Salat Al-tasbih: in the Light of Fiqh and Hadith – 2

Salat al-Tasbih in the References of Hanafi Jurisprudence

Just as the authors of the hadith compilations have a consistent method, so too do the scholars of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). They generally classify the diverse commands and etiquettes of religion into thematic divisions — books (kutub), chapters (abwab), sections (fusul), or topics (matalib) — and then discuss the legal rulings and issues accordingly. The jurists (fuqahaʾ) typically address the voluntary (nafl and tatawwuʿ) prayers that are transmitted from the sayings or actions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) under the section of Kitab al-Salah (Book of Prayer), discussing their legal status and related rulings separately.

Thus, while conducting research on Salat al-Tasbih, the present writer aimed first to review the primary sources of Hanafi jurisprudence comprehensively — spanning twelve centuries — to determine whether this prayer was ever mentioned as a distinct nafl prayer. The questions examined were:

• Do the Hanafi jurists cite the transmitted narrations regarding this prayer as valid proofs? • In which of the early sources of Hanafi law does this prayer appear, if at all? • And which of the codified Hanafi works remain entirely silent on its mention?

Upon exhaustive investigation — tracing the sources of Hanafi jurisprudence from the writings of the great Imams of the second century AH up to the legal compendia of the thirteenth century AH — it was revealed that for approximately twelve hundred years, the foundational works (ummuhat al-kutub) and other major references of the Hanafi school remained completely silent even about the name of this prayer. Listed below, in chronological order, are those sources:

1. Al-Athar, by Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ibrahim al-Ansari (d. 182 AH) 2. Al-Athar, by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189 AH) 3. Al-Asl (al-Mabsut), by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189 AH) 4. Al-Jami al-Saghir, by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189 AH) 5. Al-Hujjah ala Ahl al-Madinah, by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189 AH) 6. Sharh Maani al-Athar, by Abu Jafar Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH) 7. Sharh Mushkil al-Athar, by Abu Jaʿfar Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi (d. 321 AH) 8. Sharh Mukhtasar al-Tahawi, by Ahmad ibn Ali Abu Bakr al-Razi al-Jassas al-Hanafi (d. 370 AH) 9. Uyun al-Masail, by Abu al-Layth Nasr ibn Muhammad al-Samarqandi (d. 373 AH) 10. Al-Tajrid, by Ahmad ibn Muhammad Abu al-Husayn al-Quduri (d. 428 AH) 11. Mukhtasar al-Quduri, by Ahmad ibn Muhammad Abu al-Husayn al-Quduri (d. 428 AH) 12. Al-Nutaf fi al-Fatawa, by Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Sughdi al-Hanafi (d. 461 AH) 13. Al-Nukat, by Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Sahl Shams al-Aimmah al-Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH) 14. Al-Mabsut, by Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Abi Sahl Shams al-Aimmah al-Sarakhsi (d. 483 AH) 15. Tuhfat al-Fuqaha, by Muhammad ibn Ahmad Abu Bakr ʿAlaʾ al-Din al-Samarqandi (d. c. 540 AH)

