The Tasâbîh prayer

Question

What is the ruling on the Tasâbîh prayer? Is it Sunnah?

Answer

I hold the view that the prayer known as al-Tasâbîh is not from the Sunnah and that the hadîth referring to it is weak. I hold this view for the following reasons:

1) In cases of worship, any act is prohibited unless legal evidence is provided to show that it is legally valid. 

2) The hadîth about this prayer is contradictory in many ways. 

3) It was not recommended by any scholar. Ibn Taymiyah said: “Ahmad and his companions stated their dislike of it and no scholar recommended it.” He also said: “Abû Hanîfah and al-Shafi`î knew nothing about it.” 

4) If that prayer is lawful it would have been conveyed to us clearly by the scholars and it would have been well known, because of its great benefits and its being very different than other prayers other forms of worship. We know of no other form of worship that offers the choice of performing it every day, once a week, once a month, once a year, or once in a lifetime.

Also, since it has so many advantages and is not similar to any other prayer, and at the same time is not well known and not recommended, then we know it is has no basis to it. This is because when people know of something so unique possessing so many advantages, they pay attention to it and talk about it with others until it becomes widely circulated among the people. Since this is not the case with this prayer, we know the prayer is not prescribed. This is why none of the great legal scholars ever recommended it. 

There are a sufficient number of voluntary acts of worship that are established by sound evidence and that provide sufficient blessings for those wishing to do more. This prayer – which has so much disagreement and ambiguity surrounding it – is unnecessary. 

And Allah knows best.

-islamtoday.net