The Sunnah Method of Counting Tasbih on the Fingersهيئة التسبيح بالأصابع بعد الصلاة

Questioner: What is the Sunnah method of counting tasbih on the fingers after the prayer?

There is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, may Allah be pleased with him: "I saw the Prophet ﷺ counting the tasbih on his hand" — in one wording, "on his right hand" — but the word "right" is an irregular (shadhdh) addition; what is preserved is simply, "I saw the Prophet ﷺ counting the tasbih on his hand." Abu Dawud also narrates, "We would glorify Allah on our fingertips," but this is weak.

The hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr can be understood in one of two ways. It may simply establish that counting on the hand is prescribed — as a statement of kind, as if to say the Prophet ﷺ did not count using pebbles, date-stones, or anything else, but rather counted on his hand. Or it may specifically mean the right hand, given the general hadith of 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her: "He loved to begin with the right in putting on his sandals, combing his hair, purifying himself, and in all his affairs." Most scholars hold this latter view — that counting tasbih is recommended with the right hand.

No specific method has been established from the Prophet ﷺ as to whether he counted with his fingertips or by closing his fingers. Since nothing specific has been established from him ﷺ in this regard, the matter is broad; what matters is simply keeping the count, whether with the right hand or both hands, and whether by the fingertips or by folding the fingers. The Sunnah is to count on the hand, since 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As mentioned only this — that the counting is done with the hand and not otherwise.

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