A ''Misbaha'' ( ar, مِسْبَحَة, misbaḥa), ''subḥa'' ( ar, سُبْحَة, links=no) (Arabic,

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, Bangladesh and Pakistan), or ''tespih'' ( Turkish, Bosnian and

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

) is

prayer beads Prayer beads are a form of beadwork used to count the repetitions of prayers, chants, or mantras by members of various religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto, Umbanda, Islam, Sikhism, the Baháʼí Faith, and some Christian denominations ...

often used by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

for the

tasbih ''Tasbih'' ( ar, تَسْبِيح, ) is a form of ''dhikr'' that involves the glorification of God in Islam, Allah in Islam by saying: ''"Subhan Allah"'' (; lit. "Glory be to God"). It is often repeated a certain number of times, using either ...

, the recitation of

prayers Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...

, the

dhikr ''Dhikr'' ( ar, ذِكْر}, , also spelled ''Zikr'', ''Thikr'', ''Zekr'', or ''Zikar'', literally meaning "remembrance, reminder" or "mention") is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to reme ...

, as well as to glorify

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

Use

A misbaḥah is a tool that is used as an aid to perform

, including the

names of God in Islam Names of God in Islam ( ar, أَسْمَاءُ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ , "''Allah's Beautiful Names''") are names attributed to God in Islam by Muslims. While some names are only in the Quran, and others are only in the hadith, th ...

, and after regular prayer. It is often made of

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

en or

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

beads, but also of

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

seeds,

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s, and semi-precious stones such as

carnelian Carnelian (also spelled cornelian) is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semi-precious gemstone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker (the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names are often use ...

onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

, and

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

. A typical misbahah consists of three groups of beads, separated by two distinct beads (called ''imām''s) along with one larger piece (called the ''yad'') to serve as the handle. The exact number may vary, but they usually consist of 99 beads to assist in the glorification of God following prayers: 33 Tasbeeh (subhāna-llāh ), 33 Tahmeed (ʾal-ḥamdu li-llāh), and 33 Takbeer (ʾAllāhu ʾakbar). Some suggest the 99 beads also refer to the

99 names of Allah Names of God in Islam ( ar, أَسْمَاءُ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ , "''Allah's Beautiful Names''") are names attributed to God in Islam by Muslims. While some names are only in the Quran, and others are only in the hadith, th ...

. Smaller misbahas consist of 33 beads, in which case one cycles through them three times to complete 99. However, misbahas may also consist of 100 or 200-count beads to assist in the

duties of certain

Sufi order A tariqa (or ''tariqah''; ar, طريقة ') is a school or order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking ''haqiqa'', which translates as "ultimate truth". ...

s. It is often carried by pilgrims,

dervish Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...

es, and many ordinary Muslims of all groups, except for

Wahhabi Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...

s, who consider it heretical innovation (''

bid'ah In Islam, bid'ah ( ar, بدعة; en, innovation) refers to innovation in religious matters. Linguistically, the term means "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". In classical Arabic literature ('' adab''), it has been used as a fo ...

'') and only allow dhikrs to be counted on the fingers. Many Shi'is use beads made from clay from

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...

, sometimes colored red in memory of the killed

Imam Husayn Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

's blood or green in memory of his brother Hasan (who supposedly turned green from poisoning). Misbahahs are also used culturally to reduce stress or as an indication of status in society. Qur'an and tespih

History

It is thought that in the early Muslim era, people used loose pebbles or counted on their fingers. According to the 17th-century Shia cleric ʻ Allāmah

Muhammad Baqir Majlisi Mohammad Baqer Majlesi (b. 1037/1628-29 – d. 1110/1699) ( fa, علامه مجلسی ''Allameh Majlesi''; also Romanized as: Majlessi, Majlisi, Madjlessi), known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi Al-Thani (Majlesi the Second), was a renowned and ver ...

, after the 625CE Battle of Uḥud, Fāṭimah (the daughter of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

) would visit the Martyrs' graveyard every two or three days, and then made a misbaḥah of Ḥamzah ibn ʻAbd al-Muṭṭalib's grave-soil. After that, people started making and using ''misbaḥahs''. Some ''

hadiths Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...

'' state the benefit of using the fingers of the right hand to count tasbīḥ following regular prayers. Narrated Yusayrah, mother of Yasir: The Prophet (saw) commanded them (the women emigrants) to be regular (in remembering

by saying): "Allah is most great"; "Glory be to the King, the Holy"; "there is no god but Allah"; and that they should count them on fingers, for they (the fingers) will be questioned and asked to speak. (Book #8, Hadith #1496) The practice of using misbahahs most likely originated among

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

s and poor people. Opposition to the practice is known from as late as the 15th century, when

al-Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti ( ar, جلال الدين السيوطي, Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī) ( 1445–1505 CE),; (Brill 2nd) or Al-Suyuti, was an Arab Egyptian polymath, Islamic scholar, historian, Sufi, and jurist. From a family of Persian or ...

wrote an ''

apologia An apologia (Latin for apology, from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is a formal defense of an opinion, position or action. The term's current use, often in the context of religion, theology and philosophy, derives from Justin Mar ...

'' for it.

Gallery

File:Tasbih1924.jpg, Misbaha, dated 1909 (1327 AH) File:Tespih fcm.jpg, Blue Misbaha File:Big and small of it (306438345).jpg, Colorful Misbaha File:Tasbih of Silver.JPG, Tasbih of Silver File:Istanbul Prayer beads museum dec 2018 0340b.jpg, Istanbul Prayer beads museum Portrait painted beads File:Istanbul Prayer beads museum dec 2018 0364.jpg, Istanbul Prayer beads museum Amberoid beads

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

History of the Tasbih in Iran
{{Authority control Islamic culture Prayer beads Islamic terminology