NOTE: Stone beads are
naturally occurring minerals; hence the ingrained pattern and color of the
individual beads will vary.
FREE Luxury Velvet Box. An excellent
spiritual gift for all the people you love.
What is Tasbih?
In Islam, Tasbih
signifies a form of dhikr (prayer) that involves the repetitive
utterances of short sentences glorifying God. The same word is also used for
Prayer Beads (Rosary) consisting of 99 or 33 beads.
Using Prayer Beads as a tool of meditation is
as old as human history. A simple device it make it easier for believers
to pray in a focused and consistent manner. Tasbih
has profound physical, metaphysical and psychological effects on the
practitioner.
The Islamic Tasbih is similar to
the Komboskini of the Greek Orthodox Church and the Rosary of the
Roman Catholics. Buddhists and Hindus use the Japa
Mala consisting of 27 beads, a divisor of 108. The Chinese Buddhists and
Taoists use a 108-bead device called su-chu, which has three dividing
beads, so the su-chu is divided into three parts of 36 each.
*
Construction of a Tasbih:
In the 99-bead Islamic version, the tasbih
consists of the nisane, a disc which separates 33 beads, the pul,
a small bead that marks the seventh position, the imame, which is a long
piece marking the beginning and the end of the tasbih, and the tepelik
(ornamental tassel) at the top of the imame.
Sometimes only 33 beads are used, in this case the tasbih
is cycled three times to reach 99. In 33-bead tasbih’s, the nisane
separates 11 beads and there is no pul.
During the Prophet’s time, date
stones, olive seeds and pebbles were used to make tasbih beads. In Ottoman times
rock crystal beads with silver tassels became fashionable. Tasbih beads are also
made from ebony, pearls, amber, coral, cornelian, jade, ivory, rhino horn, etc. Tasbihs
made from fragrant woods like sandal wood are often kept in closed boxes to
retain the fragrance.
The number of artisans who continue to make handmade tasbih’s
in the traditional manner is now very limited. Instead machine made glass and
plastic beads have become commonplace.
*
Dhikr after
Salat:
(Sahih Bukhari, Volume
8, Book 75, Number 341)
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The
people said:
"O Allah's Apostle! The rich people have got the highest degrees of
prestige and the permanent pleasures (in this life and the life to come in the
Hereafter)."
He said, "How is that?"
They said, "The rich pray as we pray, and strive in Allah's cause as we do,
and spend from their surplus wealth in charity, while we have no wealth (to
spend likewise)."
He said, "Shall I not tell you a thing, by doing which, you will catch up
with those who are ahead of you and supersede those who will come after you; and
nobody will be able to do such a good deed as you do except the one who does the
same (deed as you do). That deed is to recite Subhan Allah ten times, and Al-Hamdulillah
ten times, and AllahuAkbar ten times after every prayer.
