Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Yasirah, who is a female companion and a migrant, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to the women: "You should frequently recite La ilaha illallah, Subhanallah, and Allahu Akbar, and count them on your fingertips, for on the Day of Judgment you will be questioned about them and they will speak. Do not be heedless, otherwise you will be deprived of mercy."

A woman from Banu Kalb says that once Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) saw me counting tasbih (praises) with the prayer beads I had with me. She said to me, "Where are the witnesses of the Day of Judgment, that is, the fingers?"

Hazrat Saad used to count the tasbeeh (praises) using pebbles and date stones.

Hazrat Saad used to count the tasbeeh (praises) using pebbles and date stones.

Hazrat Abu Saeed’s practice was that he would take three pebbles and place them on his thigh. Then he would recite the tasbih once and pick up one pebble, then recite the tasbih and pick up another pebble, then recite the tasbih and pick up the third pebble as well. Then he would put all the pebbles back and repeat this action. And he would say: Do not recite the tasbih in such a way that it sounds like a whistle.

A man from Tufawah says that I was on a journey with Hazrat Abu Hurairah, and he had a pouch with him in which there were pebbles or date stones. He used to recite "Subhan Allah, Subhan Allah" on them. When the pouch would become empty, he would give it to a black slave girl, and she would gather them again and put them in it.

Hazrat Zadan narrates that I took the date-stone rosary of Umm Ya'foor, and when I came to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), he said, "Return her date-stones to her."

Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) counting tasbihat with his hands.

Muhammad did not see any harm in a person reciting tasbih and counting the tasbihat.

Hazrat Mukhtar bin Saad says that I saw Hazrat Muhammad bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) counting the tasbihat on his fingers during voluntary prayers.

The muezzin of Banu Hanifa, Ibrahim, narrates that when Hajjaj ordered Mahan Hanfi to be crucified and he was hung on the wood, I was watching him. He was reciting Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, and Alhamdulillah. He was also counting these words on his fingers, and when he reached the number twenty-nine, he was struck with a spear in that very state. I saw him a month later, and even then his hands appeared to be counting up to twenty-nine. At night, a light could be seen near him.