Question:
Why do the sufis give special significance to certain numbers of recitations of different types of adhkar?
Answer:
Allah swt said:
لَقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا
laqad ahsahum wa `addahum `adda,
He does take an account of them (all), and hath numbered them (all) exactly. (Maryam, 19:94)
It is thus established that counting with precision is one of Allah swt’s sunan. Thus we see that according to natural laws, established by Allah Almighty, In addition to the fact that the days of the week are seven, the days of the month 29 or 30, the days of the year 354, the months of the year 12. Does anyone find this objectionable?
Qatadah said about Allah’s statement,
فَلاَ تَظْلِمُواْ فِيهِنَّ أَنفُسَكُمْ
“so wrong not yourselves therein” (at-Tawbah, 9:36)
“Injustice during the Sacred Months is worse and graver than injustice in other months. Verily, injustice is always wrong, but Allah makes things graver than others as He will.”
He also said, “Allah has chosen some of His creation above others. He chose Messengers from angels and from men. He also chose His Speech above all speech, the Masajid above other areas of the earth, Ramadan and the Sacred Months above all months, Friday above the other days and Laylatul-Qadr (The Night of Decree) above all nights. Therefore, sanctify what Allah has sanctified, for doing so is the practice of people of understanding and comprehension.”
All this is to show that some times and places are more preferable in the Sight of Allah than others. Additionally, many forms of worship have specified repetitions: the daily prayers are 5, there are nine days of (sunnah) fast in Dhu’l-Hijjah and 2 in Muharram, 6 in Shawwal and 29 or 30 farai’d obligatory fasts in Ramadan.
Similarly for the numbers of repetitions, as in the many ahadith of the Prophet (s) recommending specific numbers of repetitions of certain prayers, phrases of praise (tahmid), glorification (tasbih), magnification (takbir), glorification (tamjid), affirming Divine Unity (tahlil) or remembrance (adhkar).
For example, during the Eid takbir, but the triple repetition: Allahu akbar Allahu akbar Allahu akbar was the practice of five of the major Companions. Similarly, the Prophet (s) specified 33 subhanallah, 33 alhamdulillah and 34 Allah abkar as a sunnah ratib following each of the fara’id prayers:
The Messenger of Allah (s) said:
“There are some words, the reciters of which will never be disappointed. These are: Tasbih [saying Subhan-Allah (Allah is free from imperfection)] 33 times, Tahmid [saying Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah)] 33 times, and Takbir [saying Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest)] 34 times; and these should be recited after every fard salat.” (Sahih Muslim)
and the examples of such specified repetitions of dhikr or tasbih are far too many to mention here.
See the webpage: Evidence for Dhikr Beads at sunnah.org.
w ‘Allahu `alam
Taher Siddiqui
reviewed and approved by Shaykh Hisham Kabbani
