer beads are used to invoke Allah since it is seldom that one sees them and does not invoke Allah and this is one of their greatest merits. It has not been narrated to us that any of the Pious Predecessors or the Pious Successors prohibited making invocation with prayer beads;rather, most of them used them and never saw in this any dislike."
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the World; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
No doubt, counting the numbers of Tasbeeh (glorification) of Allah by hand is better than using beads. It is proved from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) that he used to glorify Allah through his hand. It is reported from Abdullah bin Amar bin al-'Aas that he said: "I have seen the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) using his hand to glorify Allah”.
[ Ibn Qudamah a sub narrator said, with his right hand].
[ Abu Dawood].
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) also said: "O believing women! Be regular in remembering Allah by saying لاإله إلا الله(There is no God who deserves worship except Allah) سبحان اللهGlory be to Allah) and supplicating other words of Praising Allah; do not neglect them otherwise, the Mercy will miss you. You should count them on your fingers, for they (the fingers) will be questioned and asked to speak”.
[ Ahmad, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmizi and al-Hakim].
Imam al-Nawawi and al-Hakim considered its chain as good.Imam al-Shawkani said: 'The above Hadith proves that counting the Tasbeeh of Allah by fingers is better than counting it by beads or pebbles'.
The fingers will testify on the Day of Judgment what the person had done be good or bad.
Ibn Taymiyah said:'Counting Tasbeeh by hand is Sunnah... though counting it by pebbles or seeds is permissible since some companions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) used to do so. Once the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) saw one of his wives counting the Tasbeeh using pebbles, he approved it. The same practice is reported by Abu Hurairah.
As for using beads for Tasbeeh some scholars disagree with it while some others agree with it. They say if one uses it with good intention, it is good. Using it without any need or exposing it to people, such as hanging it around the neck or wrapping it around one's hand as a bracelet and the like, this practice is either to show off before people, which is forbidden, or imitating such people, which is at least disliked'.
However, some scholars approve making Tasbeeh by beads as pebbles and seeds.
Imam al-Shawkani said:
'There are two other Hadith prove permissibility of counting the numbers of glorification by seeds and pebbles, beads are also the same since there is no difference between them.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) approved the two women counting on pebbles and taught them something excellent; guiding to what is better is not contradictory to what is permissible'. And then the Imam al-Shawkani also quoted from many companions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) the practice of counting Tasbeeh with seeds and pebbles.
[Nail al-Awtar].
The two Hadith referred by al-Shawkani are following:
1)Sa'd said that he with the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), visited a woman in front of whom were some date-stones or pebbles which she was using as beads to glorify Allah. He (the Prophet) said:
"I tell you something which would be easier (or more excellent) for you than that. He said (it consisted of saying):
"Glory be to Allah" as many times as the number of that which He has created in Heaven;"Glory be to Allah"as many times as the number of that which He has created on Earth; "Glory be to Allah"as many times as the number of that which He has created between them; "Glory be to Allah"as many times as the number of that which He is creating; "Allah is most great" a similar number of times; "Praise (be to Allah)"a similar number of times; and "There is no god but Allah" a similar number of times; "There is no might and no power except in Allah" a similar number of times" .
[Reported by al-Tirmizi].
2)Safiyyah (RA) said:"The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) visited me while four thousand seeds were before me, I was using them for Tasbeeh. He asked, 'Did you make Tasbeeh by these'? 'Do you like to know more excellent words than what you had glorified?' She said: 'Please teach me', then He said: 'Say "سبحان الله عدد خلقه" (Glorify be to Allah as many times as the number of that which he has created)”.
[Imam Tirmizi].
However, some scholars did not permit doing so for the practice ofIbn Masoud, once he passed by some persons in the mosque who were in group and one of them was asking them to say 'Subhanallah' ten times and then ten times 'La Ilaha Illa Allah', Abdullah said to them'are you more guided from the companions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) or more deviant from them?' No doubt, this is Bid'ah'.
Once he was informed about some persons that they are counting Tasbeeh by pebbles in a mosque in Al-Kufah. He went to them, scolded them, and threw the pebbles at them until they left and said: 'you have introduced an innovation. Are, you more excellent than the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam)'.
[Reported by Imam Shatibi ].
The preponderant opinion - Allah knows best - is making Tasbeeh by beads is permissible for the one who needs it according to the above Hadith. Since the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) approved making Tasbeeh with pebbles, beads are also the same.
The practice of Ibn Masoud does not contradict the above permission since he might had done so for their gathering, or due to the command of one of them, or may be for other reasons. Above all the practice of a companion cannot stand against a Hadith. Though making Tasbeeh by hands is more desirable.
Imam shawkani and your website doesn't consider praying beads as bidah while Albani refutes these evidences and consdiers them bidah? what is the correct position?
after quoting 2 evidences presented by imam shawkani. you have concluded permissibility of doing dhikr on praying beads.but the evidences presented by imam shawkani has been declared as weak by shaykh Al-Albani and hence he concluded that prayer beads are bidah:
Can you please explain the authenticity of narration by imam Al shawkani under the light of above link and eventually re-clear the issue whether praying beads are bidah or permissible. jazakallah khair Assalamualaikum
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know that using beads is just a means that is not intended as an end in itself to worship Allaah with; rather, it is just intended to count the number of Tasbeeh (saying Subhaan Allaah, i.e. how Exalted Allaah is), Tahleel(saying La Ilaaha Illa Allaah, i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah), Tahmeed(saying Alhamdu Lillaah, i.e. praise be to Allaah) and Takbeer (saying Allaahu Akbar, i.e. Allaah is the Greatest), so this is a means and it is not intended as an end in itself.
