Misbaha
A string of prayer beads that Muslims use to count phrases of praise to God (dhikr), often 99 beads for the 99 names of God.
Meaning
The misbaha, also called subha or tasbih, is a string of beads used to keep count of repeated phrases glorifying God. The British Museum’s example has 99 beads, for al-asma al-husna, the 99 Beautiful Names of God drawn from the Qur’an, divided by two marker beads and ending in a long “imam” bead with a tassel. Dar al-Ifta, the Egyptian institution that issues religious rulings, recommends the subha because it keeps count for the person praying and lets them concentrate. Using it during the ritual prayer itself is disapproved.
Origin and history
Counting praise on pebbles, date stones and knotted strings is reported of the Prophet’s companions. Dar al-Ifta cites Abu Darda, who kept date stones in a bag and counted his praises on them after the dawn prayer, and Abu Hurayrah, who had a string with a thousand knots. Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti was among the scholars who wrote treatises defending the beads. Thomas Patrick Hughes, writing in 1885, described the Muslim rosary as having 100 beads, for counting the ninety-nine attributes of God, and recorded that the Wahhabis did not use it, saying the Prophet had not. He thought it probable that Muslims had borrowed the rosary from Buddhists and that Crusaders later brought it from Muslims into Christendom.
Beads or fingers
Muslim scholars disagree about the beads. The question-and-answer site IslamQA reports that some scholars allow them but prefer counting on the fingers, as the Prophet did on his right hand, while others call them an innovation (bid‘ah). Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin held that the beads are neither forbidden nor an innovation, but that the fingers are better. Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani called the subha an innovation unknown in the Prophet’s time. Dar al-Ifta answers that the Prophet saw a woman counting on pebbles and did not forbid it, and that the beads are permitted.
See also
Star and crescent, Rub el Hizb, Khamsa, Mihrab.
Sources
- Prayer-bead, RRM53236, The British Museum, Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World, object description
- What is the ruling on using the subha (prayer beads)?, Fatwa 7783, Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, fatwa
- Are Prayer Beads Allowed in Islam?, Answer 3009, Islam Question & Answer, answer
- A Dictionary of Islam, Thomas Patrick Hughes, 1885, W. H. Allen & Co., London (Internet Archive), “Rosary”
Last reviewed September 24, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research