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Salatul Tasbih · 3 min read

How to pray Salatul Tasbih

Four rak'ahs. Seventy-five repetitions of one phrase in each rak'ah, placed at seven points. Three hundred in total.

The phrase is the same throughout: SubhanAllah, wal-hamdu lillah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar.

There are two transmitted placements for the first fifteen. This page gives the one from the Abu Dawud wording first, then notes the other.

How many rak'ahs?

Four.

They may be prayed as one prayer of four, or as two sets of two. Practice differs on this and both are followed.

The count of seventy-five per rak'ah does not change either way.

The niyyah

The intention is of the heart. You intend to pray four rak'ahs of Salatul Tasbih, and that is sufficient.

There is no required Arabic formula to memorise or recite aloud.

Pages that supply a fixed niyyah sentence are offering a convention, not a requirement. Nothing is invalidated by not saying it.

Where the seventy-five fall

In each rak'ah, at these seven points.

Add them up: fifteen plus six tens is seventy-five. Repeat for all four rak'ahs to reach three hundred.

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ بِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ النَّيْسَابُورِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحَكَمُ بْنُ أَبَانَ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ لِلْعَبَّاسِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ يَا عَبَّاسُ يَا عَمَّاهُ أَلاَ أُعْطِيكَ أَلاَ أَمْنَحُكَ أَلاَ أَحْبُوكَ أَلاَ أَفْعَلُ بِكَ عَشْرَ خِصَالٍ إِذَا أَنْتَ فَعَلْتَ ذَلِكَ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَكَ ذَنْبَكَ أَوَّلَهُ وَآخِرَهُ قَدِيمَهُ وَحَدِيثَهُ خَطَأَهُ وَعَمْدَهُ صَغِيرَهُ وَكَبِيرَهُ سِرَّهُ وَعَلاَنِيَتَهُ عَشْرَ خِصَالٍ أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ تَقْرَأُ فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ فَاتِحَةَ الْكِتَابِ وَسُورَةً فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ مِنَ الْقِرَاءَةِ فِي أَوَّلِ رَكْعَةٍ وَأَنْتَ قَائِمٌ قُلْتَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ خَمْسَ عَشْرَةَ مَرَّةً ثُمَّ تَرْكَعُ فَتَقُولُهَا وَأَنْتَ رَاكِعٌ عَشْرًا ثُمَّ تَرْفَعُ رَأْسَكَ مِنَ الرُّكُوعِ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا ثُمَّ تَهْوِي سَاجِدًا فَتَقُولُهَا وَأَنْتَ سَاجِدٌ عَشْرًا ثُمَّ تَرْفَعُ رَأْسَكَ مِنَ السُّجُودِ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا ثُمَّ تَسْجُدُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا ثُمَّ تَرْفَعُ رَأْسَكَ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا فَذَلِكَ خَمْسٌ وَسَبْعُونَ فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ تَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ فِي أَرْبَعِ رَكَعَاتٍ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ أَنْ تُصَلِّيَهَا فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مَرَّةً فَافْعَلْ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَفِي كُلِّ جُمُعَةٍ مَرَّةً فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَفِي كُلِّ شَهْرٍ مَرَّةً فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَفِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ مَرَّةً فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلْ فَفِي عُمُرِكَ مَرَّةً

Sunan Abi Dawud 1297 · Sahih (al-Albani), as printed at the sourceCopied from sunnah.com on 8 August 2026, character for character, including the isnad. It has not been collated against a printed edition, so the edition and page are not yet locked. A version circulating online adds مِنَ السُّجُودِ at the seventh position; the text above does not carry it, and neither does sunnah.com.
  • After the recitation, while still standing — 15 times.
  • In ruku, after the usual tasbih of ruku — 10 times.
  • After rising from ruku, while standing — 10 times.
  • In the first sujud, after the usual tasbih of sujud — 10 times.
  • Sitting between the two sujuds — 10 times.
  • In the second sujud — 10 times.
  • Sitting after the second sujud, before standing — 10 times.

The other placement

The second transmitted method moves the fifteen to the start of the rak'ah.

You say the opening praise, then the phrase fifteen times, then seek refuge, then recite al-Fatihah and a surah.

After the recitation you say it ten times, and then ten at each of the remaining points.

The total is still seventy-five. This is the arrangement generally followed in the Hanafi school, and both are set out on the Hanafi and Shafi'i methods.

Practical notes

A few things that come up the first time.

The count is not something to rush. Three hundred said quickly to finish is missing what the prayer is.

  • Count on your fingers. Beads in the hand during salah are awkward and unnecessary.
  • The usual tasbih of ruku and sujud is said first, then the seventy-five phrase is added.
  • If you lose count, assume the lower number and continue. Doing a few extra is not a problem.
  • There is no sujud al-sahw for miscounting these, since they are not part of the obligatory structure of the prayer.
  • Recitation after al-Fatihah follows the ordinary rules for a voluntary prayer.

Before you pray it

It is worth knowing that this prayer is disputed before you make it a habit.

Some scholars held the hadith too weak to establish it. Others accepted it. The Hanafi school treats it as mustahab.

The full picture is on is Salatul Tasbih authentic.

How far the checking went

The Arabic above was copied from sunnah.com, not from a printed edition. That is a weaker claim than this site usually makes, and it is stated on the block itself rather than left for you to assume.

The structure, four rak'ahs, seventy-five per rak'ah, the seven positions, is consistent across every source consulted.

Where a detail differs between transmissions, this page gives both rather than choosing.