Forgetting count of Dhikr

Question #338:

While we say the dhikr, like saying hundred times “SubḥānAllāhī wa biḥamdihī” before ash-Shurūq (break of dawn) and al-Maghrib (sunset), if we forget how many times we already said and hesitate between 50 and 60 for example, what do we do?

Answer:

I have asked our Shaykh Abū Bilāl al-Ḥadhramī, and he answered by saying, “If he has doubt on the count, he should consider the lesser count of what he thinks and complete the dhikr.”

The proof for this is Qiyās (deduction based on analogy) from the ruling of building on what is certain in case of doubt in prayer as it came in following Ḥadīth. Allāh knows best.

It was narrated that Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī said,”The Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) said:

If one of you is unsure when in prayer and does not know how many Rakʿah he has prayed, whether it is three or four, let him ignore what is uncertain and proceed on the basis of what is certain…” Muslim – 571

End of Answer from Shaykh

So for example, if he had doubt whether it is 50 or 60 he should consider it to be 50 and complete the dhikr.

Compiled by: ʿAbdunNūr al-Hindī