This tasbih { tasbihat } was taught by the Messenger of...

This tasbih { tasbihat } was taught by the Messenger of Allah (S) to his daughter Fatimah( ‘a ), and its recital has been highly emphasized as having huge spiritual rewards.

Imam al-Baqir ( ‘a ) says: “There is no eulogy better than the tasbihat of Hadhrat az-Zahra ( ‘a ), and if there were any, the Messenger of Allah (S) would have taught it to his daughter.”[^12] In numerous traditions, it is stressed that to have a rosary { tasbih } with 34 beads from the sacred soil of Imam al-Husayn ( ‘a ) and to recite tasbihat with it has great rewards, and even counting its beads without the recital of tasbihat is good and valuable.[^13] And it is stated in a hadith that the beads themselves glorify { dhikr } God.[^14] The turbah of al-Husayn ( ‘a ) is reminiscent of the epic in Karbala’ and reviver of the culture of martyrdom, and it makes human beings familiar with the Doyen of the Martyrs ( ‘a ) himself, divine leadership, jihad , martyrdom, self-sacrifice, struggle against tyranny, and remaining steadfast against oppressors.

The tasbihat of Hadhrat az-Zahra ( ‘a ), as stated, has been mentioned even in hadith books of the sunni people {Ahl as-Sunnah}[^15] but it is nowhere mentioned that the name of the said tasbihat is Tasbihat Hadhrat az-Zahra’ ( ‘a )! Prostration of Gratitude {sujud shukr} Gratitude for the blessings endowed by God, the Exalted, is a sign of gnosis { ma‘rifah }, courtesy and servitude.

In the verses of the Qur’an and Prophetic traditions, expressing gratitude for blessings has been highly enjoined, and it has been stated that recollection of blessings enhances a human being’s love for God and makes divine blessings perpetual and abundant.[^16] It is true that due gratitude for blessings is beyond the capability and power of man, but he ought to express thanks as far as he can for the favors and blessings of God.

One form of expressing gratitude is to prostrate on the ground and express gratefulness to the Lord. And this prostration of gratitude { sujud shukr } is considered as one of the post-prayer devotional acts { ta‘qibat }.[^17] The late ‘Allamah Majlisi has allotted the entire volume 83 of Bihar al-Anwar (with the exception of a few pages at the end of the volume) to the narrations about post-prayer devotional acts while quoting 63 hadith s of the infallible Imams ( ‘a ) about the prostration of gratitude.