A sincere brother emailed:
“I would like to know if I could begin practicing this dowazdah tasbih without becoming a murid immediately? Does one need permission [ijaza] to start this dhikr?

As per the teachings of Shaykh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him) the following response was send to him,

You do not have to be a murid to start the dowazdah tasbih.

However, you need to be sincere in the effort of your religious self-reformation (islah).

And it must be clear upfront that the dhikr recommended by the Sufis is a form of treatment strategy. This dhikr is the treatment of heedlessness (ghaflah) and other spiritual aliments. Eventually it is a prelude to the real remembrance of Allah, Most High.

The Shaykh usually recommendeds it to a seeker who has been actively trying to reform his morals & characteristics to be a better Muslim, is punctual with his regular daily tasbihat, Quranic & munajat e maqbool recitation and is informing him for atleast few months.

Whitout knowing a satisfactory answer to the following questions it is very difficult to recommend this to you. What are your daily activities? What is the extent of effort to bring deen in your life? And, finally what is your understanding of the spiritual path?

More over, sometimes these sufic dhikr result in some overwhelming thoughts and states for which a Shaykh is necessary. Otherwise, a person may go astray.