So this report indicates that they only intended to negate perfection and merit. Do you not see that they said: whoever omits one has omitted a third of his prayer, and whoever omits two has omitted two-thirds of his prayer? If the matter were not as we have mentioned, then there would be no difference between failing to say one tasbih, which, according to that interpretation, would invalidate the prayer, and failing to say all of them, which indeed does invalidate the prayer. And yet, we know that they made a distinction. Moreover, we have already clarified in previous narrations what explicitly states that one tasbih is obligatory, and whatever is beyond that is recommended. This is in the narration of Hisham ibn Salim when he asked Abu Abdillah عليه السلام about the tasbih, and Imam عليه السلام said to him: You say ‘Subhana Rabbi al-‘Azim’ in bowing and ‘Subhana Rabbi al-A’la’ in prostration. Then Imam عليه السلام said: The obligation of that is one tasbih, the sunnah is three, and the merit is in seven, and this is explicit in what we have said.
Commentary #15