Salāt At-Tasbeeh: Ten things, if you say them, Allah will forgive your sins, the first of them and the last of them, the older sins and the newer sins, the unintentional ones and the deliberate ones, the minor sins and the major ones. The Tasbeeh Prayer and its Regulations

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his Companions. INTRODUCTORY COMMENT A Hadeeth itself is proof for the people once they know its authenticity. So, differing and opinions are put to one side when we know that a Hadeeth is saheeh. Imām Ahmad (rahimahullāh, d. 241H) said: "I am amazed at a people who know the chain of narration (isnād) of a hadeeth and its authenticity yet they still resort to the opinion of Sufyān!" Referring here to the great scholar, Sufyan Ath-Thawri (rahimahullāh, d. 161H). Meaning, once a Hadeeth is shown to be authentic, then one is not permitted to resort to the opinions of men. The Hadeeth below is authentic according to a number of Muhadditheen as you will see from the references that follow. THE HADEETH OF SALĀT AT-TASBEEH 'Abdullāh ibn 'Abbās narrated that the Messenger of Allah (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam) said to Al-'Abbās ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib (radiyallāhu 'anhu): "Abbās, my uncle! Shall I not give you something, bestow upon you something and grant it to you? Shall I inform you of ten things that if you do them, Allah will forgive your sins, the first of them and the last of them, the older sins and the newer sins, the unintentional ones and the deliberate ones, the smaller sins and major sins, the hidden ones and public ones? There are ten things: you should pray four Rak'ahs, reciting in each one Surah Al-Fātihah and then another Surah. When you finish the recitation, you should recite fifteen times while standing: Subhānallāh wal-hamdulillāh wa lā ilāha illallāh wallāhu akbar (How perfect is Allah, free from all imperfections, and praise be to Allah, none has the right to be worshipped except Allāh, and Allāh is greater than all besides Him) Then you should bow (Rukoo') and say it again ten times while in Rukoo'. Then you should raise your head after Rukoo' and say it again ten times. Then you should kneel down in prostration (Sajdah) and say it ten times while prostrating yourself. Then you should raise your head from prostration and say it ten times (between the two Sajdahs). Then you should prostrate yourself again and say it ten times. Then raise your head after the second Sajdah and say it again ten times. That is 75 times for each Rak'ah, and you should do that in each of the four Rak'ahs. If you are able to pray it once a day, then do it. If not, then pray it once every Friday. If not, then once a month. If not, then once a year. If not, then at least once in your lifetime." AUTHENTICITY Reported by Abu Dawood in his Sunan, no. 1297 from Ibn 'Abbās; no. 1298 from Abul-Jawzā from Abdullāh ibn 'Amr; no. 1299 from 'Urwah ibn Ruwaim from an Ansāri Companion―and graded saheeh, hasan and saheeh respectively by Shaikh Al-Albāni (rahimahullāh). Also reported by Ibn Mājah no. 1386. A group of scholars have verified and authenticated this hadeeth, such as: - Abu Bakr Al-Ājurri - Abul-Hasan Al-Maqdisi - Al-Bayhaqi - Ibn Al-Mubārak - An-Nawawi - Tāj As-Subki - Ibn Hajr - As-Suyooti - As-Sindi - Az-Zubaydi - Muhammad bin Abdur-Rahmān Al-Mubārakfūri (author of Tuhfatul-Ahwadhi bi Sharhi Jāmi' At-Tirmidhi) - 'Ubaydullāh Ar-Rahmāni Al-Mubārakfūri (author of Mar'āt Al-Mafātīh Sharh Mishkāt Al-Masābīh) - Ahmad Shākir - Al-Albāni Among others. BENEFITS AND NOTES 1. MERCY AND HOPE This hadeeth is a mercy for the people and an escape from despair for their sins, a great opportunity to attain forgiveness from their Lord. 2. GENERAL APPLICATION This hadeeth encompasses all the believers even though the Prophet (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam) was addressing his uncle. That is because the statements of the Prophet (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam) address the whole Ummah unless there is proof for specificity. 3. NOT A LICENSE FOR SIN One does not solely rely on this hadeeth and imagine that he can embark upon sins and transgression freely because this prayer will protect him from punishment for his wrongdoing and oppression. Allah has stated: "And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful (that it may not be accepted) because they will be returning to their Lord. It is these who hasten in the good deeds, and they are foremost in performing them." (Al-Mu'minoon: 60-61) 4. RIGHTS OF PEOPLE As for the sins that are connected to the rights of the people and transgressions done against them, then this hadeeth does not encompass them. A person is under the threat of Allah's punishment until the rights of people have been restored, such as: - Returning what has been stolen to its owner (or compensating him) - Apologising to the one you have wronged and seeking his pardon - Correcting the slander of the one you have slandered and praising the one you wrongfully maligned in the same gatherings you spoke ill of him - Or at the very least supplicating for their guidance and that Allah shows them mercy and forgives them This is needed if one wants his repentance to be complete. Al-Hasan (d. 110H, rahimahullāh) said: "We met a people (i.e. Sahābah) who were more fearful that their good deeds would not be accepted than you are of being punished for your sins." (Al-Qutubi in Al-Jāmi' 12/132). So the Salātut-Tasbeeh is a good deed and the believer should be fearful that it may not be accepted, and he should know that deeds are accepted in accordance with one's sincerity, truthfulness and humility to Allah, yearning and hoping for His acceptance and reward. 5. NO SPECIFIED SURAH There is no specified Surah that needs to be recited after Al-Fātihah, rather a person can recite whatever is easy for them―and likewise there is no time restriction as to when it can be prayed (except that you should avoid the forbidden times such as sunrise up until the sun has arisen, the late afternoon before sunset, at sunset until the sun has fully set, and midday). 6. ORDER OF RECITATIONS The adhkār (the ten praises and glorification) in Rukoo', in Sujood, etc., are to be recited after the obligatory recitations that are normally said in these places. So: - In Rukoo': recited after saying "Subḥāna Rabbīyal-ʿadhīm" - Standing from Rukoo': recited after saying "Samiʾ Allāhu liman ḥamidah Rabbanā wa lakal-ḥamd" - In Sajdah: after reciting "Subḥāna Rabbīyal-Aʾlá" 7. MISTAKES AND SUJOOD AS-SAHW If someone makes a mistake that requires Sujood as-Sahw, then he does not make the ten remembrances of glorification and praise in those prostrations of forgetfulness. And all praise is for Allah. Written by Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wāhid