Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible to assign acts of remembrance or the Beautiful Names of Allah a specific number, order, or manner while believing that doing so brings a particular virtue, unless such specification is established in the Qur’an or Sunnah. Worship through the Beautiful Names of Allah is done by supplicating to Him through them, as Allah تعالى says: ﴿And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them﴾ [Al-A‘raf: 180]. It is not simply a matter of reciting them in a particular order for which there is no evidence.
The basic principle regarding acts of worship is that they are based on following revealed guidance. Therefore, a Muslim should not specify for a particular dhikr a certain number, a particular time, a particular place, or a specific manner, and then believe that this particular form has a special virtue, unless there is evidence from Islamic law.
Shaykh Abdullah ibn Qa‘ud was asked about such a practice and said:
“That is not permissible; and if he believes in it, it is an innovation.”
Accordingly, if someone says, for example: “Recite this dhikr a certain number of times in order to receive a specific reward,” or repeats one of Allah’s Names a particular number of times in order to fulfill a specific need, then it is not valid to restrict the dhikr in this manner without legitimate evidence.
The Beautiful Names of Allah are established through the Qur’an and Sunnah, and honoring and learning them is among the greatest fields of knowledge and faith.
However, it is not correct for a Muslim to establish a special devotional method for himself by reciting the Beautiful Names of Allah in a specific order, a specific number, or a specific manner, and then attribute to this method a special virtue that has not been established in Islamic law.
Simply because a name is one of the Beautiful Names of Allah does not mean that every method of reciting it automatically becomes a legislated act of worship.
Allah تعالى has explained the prescribed way of benefiting from His Beautiful Names by saying:
﴿And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them﴾ [Al-A‘raf: 180].
For example, a Muslim may say:
O Most Merciful, have mercy upon me.
O Most Forgiving, forgive me.
O Provider, provide for me.
O Healer, heal me.
In this way, a person calls upon Allah تعالى with whichever of His Beautiful Names is appropriate to his need, without committing himself to a number, order, or manner that has not been established by evidence.
It is not permissible to assign the Beautiful Names of Allah a specific order, number, or manner while believing in a special virtue or a particular result if this has not been established from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.
The prescribed form of worship through Allah’s Names is to learn them, glorify Allah through them, and supplicate to Him using His Beautiful Names, while adhering to what has been established in the Qur’an and Sunnah.
And Allah knows best.