16. Tariqat al-Khilaf fi al-Fiqh bayna al-Aimmah al-Aslaf, by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Asmandi (d. 552 AH) 17. Sharh al-Nukat, by Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Atabi al-Bukhari Zayn al-Din al-Hanafi (d. 586 AH) 18. Fatawa Qadikhan, by Fakhr al-Din Hasan ibn Mansur al-Uzjandi al-Farghani al-Hanafi (d. 592 AH) 19. Bidayat al-Mubtadi, by Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Marghinani (d. 593 AH) 20. Al-Hidayah fi Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi, by Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Marghinani (d. 593 AH) 21. Tuhfat al-Muluk (fi Fiqh Madhhab al-Imam Abi Hanifah al-Numan), by Zayn al-Din Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Razi al-Hanafi (d. 666 AH) 22. Al-Ikhtiyar li-Talil al-Mukhtar, by Abd Allah ibn Mahmud al-Mawsili Majd al-Din Abu al-Fadl al-Hanafi (d. 683 AH) 23. Al-Lubab fi al-Jam bayna al-Sunnah wa al-Kitab, by Jamal al-Din Abu Muhammad Ali ibn Abi Yahya al-Manbiji (d. 686 AH) 24. Muniyat al-Musalli wa Ghuniyat al-Mubtadi, by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Kashghari al-Hanafi (d. 705 AH) 25. Kanz al-Daqaiq, by Abu al-Barakat Abd Allah ibn Ahmad Hafiẓ al-Din al-Nasafi (d. 710 AH) 26. Tabyin al-Haqaiq Sharh Kanz al-Daqaiq wa Hashiyat al-Shilbi, by Uthman ibn Ali Fakhr al-Din al-Zaylaʿi al-Hanafi (d. 743 AH) 27. Sharh al-Wiqayah, by Ubayd Allah ibn Masʿud ibn Taj al-Shariah al-Mahbubi (d. 747 AH) 28. Al-Ghurrat al-Munifah fi Tahqiq Baʿd Masaʾil al-Imam Abi Hanifah, by Umar ibn IsHaq al-Ghaznawi al-Hindi al-Hanafi (d. 773 AH) 29. Al-Tanbih ʿala Mushkilat al-Hidayah, by Sadr al-Din Ali ibn Ali ibn Abi al-ʿIzz al-Hanafi (d. 792 AH) 30. Al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah ʿala Mukhtasar al-Quduri, by Abu Bakr ibn Ali al-Haddadi al-Zabidi al-Yamani al-Hanafi (d. 800 AH) 31. Al-Mutasar min al-Mukhtasar min Mushkil al-Athar, by Yusuf ibn Musa Abu al-Mahasin Jamal al-Din al-Malati al-Hanafi (d. 803 AH) 32. MinHat al-Suluk fi Sharh Tuhfat al-Muluk, by Abu Muhammad Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Ghitabi al-Hanafi Badr al-Din al-ʿAyni (d. 855 AH) 33. FatH al-Qadir (Sharh al-Hidayah), by Ibn al-Humam Kamal al-Din Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahid al-Siwasi (d. 861 AH) 34. Durar al-Hukkam Sharh Ghurar al-AHkam, by Muhammad ibn Faramarz ibn Ali, known as Mulla Khasraw (d. 885 AH) 35. Multaqa al-AbHur, by Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Halabi al-Hanafi (d. 956 AH) 36. Fath Bab al-Inayah bi-Sharh al-Niqayah, by Mulla Ali al-Qari (d. 1014 AH) 37. Nur al-Idah wa Najat al-Arwah fi al-Fiqh al-Hanafi, by Hasan ibn Ammar al-Shurunbulali al-Misri al-Hanafi (d. 1069 AH) 38. Al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab, by Abd al-Ghani ibn Talib al-Maydani al-Dimashqi al-Hanafi (d. 1298 AH) 39. Al-Nafi al-Kabir liman Yutali al-Jami al-Saghir, by Muhammad Abd al-Hayy al-Lakhnawi (d. 1304 AH) 40. Al-Siayah fi Kashf ma fi Sharh al-Wiqayah, by Muhammad Abd al-Hayy al-Lakhnawi (d. 1304 AH) 41. Umdat al-Riayah bi-Tahshiyat Sharh al-Wiqayah, by Muhammad Abd al-Hayy al-Lakhnawi (d. 1304 AH)

The View of Non-Legitimacy of Salat al-Tasbih in Hanafi Jurisprudence

Apart from the aforementioned absence of reference, according to the research and comprehensive inquiry of the present writer, the first Hanafi jurist who mentioned Salat al-Tasbih was Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-

Fadl al-Bukhari (d. 381 AH), a Hanafi jurist of the fourth century A.H. He mentioned this prayer only when responding to a question, wherein he rejected its legitimacy and did not accept it as a transmitted or legally sanctioned form of prayer. The details are as follows:

Imam Iftikhar al-Din Tahir ibn Ahmad al-Bukhari relates:

عن اإلمام أبي بكر محمد بن الفضل البخاري رحمه ّٰللاه أنه سئل عن الفقيه هل يصلي صًلة التسبيح؟ قال: تلك طاعة

