Research Review of 3 Aḥādīth on Salāt al-Tasbīḥ and 7 Key Rulings
📚 Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, p. 426
❖ Introduction
The practice of Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ (Prayer of Glorification) is based on multiple narrations. Below is a detailed analysis of three significant aḥādīth reported in its regard, along with seven important jurisprudential rulings, critically examined through the lens of hadith methodology and scholarly views.
✿ ➊ Ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما)
◉ Chain of Narrators:
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Bishr → Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz → al-Ḥakam ibn Abān → ʿIkrimah → Ibn ʿAbbās
◉ References:
– Sunan Abī Dāwūd (1297)
– Sunan Ibn Mājah (1387)
◉ Grading:
✔ Chain is ḥasan li-dhātihī (reliable in itself).
✔ No disconnection or anomaly.
◉ Evaluation of Narrators:
- Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما): Eminent ṣaḥābī.
- ʿIkrimah: Reliable; narrator in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim
- al-Ḥakam ibn Abān: Declared thiqah by Ibn Maʿīn, Aḥmad, al-Nasāʾī, etc.
- Mūsā ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz: Trustworthy per major scholars
- ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Bishr: Narrator in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim
◉ Summary of the Ḥadīth:
➊ Four rakʿāt with surah recitation after al-Fātiḥah in each.
➋ After recitation: 15 times:
❝ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَلَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَر ❞
➌ In each rakʿah: 10 tasbīḥs in rukūʿ, qiyām, both sujūd, and sitting postures.
➍ Total: 75 tasbīḥs per rakʿah, 300 total in 4 rakʿāt.
➎ Encouraged to be prayed weekly, monthly, yearly, or at least once in a lifetime.
✿ ➋ Ḥadīth of Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī (رضي الله عنه)
◉ Chain of Narrators:
Abū Tawbah → Muḥammad ibn Muhājir → ʿUrwah ibn Ruwaym → Jābir al-Anṣārī
◉ References:
– Sunan Abī Dāwūd (1299)
– al-Sunan al-Kubrā li’l-Bayhaqī (3/52)
◉ Grading:
✔ Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic)
◉ Notable Narrators:
- Jābir (رضي الله عنه): Companion of the Prophet ﷺ
- ʿUrwah ibn Ruwaym: Reliable
- Muḥammad ibn Muhājir: Narrator in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, deemed thiqah
◉ Conclusion:
Authentic and consistent with Ibn ʿAbbās’s narration.
✿ ➌ Ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (رضي الله عنهما)
◉ Chain of Narrators:
Muḥammad ibn Sufyān → Ḥibbān ibn Hilāl → Mahdī ibn Maymūn → ʿAmr ibn Mālik → Abū al-Jawzāʾ → a Companion (possibly ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr)
◉ References:
– Sunan Abī Dāwūd (1298)
◉ Grading:
✘ Weak (ḍaʿīf) due to:
- ʿAmr ibn Mālik al-Nakrī: Considered weak by al-Bukhārī, Ibn ʿAdī, etc.
◉ Supporting Report:
- Supported by ʿImrān ibn Muslim (as per al-Nukat al-Ẓirāf 2/281)
- Weak narration from ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها) also exists (Sunan al-Dārimī, 1/43, ḥadīth 93)
📌 Scholars’ Views on Authenticity
Scholars of Rejection (Jarḥ):
- Imām al-Tirmidhī
- Ibn al-Jawzī
- al-ʿUqaylī
Scholars of Acceptance (Taṣḥīḥ):
- ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak
- al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī
- Abū Saʿd al-Samʿānī
- Abū Mūsā al-Madīnī
- Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIlāʾī
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Nāṣir al-Dīn
- al-Balqīnī
…and others.
❖ Seven Key Rulings Regarding Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ
➊ Meaning of “فِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ“
- May refer to Friday or every week. The first interpretation (Friday) is preferred.
➋ Ibn al-Mubārak’s Verdict:
- At night: Pray 2 rakʿāt with separate salām
- During the day: 2 or 4 rakʿāt with one salām
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 481, al-Ḥākim 1/319–320)
➌ Qirāʾah in Ṣalāt:
- Silent recitation is sunnah; slight vocal recitation is allowed at night.
(Fatāwā al-Kubrā li’l-Bayhaqī 1/191)
➍ Forgetfulness & Sajdat al-Sahw:
- In case of a missed tasbīḥ, do not repeat tasbīḥ in sajdat al-sahw, because the total is fixed at 300 tasbīḥs.
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 481)
➎ No Fixed Sūrah Required:
- Any available surah may be recited.
(Sūrat al-Muzzammil: 20)
➏ Session of Rest (Jalsat al-Istirāḥah):
- Mentioned in marfūʿ aḥādīth.
- Should not be neglected based on contrary actions of some scholars.
(al-Āthār al-Marfuʿah, Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 1/351)
➐ Should Not Be Performed in Congregation:
- Not prescribed for men or women in jamāʿah.
- No evidence for its performance in Ramadan, Duḥā, or group worship.
(Ḥayya ʿala al-Ṣalāh, p. 197) - Ḥanafīs: View nawāfil in jamāʿah as makrūh
- Some used the narration of ʿItbān ibn Mālik (Musnad Aḥmad 3/43, ḥadīth 16479) to justify it — but this analogy is invalid.
✅ Conclusion
✔ Among the three narrations on Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ:
- Two are authentic (Ibn ʿAbbās, Jābir)
- One is weak (ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr) but supported partially.
✔ The majority opinion among reliable scholars supports its authenticity and permissibility, though not obligation.
✔ It is a proven Sunnah, and its performance is recommended, whether weekly, monthly, or even once in a lifetime.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
