Is one allowed to make zikr on a tasbeeh, or should one use only his fingers to count?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Both methods of counting Zikr are proper, if a person can easily keep count using fingers then it will be better.
However there is nothing wrong in using a tasbeeh. Using a tasbeeh, beads or stones to help one with counting Zikr is supported by various Ahadith. On the authority of Sa‘d ibn Abī Waqqās (radiyAllāhu ‘anh) he narrates that together with Rasulullah (ﷺ) he came upon a woman with date stones or pebbles before her, with which she was reciting tasbeeh. (Tirmidhi). Rasulullah (ﷺ) did not reprimanded her or disapprove of what she was doing. This Hadith shows that taking assistance from something like a tasbeeh to help one keep count of his Zikr is permissible.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Arshad Ali
Darul Iftaa, Jaamia Madinatul Uloom (Trinidad)