العامة، فقيل: فًلن الفقيه يصلي صًلة التسبيح قال: هو عندي من العامة. It is narrated from Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Bukhari (d. 381 AH) that he was asked, ‘Does any jurist (faqih) perform Salat al-Tasbih?’ He replied, ‘That is an act of devotion practiced by the common people.’ Upon hearing this, he was told, ‘Such-and-such a jurist performs Salat al-Tasbih.’ To this, Imam Abu Bakr al-Hanafi replied, ‘In my view, he is one of the common people, not a jurist.’³⁹

Imam Iftikhar al-Din Tahir al-Hanafi (d. 542 AH) quoted this opinion of Imam Abu Bakr al-Bukhari al-Hanafi in his book Khulasat al-Fatawa without any comment or disagreement. From this, it becomes clear that he endorsed the same position regarding Salat al-Tasbih as that of Imam Abu Bakr al-Hanafi.

This same position of Imam Abu Bakr al-Bukhari al-Hanafi was later transmitted by the renowned Hanafi jurist Ibn Nujaym (d. 969 AH) in his Al-Bahr al-Raiq Sharh Kanz al-Daqaiq.⁴⁰

The opinion of Imam Abu Bakr al-Hanafi (d. 381 AH) regarding Salat al-Tasbih shows that certain weak narrations⁴¹ concerning this prayer, which first appeared in the third century AH and were included in some hadith collections as reports of virtue and encouragement (fadail wa targhib), had by the fourth century AH—his own era—spread among the general populace of Bukhara. People, having heard them from preachers, had begun to practice this prayer. However, the scholars and jurists were aware of the reality of this prayer and of its lack of authenticity from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH).

In that period, if a person was observed performing this prayer, the learned could immediately infer that he was not a scholar or jurist but a lay Muslim, since he was unaware of the reality and the lack of authenticity—both in transmission (sanad) and content (dirayah)—of this distinctive voluntary prayer. In their view, a person possessing genuine knowledge and understanding of religion could not remain ignorant of such an obvious issue.

Otherwise, it is self-evident that if Salat al-Tasbih were in fact established as a legitimate voluntary prayer from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), it would be inconceivable to negate someone’s status as a scholar or jurist merely on the basis of performing it.

Furthermore, it is also clear that in the narrations transmitted concerning Salat al-Tasbih, there is neither explicit mention nor even implicit indication that the Prophet (PBUH) prescribed this prayer specifically for the general public, excluding the jurists among the Companions, or that the reward associated with it applies only to the laypeople. None of the reported texts contain any indication of such a distinction.

Incidental Mentions of Salat al-Tasbih in Certain Hanafi References

Some Hanafi legal works mention Salat al-Tasbih only incidentally, not as an established or transmitted form of prayer within the chapters on voluntary (nafl) prayers. Rather, it appears only briefly and indirectly in the context of discussing issues related to disliked acts (makruhat) within prayer.

The details are as follows: since the earliest centuries, jurists debated whether counting Quranic verses or utterances of glorification (tasbihat) on one’s fingers during prayer was permissible or reprehensible. The jurists of the schools differed on this issue, which has been discussed in the books of jurisprudence from the earliest times. We even find it in the work of Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (d. 189 AH), Al-Jami‘ al-Saghir (p. 100), under the chapter “On Actions Disliked in Prayer”).

However, it is noteworthy that even in this discussion, the early Hanafi jurists (fuqaha’ al-mutaqaddimin) made no mention whatsoever of Salat al-Tasbih.

