Dhikr Charts: Counting Dhikr and Tasbeeh Beads

Dhikr is counted on the Right Hand

‘Abdullaah bin ‘Aamir رضي الله عنه said

‘I saw the Prophet ﷺ make tasbeeh with his right hand.’

Aboo Daawood 1502.

Count them (dhikr) upon the fingertips, for indeed they shall be questioned, and they will be made to speak

Humaidah bint Yasir narrated from her grandmother Yusairah - and she was one of those who emigrated - she said:

“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ 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).’”

واعقِدْنَ بالأناملِ فإِنهنَّ مسؤولات مُسْتَنْطَقَاتٌ

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3583

Language Point:

Fingertip

أُنْمُلَة unmulah

Fingertips

أَنامِل anaamil

Mentioned when counting tasbeeh as well as trimming the hair after hajj and umrah for a woman.

Tasbeeh Beads/Counters/Rings

The Sunnah is to use your fingers. They had pebbles and date stones at the time of the Prophet ﷺ to count but they didn’t use them.

Your fingers will bear witness for you on the Day of Judgement for you counting the dhikr of Allaah.

There is no authentic proof from the sunnah to use tasbeeh beads for worship. Any hadeeth that mentioned them are weak ahaadeeth.

Prayer beads/ Tasbeeh beads/ tasbeeh counters can be bid’ah innovation if a person thinks that using it is worship or that it is better than counting on your fingers which is sunnah; or they can just be something that takes you away from practicing a sunnah.

Dhikr in the sunnah is usually 33, 34 or 100 which is not difficult to count on your fingers.

Generally the angels are writing whatever else we do down. We don't need to keep track how many thousands of times we have said Allaahu akbar!

Showing off riyaa’ can enter into using these beads/counters. They are used as a symbol of piousness.

You could resemble the people of bid’ah who have specific tasbeeh beads with 1000 beads or ones made of such and such precious stones. They wear them around their necks (Sufis).

Tasbeeh Beads/Counters/Rings

Shaykh Al-Albaanee considers tasbeeh beads as a bid’ah innovation.

Some scholars allow them as a means to count only with certain conditions (Shaykhul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, Shaykh ‘Uthaymeen, Bin Baz and Fawzaan).

Pay attention...don’t let your fingers count while your heart and

mind are absent....

Summarized Fataawa

Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen رحمه الله (as do all the shuyukh) said tasbeeh on your fingers IS BEST:

The Prophet ﷺ told us to do tasbeeh on our fingers.
It is nearer for your heart to be present and paying attention.
Further away from showing off (riyaa’).

He said that tasbeeh beads were ‘permissible’ جائزة on two conditions:

you use them without showing off (riyaa’) and
that you do not resemble the people of innovation.

Shaykh bin Baz رحمه الله added that if you use them in your house there is no harm but do not use them in the masaajid or infront of others.

Shaykh Fawzaan حفظه الله said that they were allowed (mubaah) but fingers are best. He said that the electronic ring counters were not allowed.

Shaykh Al-Albaanee رحمه الله said,

“The tasbeeh beads (subhah) is an innovation that did not exist at the time of the Prophet ﷺ. It was invented afterwards.” p185.

In the footnote it mentions that the word ‘subhah’ (tasbeeh beads) was not known to the Arabs as it hadn’t been invented yet. It came later.

“If there were only one evil coming from the tasbeeh beads which is to nearly replace the Sunnah of counting on fingers (which they agree is better) then this would have been sufficient evil since it is indeed rare that I see an old person count the Tasbeeh on his fingertips!”

“You see some of those who ascribe themselves to one of the Soofi sects wearing tasbeeh beads around their necks!”

“Some of the people use tasbeeh beads while they are talking to you or while they are listening to you talk!” Silsilah Da’eefah vol.1 p184-193, hadeeth no.83. (Which therefore shows they are not paying attention to what they are doing of dhikr)

For the original Arabic sources of these fataawaa see:

https://youtu.be/YT3vNsK710I

https://youtu.be/-sFlT5u2-2U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_vxtR-t3eo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avfDX5ybU3E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUsuv01ifYE

https://al-maktaba.org/book/12762/224

Counting on your fingers (1)

Seems to be the closest to the sunnah. Allaah knows best.

Count one tasbeeh for each finger/thumb = 5 for one hand

10 = 2 hands

33 = 6 hands and 3 fingers