Evidence of Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ and the Ruling on Congregational Performance
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Page 289
❖ Question
Is there any evidence for Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ? If so, can it be performed in congregation?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Evidence from Ḥadīth
- Reports of Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ are found in several ḥadīth collections:
◈ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī from Abū Rāfiʿ (RA).
◈ Abū Dāwūd, Sunan Ibn Mājah, Daʿawāt Kabīr al-Bayhaqī, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Mustadrak of Ḥākim from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbbās (RA).
◈ Sunan Abī Dāwūd from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAmr bin al-ʿĀṣ (RA) and others.
Opinions of the Scholars
- Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī (رحمه الله):
“There is disagreement among scholars whether the ḥadīth of Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ is ṣaḥīḥ, ḥasan, ḍaʿīf, or even fabricated. But in my view, it does not fall below the level of ḥasan.”
[Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī, 1/351] - Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله):
In al-Khiṣāl al-Mukaffirah, he inclined to its ḥasan status.
[Tuhfah, 1/350] - Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī (رحمه الله):
“This ḥadīth has been narrated through numerous chains from multiple Companions. The best narration is that of ʿIkrimah. Several scholars authenticated it, among them:
• Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr al-Ājurri,
• Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Miṣrī,
• Ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Ḥasan al-Maqdisī (رحمهم الله).
Abū Bakr bin Abī Dāwūd said: I heard my father (Imām Abū Dāwūd) say: ‘There is no ṣaḥīḥ narration on Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ except this one.’
Imām Muslim bin Ḥajjāj (رحمه الله) said: ‘There is no better chain in this subject than this one.’
Imām al-Ḥākim stated: ‘It is authentically narrated from Ibn ʿUmar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught this prayer to his cousin.’”
[al-Targhīb wa al-Tarhīb, 1/468]
❖ Summary
- A number of great scholars have authenticated the ḥadīth of Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ.
- However, performing it in congregation is not proven from the Khair al-Qurūn (the early righteous generations).
- The practice of arranging it in congregational form, especially in Ramadan nights, can lead to the spread of bidʿah.
❖ Conclusion
The evidence for Ṣalāt al-Tasbīḥ exists, and many scholars considered its ḥadīth as ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan. However, offering it in congregation is not established from the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, or the early generations. Thus, organizing it in such a manner is a means of promoting innovation.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