Some later Hanafi jurists (mutaakhkhirin), however, while discussing this issue, referred to Salat al-Tasbih incidentally. For example, they stated:

Regarding the recitation and glorification (tasbih) within prayer, the jurists differed on whether counting Quranic verses or tasbihat on one’s fingers is permissible, in order to adhere to the Prophet’s (PBUH) example in prayer. Imam Abu Hanifah considered such an act reprehensible (makruh), whereas his two disciples deemed it permissible. The need for such counting arises particularly in the narrated prayer known as Salat al-Tasbih.⁴²

According to the writer’s research, the Hanafi legal references that contain this kind of incidental mention are only the following seven works:

• Badai al-Sanai fi Tartib al-Sharai by Ala al-Din Abu Bakr ibn Masud al-Kasani al-Hanafi (d. 587 AH) • Al-Muhit al-Burhani fi al-Fiqh al-Numani by Abu al-Maali Burhan al-Din Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Bukhari al-Hanafi (d. 616 AH) • Al-‘Inayah Sharh al-Hidayah by Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmud, Akmal al-Din Jamal al-Din al-Rumi al-Babarti (d. 786 AH) • Al-Binayah Sharh al-Hidayah by Abu Muhammad Mahmud ibn Ahmad al-Ghitabi al-Hanafi, Badr al-Din al-Ayni (d. 855 AH) • Al-Nahr al-Faiq Sharh Kanz al-Daqaiq by Siraj al-Din Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Nujaym al-Hanafi (d. 1005 AH) • Maraqi al-Falah Sharh Nur al-Idah by Hasan ibn Ammar al-Shurunbulali al-Misri al-Hanafi (d. 1069 AH) • Majma al-Anhur fi Sharh Multaqa al-Abhur by Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman Shaykhi Zadah Damad Afandi (d. 1078 AH)

From this analysis, it becomes evident that the authors of the above works, spanning from the sixth to the eleventh century AH, neither mentioned this prayer as an independent act of voluntary devotion within the chapters on nawafil, nor cited any hadith related to Salat al-Tasbih in their works, nor transmitted any statement from the leading Hanafi imams supporting its desirability or legitimacy.

Moreover, it is particularly noteworthy that among these seven works, the last four—being commentaries—mention Salat al-Tasbih only in passing, while the original texts upon which they comment (Al-Hidayah, Kanz al-Daqaiq, Nur al-Idah, and Multaqa al-Abhur) contain no mention of this prayer at all. Thus, even this brief mention by the later commentators reflects merely their personal opinion, not an established doctrinal position of early Hanafi jurisprudence.

Later Hanafi Jurists Who Explicitly Declared Salat al-Tasbih to Be Recommended

In addition to the jurists mentioned earlier, there are three Hanafi scholars who, for the first time, while discussing the issue of counting Quranic verses and tasbihat on one’s fingers during prayer, explicitly cited the hadith related to Salat al-Tasbih and declared it to be a recommended (mustahabb) prayer.

The first among them is Najm al-Din Mukhtar ibn Mahmud al-Zahidi (d. 658 AH) of the seventh century, who mentioned it in Al-Qunyah al-Muniyyah li-Tatimm al-Ghunyah (p. 43). The second is Ibn Nujaym al-Misri (d. 970 AH) of the tenth century, who mentioned it in Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq (p. 52), his commentary on Kanz al-Daqa’iq. The third is Tahtawi (d. 1231 AH) of the thirteenth century, who discussed it in his marginal notes on Maraqi al-Falah Sharh Nur al-Idah (pp. 360–361).

From this, it is evident that the hadith concerning Salat al-Tasbih was recorded for the first time in Hanafi legal sources in the seventh century AH in Al-Qunyah al-Muniyyah li-Tatimm al-Ghunyah. Prior to this, no Hanafi jurist had ever mentioned this narration in any of their works.

After this period, the first Hanafi jurist to mention Salat al-Tasbih explicitly among the voluntary (nafl) prayers was Ibrahim ibn Ibrahim al-Halabi (d. 955 AH) of the tenth century, who in Al-Sharh al-Kabir li-Muniyyat al-Musalli (p. 432) listed it among the legislated voluntary prayers and cited its hadith as supporting evidence.

In the eleventh century AH, Ala al-Din al-Hasakafi (d. 1088 AH) also mentioned this prayer among the nawafil in Al-Durr al-Mukhtar Sharh Tanwir al-Absar wa Jami‘ al-Bihar (p. 93). However, his mention was only cursory—he listed the name of the prayer without elaborating on its details or citing the relevant hadith.

