Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) counting tasbihat with his hands.

Muhammad did not see any harm in a person reciting tasbih and counting the tasbihat.

Hazrat Mukhtar bin Saad says that I saw Hazrat Muhammad bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) counting the tasbihat on his fingers during voluntary prayers.

The muezzin of Banu Hanifa, Ibrahim, narrates that when Hajjaj ordered Mahan Hanfi to be crucified and he was hung on the wood, I was watching him. He was reciting Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, and Alhamdulillah. He was also counting these words on his fingers, and when he reached the number twenty-nine, he was struck with a spear in that very state. I saw him a month later, and even then his hands appeared to be counting up to twenty-nine. At night, a light could be seen near him.

Ibrahim narrates that Abdullah considered counting the tasbihat to be disliked and used to say, "Does he want to do a favor to Allah?"

Hazrat Uqbah says that I asked Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) about the person who engages in dhikr and counts the dhikr. He replied, "Do these people want to take account with Allah?"

Hazrat Saeed bin Jubair narrates that Hazrat Umar saw a man who was reciting tasbihat using means to count the tasbih. He said that it is sufficient for him to say: Glory be to Allah, filling the earth and the heavens and whatever is between them. All praise is for Allah, filling the earth and the heavens and whatever is between them. Allah is the Greatest, filling the earth and the heavens and whatever is between them.

Hazrat Muhajir narrates that Ibrahim used to forbid his daughter from helping women in making tasbih (prayer beads) threads.

7881 - Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Yunus narrated to us, he said: Baqi ibn Makhlad narrated to us (1), he said: Abu Bakr narrated to us, he said: Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan from Muhammad ibn Yusuf, that al-Sa'ib informed him that Umar gathered the people behind Ubayy and Tamim, so they would lead them in eleven rak'ahs, reciting the mi'in (long surahs), meaning in Ramadan (3).

Hazrat Abu Uthman narrates that Hazrat Umar gathered the reciters in Ramadan and instructed the fastest reciter to recite thirty verses, the one with moderate speed to recite twenty-five verses, and the slow reciter to recite twenty verses.