TASBIHAT

We Should Not Neglect Daily Recitations

When tasbihat is mentioned, we first think of the recitations made after the Prayers. Our beloved Prophet indicated in many hadiths the recitations and prayers to be made after the Prayers, and he recommended that we do them: One day our noble Prophet asked, “Shall I teach you something that when you do it, those before you will not surpass you and those who come after you will not be superior to you?”

Abu al-Darda replied: “Yes, O Messenger of God (teach us).”

He said: “Recite thirty-three tasbih (subhanallah), tahmid (alhamdulillah) and takbir (Allahu Akbar) after every Prayer.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Imarah, 20).

This matter is expressed as follows in another hadith: “Whoever glorifies God by reciting Subhanallah thirty-three times, praises God by reciting Alhamdulillah thirty-three times, “God is great” or Allahu Akbar thirty-three times, and completes the hundred by reciting “La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahulmulku wa lahulhamd wa huwa ala kulli shayin qadir” (There is no true deity except Allah; He is One and He has no partner with Him; His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is Omnipotent), will be forgiven even if his mistakes and sins are as plentiful as the foam on the surface of the ocean.” (Sahih Muslim, Masajid, 144).

It can be understood how important tasbihat is from these hadiths. We can sometimes sacrifice our recitations to neglect for right or wrong reasons. We have to evaluate the thought, “At any rate, tasbihat is Sunnah. It’s OK if I don’t do it (!)” as a concession, because human nature is very amenable to this. To begin with, a person who abandons the tasbihat can, in time, abandon what is Sunnah. And this situation—God forbid—can take a person to completely abandoning the Prayers. A believer should look at Sunnah acts as a kind of making connection with our noble Prophet, and he should make them, beginning with the tasbihat, a vital part of his life.

Sometimes we can be very busy in our daily lives. Consequently, we may have to pray and return to our work without making the tasbihat. Even in these situations the tasbihat should not be abandoned; even if done standing up, the tasbihat should be made. If this is not possible, then tasbihat should be left for later and it should be completed when more convenient.

In addition to the tasbihat everyone knows and which is mentioned in the above hadiths, there is a famous “Prayer tasbihat” which is a little longer than the other. Comprised by bringing together wording from the Qur’an and hadiths by our spiritual elders, this recitation includes prayers recommended in hadiths, salawat, Al-Asma al-Husna and Al-Ism al-Azam in addition to the tasbihat that is known and recited at mosques. Without restricting ourselves on the topic of tasbihat, it will be better if we make this recitation after the Prayers.

The Tasbihat That Saved the “Butcher Tahir” from Execution

A large, courageous man from the shoe-makers trade was known as “Calamity Tahir” because he extorted money from the people of Afyon and its surroundings. When he killed a man who acted indecently towards his wife, he began to be known as “Butcher Tahir.”

Sentenced to execution, Tahir was shackled from both his hands and feet; he had to wear these even when he was taken from his cell to the prison yard to get some fresh air. One day he met Master Bediüzzaman in the yard.

Discerning the Master’s character from his face, Butcher Tahir, throwing his trouble into the ocean, pleaded: “Please pray for me! Save me from this situation.”

The Master gave the following advice: “These shackles are not chains to your execution sentence. These are your prayer beads! Begin to pray, make your tasbih, I will also pray for you and, God willing, you will be saved.”

Synchronizing his heart frequency with God’s friend from that moment on, Tahir became physically and spiritually cleansed and began to perform his Prayers. At the end of his Prayer he counted the rings of his chains. What did he see? There were exactly thirty-three rings (like on some Prayer beads). From that moment on, that chain became his Prayer beads.

After days, weeks and months had passed, Bediüzzaman’s wonder came true and, after first gaining spiritual freedom, Tahir gained physical freedom with a pardon in 1950.

Questions

1) Under which of the conditions below is a child repaying his father?

A) If the child does not say “ugh” to him

B) If the child cares for him in old age

C) If the child is successful at school

D) If the child serves him throughout his lifetime

2) Which of the options below is not characteristic of a mother?

A) She always embraces us.

B) She endures unimaginable difficulties for our sake.

C) She guides us in attaining happiness in the Hereafter.

D) She forces her child to work so the child will experience the difficulties in life.

3) Which of the choices below is what God emphasized in the following verse of the Qur’an: “My Lord would not care for you were it not for your prayer” (al-Furqan 25:77).

A) Worldly gains are attained through prayer.

B) A person who supplicates is worthless.

C) One who does not supplicate is of no importance because he does not recognize God.

D) A person who does not supplicate is important.

4) Whoever glorifies God by reciting Subhanallah thirty-three times, praises God by reciting Alhamdulillah thirty-three times, “God is great” or Allahu Akbar thirty-three times, and completes the hundred by reciting La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahulmulku wa lahulhamd wa huwa ala kulli shayin qadir (There is no true deity except Allah; He is One and He has no partner with Him; His is the sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is

Omnipotent), will be forgiven even if his mistakes and sins are as plentiful as ______.

Which of the choices below should fill the blank space?

A) Mount Everest

B) The peaks of pyramids

C) The foam on the surface of the ocean

D) The fish in the ocean

5) The noble Prophet declared, “O people! Repent to God, for verily I seek His forgiveness______ times every day.” How many times did the noble Prophet say he repented and asked God’s forgiveness every day?

A) 70 B) 33 C) 99 D) 100