Re: 101 prayers on a Tasbeeh
What is the logical reasoning behind praying an ayah or a duah on a tasbeeh like a given # of times?
You will hear people say, read this on the tasbeeh 500 times, and you shall get your wish.
Is that what "wazifa" means?
I mean , do we think God is dumb that he wont hear our prayers unless we say them 100 times, and only then maybe he'll hear your prayer over everone else's??
These desi totkas make me think that our ancestry has resolved that God probably can't hear that you have to say the same thing repeatedly in order to be heard. Sort of insulting actually.
In my experience, I have found that in times of anxiety...if I can get myself to do tasbeeh, my heart calms down. As the Quran says, verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.
It's not just a Desi invention. In the Quran you will often find that the zikran/dhikran is followed by the word kaseera, which means kasrat se zikr karo...ya kasrat se yaad karo.. .to remember in abundance. Now we do remember Allah in our 5 obligatory prayers, but I don't that remembrance can be called kasrat. Abundance means to go above and beyond the minimum requirement or obligation.
As Captain Obvious said, there are ahadith stating the virtues of reciting a particular tasbeeh x number of times. So, if these ahadith are sound....then one can say that reciting something a multiple number of times was prescribed by the Prophet SAWS....who has more authority than the desi masses.
If you look at the namaz you perform, you will find repetition. Fir instance, Surah Fatiha is a dua and it's repeated in each rakat. There is a tasbeeh that is repeated 3x when you go into ruku and sajda position. So, again....the idea of repetition did not begin with the Desis.
In a hadith we are told to repeat dua 3 times. Allah can hear you even when you don't utter a word from your mouth, He can hear the thoughts in your heart and sometimes wishes are answered before you even raise your hand. Sometimes you only ask once, and it's fulfilled. Why do people repeat things in their writing and speech? It's to emphasize a point or to draw the readers attention to something which you find to be important or a matter of urgency. We're all beggers, dependent upon Allah. Repeating something several times shows one's need, it reminds you of your position as a servant...that it's one of powerlessness, it removes arrogance and humbles a person.
As for the concept of reciting something x number of times and that it will lead to fulfillment of your dua in x number of days......I agree that I don't feel comfortable with such beliefs. The danger in it is that people will recite wazifas for worldy gains with punctuality but not perform their prayers on time. They may recite an ayat for a wordly gain, but they won't take the time out to read the Quran. This is the problem with many of us, our priorities may not be in the right place.