Even if there were no Sharee’ah evidence for its permissibility, then it is permissible based on the principlethat all means are permissible unless there is evidence that they are impermissible.
Among the contemporary scholars who issued a Fatwa that beads are permissible is the Permanent Committee for Issuing Fataawa in Saudi Arabiaas well as
Shaykh Ibn uthymeen may Allah have mercy upon him in his Fataawa among other contemporary scholars.
However, they clarified that making Tasbeeh with the fingers is more appropriate and not doing Tasbeeh with the beads is better in order to avoid showing off and the like.
Nonetheless, Shaykh Al-Albaani may Allaah have mercy upon him is of the view that it is an innovation based on the weak Ahaadeeth that were narrated about it. This is his Ijtihaad (i.e., the effort a jurist makes in order to deduce the verdict) for which he is rewarded. However, despite him classifying those Ahaadeeth as Dha’eef [weak], some other scholars classified them as Hasan [good].
In addition to this, beads are just a means as we mentioned, so the opinion that it is not an innovation is the correct opinion in our view. Moreover, the issue is a matter of Ijtihaad, so no party should blame the other in regard to their Ijtihaad, since the purpose of all is to follow what one sees to be closer to the evidence.
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 82285 – 84295.
What is the ruling on using a tasbeeh ring, as they have become very widespread and we do not know the ruling on using them? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer
Praise be to Allah.
The Sunnah is for the Muslim to count his tasbeeh and tahleel on his fingers, because of the report narrated by Ahmad (25841) and Abu Dawood (1501) from Humaydah bint Yaasir, from Yaseerah who told her: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed them to pay attention what reciting takbeer,taqdees and tahleel, and to count on their fingers, for they (the fingers) will be questioned and made to speak.
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Mishkaat al-Masaabeeh, no. 2316.
What is meant by the phrase“they (the fingers)will be questioned and made to speak”is that they will testify to that effect. This was stated by Al-Mubaarakfoori.
However, there is nothing wrong with reciting tasbeeh and dhikr, and remembering Allah, may He be exalted, by any permissible means,such as using the masbahah(“prayer beads”) and, similarly, the tasbeeh ring and other progammed devices which one may use to help keep track, because they come under the principle that the means are subject to the same ruling as the ends. If a person intends good by using this means, he will have what he intended.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to counting it with date stones and pebbles and the like, that is fine and some of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) used to do that. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw the Mother of the Believerscounting tasbeeh with pebbles and he approved of her doing that;it was also narrated that Abu Hurayrah counted tasbeeh with pebbles.
With regard to (counting tasbeeh) with beads put together on a string, some of the scholars regarded it as makrooh and some of them did not. If the intention behind it is good, then it is good and is not makrooh.
But as for using it when there is no need to do so, or making it visible to people, such as hanging it around the neck or wearing it like a bracelet on the wrist, and the like, this is either showing off to people or gives rise to suspicion that one is showing off, and is resembling the show-offs unnecessarily. The former is haraam and the least that can be said about the latter is that it is makrooh.
End quote from Majmoo‘al-Fataawa (22/506)
For more information, please see the answers to questions no. 3009, 140127 and 139662
Classified: Dhikr and du'aa ' (remembrance and supplication)
Question:
Is using beads to say Tasbih(Saying Subhaan Allah) and Istighfar (Saying Astagfiru Allah) an innovation? and is the one using them considered sinful, even if he can`t keep count using his fingertips?
The Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds, and may His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.
It is permissible for a Muslim to use beads as a means of counting Tasbih, Dhikr, and Istigfar since many a narration was reported after the righteous companions and their followers showing that beads made of dates were used for that end. Not only are beads a lawful means of worship, it was also confirmed that the Prophet (PBUH) counted Tasbih upon his fingertips. This indicates their permissibility as they aid a Muslim in keeping count of Tasbih.Therefore, it isn`t permissible to claim that they are innovative since none of the Muslim scholars have said so.
About this matter, Al-Saiouti has written a paper entitled "Al-Menhah Fi Al-Sibhah" which is included in the book"Al-Hawee Lil Fatawee(2/4-6)."
Ibn Hajar was asked: is there an evidence in Sunnah for its permissibility? He replied: yes, and Al-Saiouti has written a book about that.
One evidence is what Ibn Omar (May Allah be pleased with both of them) reported about having seen the Prophet (PBUH) counting Tasbih upon his fingertips. Moreover, Humaidah bint Yasir narrated from her grandmother Yusairah - and she was one of those who emigrated - she said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said to us: ‘Hold fast to At-Tasbih, At-Tahlil, and At-Taqdis,and count them upon the fingertips, for indeed they shall be questioned, and they will be made to speak. And do not become heedless, so that you forget about the Mercy (of Allah).”
{At-Tirmizi}.
In addition, some of the Prophet`s companions and those who came after them were reported to have used pebbles, dates, and knotted strings as means of counting Tasbih. Moreover, it was related that some scholars said, "Counting Tasbih using fingertips is better than using beads, based on the narration of Ibn Omar." Some of them even gave details where they said: " If the person saying Tasbih is certain about his count then it is better to use his fingertips, but if he isn`t then it is better that he uses beads"
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