Later, in the thirteenth century AH, the renowned Hanafi jurist Ibn Abidin (d. 1252 AH), in his commentary Radd al-Muhtar ‘ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (2/27), established a separate heading titled “Matlab fi Salat al-Tasbih” (“A Discussion on the Prayer of Tasbih”). There, he discussed Salat al-Tasbih and its recommendation, describing its hadith as hasan (sound) due to its multiple chains of transmission. He also examined both the marfu‘ narration (attributed to the Prophet (PBUH)) and the alternate method of performing this prayer reported from Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak.

Summary of Findings from Hanafi Legal Sources

1. A detailed study of Hanafi jurisprudential works reveals the following key points:

2. No statement or practice regarding the authenticity or legitimacy of Salat al-Tasbih is transmitted from Imam Abu Hanifah or his principal disciples.

3. From the second to the thirteenth century AH, all major Hanafi juristic compilations and foundational works are entirely devoid of any mention of this prayer.

4. Among the prominent early Hanafi jurists who deemed this prayer unworthy of mention are: Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Abu Yusuf, Imam Muhammad al-Shaybani, Imam al-Tahawi, Abu Bakr al-Jassas, Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi, Imam al-Quduri, Imam al-Sarakhsi, Ala al-Din al-Samarqandi, Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani, Abu al-Barakat al-Nasafi, and Fakhr al-Din al-Zayla‘i.

5. In the fourth century AH, Imam Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Bukhari al-Hanafi explicitly declared this prayer to be non-legislated (ghayr mashru‘).

6. From the sixth century AH onward, a few later Hanafi scholars briefly mentioned this prayer—some only by name, while others also cited the narration related to it.

7. Every later jurist who mentioned Salat al-Tasbih or called it mustahabb did so as a matter of personal opinion derived from the hadith itself; none cited any statement from the early Hanafi imams, nor do the foundational Hanafi texts contain any evidence of its legislation or recommendation.

Salat al-Tasbih in Maliki Legal Sources

A review of Maliki jurisprudential references similarly indicates that they are, in general, entirely silent regarding this prayer and its recommendation—just as the compilers of Al-Mawsuah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaytiyyah have explicitly affirmed.⁴³

The only exception is Qadi Iyad al-Maliki (d. 544 AH), who listed this prayer among voluntary devotions.⁴⁴ However, Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi al-Maliki (d. 543 AH), a contemporary of Qadi ‘Iyad, explicitly declared Salat al-Tasbih to be unauthenticated and non-legislated.⁴⁵

Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qabbab al-Fasi al-Maliki (d. 778 AH), in his commentary on Qadi Iyad’s Al-Ilam bi-Hudud Qawaid al-Islam, writes:

Ibn al-Arabi stated:

The hadith concerning Salat al-Tasbih transmitted from Abu Rafi is weak. It has no basis in any authentic or even hasan-grade narration. Ibn al-Arabi further notes that Imam al-Tirmidhi himself explicitly clarified this point to caution people against being deceived by this narration. Moreover, Ibn al-Arabi asserts that the view attributed to Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak regarding Salat al-Tasbih carries no authoritative weight.

Furthermore, Imam al-Qabbab al-Fasi affirms that the adopted (mutamad) position among Maliki scholars is that of Ibn al-Arabi. He writes:

I know of no Maliki scholar who considered Salat al-Tasbih to be recommended, except Qadi Iyad, who expressed this view in his work. There are other such instances where Qadi Iyad based his opinion upon individual narrations as a matter of personal discretion. However, he ought to have clarified beforehand that such views were personal and not representative of the Maliki school, so that readers would not mistakenly attribute them to Imam Malik’s jurisprudence.⁴⁶

A similar assessment of Ibn al-Arabi’s position and Qadi Iyad’s view was later offered by the Maliki scholar Muhammad Amir al-Misri (d. 1232 AH).⁴⁷

Thus, it becomes evident that both the early and later Maliki sources are not only silent on Salat al-Tasbih, but some explicitly affirm that the authoritative (mutamad) Maliki position is that expressed by Ibn al-Arabi—namely, that this prayer lacks authenticity and legal legitimacy.

[To be continued]