rak'ahs; I have never seen him pray a prayer lighter than it, except that he would complete the bowing and prostration. It is agreed upon (61). And because there is an element of assimilation to the obligatory prayers in performing it consistently. Abu al-Khattab said: It is recommended to perform it consistently because the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) advised his companions to do so. He said: "Whoever maintains the Duha prayer (62) shall have his sins forgiven, even if they were like the foam of the sea" (63). Al-Tirmidhi said: We do not know of this except through the hadith of al-Nahhas bin Qahm. And because the most beloved of deeds to Allah are those which their practitioner performs consistently.
Section: As for the prayer of Tasbih (glorification), Ahmad said: It does not please me. It was said to him: Why? He said: There is nothing in it that is authentic. And he shook his hand as if rejecting it. It has been narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib: "O my uncle, shall I not give you? Shall I not grant you? Shall I not favor you? Shall I not do for you ten things? If you do that, Allah will forgive you your sin: the first of it and the last of it, the old of it and the new of it, the unintentional of it and the intentional of it, the minor of it and the major of it, the secret of it and the public of it—ten things: that you pray four rak'ahs, reciting in each rak'ah the Opening of the Book (al-Fatihah) and a surah. When you have finished the recitation, you say 'Subhan Allah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illa Allah, wallahu akbar' (Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest) fifteen times. Then you bow and say it ten times while you are bowing. Then you raise your head from bowing and say it ten times. Then you fall prostrate and say it ten times while you are prostrating. Then you raise your head from prostration and say it ten times. Then you prostrate and say it ten times. Then you raise your head and say it ten times. That is seventy-five in every rak'ah. You do that in the four rak'ahs. If you are able to pray it once every day,
(61) Preceded on page 550. (62) With the shaddah on the sheen being both dammah and fathah. (63) Extracted by al-Tirmidhi in: The chapter on what has been narrated regarding the Duha prayer, from the Chapters of Witr. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/259, 260. And by Ibn Majah in: The chapter on what has been narrated regarding the Duha prayer, from the Book of Establishing Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/440. And by Imam Ahmad in: al-Musnad 2/443, 497, 499.
