Tasbeeh and Rosary?

Question

Is the Rosary in Christianity same as a Tasbeeh in Islam?

(NO DISRESPECTFUL ANSWERS PLEASE, I WANT PROPER ANSWERS NOT SILLY CHILDISH COMMENTS.)

Answer 1

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah

The Rosary is a series of supplications. I know for sure that some of them are direct at the Virgin Mary, astaghfirullah. One goes "Hail Mary full of Grace, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen".

The Muslim tasbeeh has simply grown out of the practice of Muslims to keep track of the number of times they have said one of the Names of Allah during dhikr (remembrance of Allah). Originally some of the Companions would keep track of the number with their fingers, and this is Sunnah and is really the preferred method. Some used to use small pebbles, not strung but loose on the ground, to keep track. Over time the idea of stringing the pebbles arose, probably as an imitation of a rosary or some other religion's tradition. I have seen memory beads in some Indian traditions.

The problem arises when some people invest this string of pebbles with some sort of spiritual worth. It is simply a string of beads; it has no inherent value and it is not a religious item per se. Some people also spend lots of money on very expensive dhikr beads that are made of precious stones, and this is a wasteful use of money. Other people are making dhikr constantly but absent-mindedly, repeating Allah's name, whether subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, la ilaha il Allah, or Allahu Akbar or another du'a, without thinking and without focusing on the fact that they are doing an act of worship. I see people all the the time making dhikr on their tasbeeh even during the Friday prayer when the Imaam is on the minbar making the khutbah, and it is certainly not permitted to do so at that time.

The tasbeeh is simply a tool. I have used them occasionally and it is nice to have something to manipulate between your fingers, but I also make dhiker counting on my fingers. I try not to rush when doing it, but rather say each word distinctly. It should not be the goal to rush through the dhikr in thirty seconds or less. If all your "subhanAllah's" come out in a single rush you can't understand what you are saying. Also, when I say a du'a, such as the ones I mentioned above, I try to picture something that brings about the desire in me to say the du'a. Like, if I am saying "subhanAllah", I picture in my mind something fantastic, like a huge waterfall or a powerful volcano, something that puts me in mind of Allah's majesty. When I am saying "alhamdulillah", I think about my husband and my children and my health and my mental ability. When I think about "Allahu Akbar", I remind myself of the victories of Allah's Messenger, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, or another thing that brings to mind Allah's glory. Thus I have a REASON to make my du'a instead of doing it absent-mindedly.

InshAllah we can all use whatever permissible tools will help us to remember Allah, and we will use them in the way they are intended, and not go further than that.

Fi Aman Allah,

Nancy Umm Abdel Hamid

Answer 2

I do believe that the Rosary used to be called the Psalmistry or the Psalter...not sure which.

If the Tasbeeh has 50 decades (and said 3X, one for each Psalm) then they are the same.

edit:
I looked up Tasbeeh and found that the beads represent the names of God, so it is probably more similar to the Buddhist beads (say how many times a day the word "love") or the East Indian practice of repeating God's name over and over. (I think they also have beads)

Answer 3

Yes I believe so.

But I dont know who invented the Rosary first, the Jews or the Christians. I know there were rosarys around way before Islam, so the idea wasnt specific to Islam alone.

Also, nowadays, Muslims use an electronic counter ^^ instead of a Tasbeeh.

Answer 4

Dhikr - Misbaha beads, 33+33+33+1
Asma'ul-husna - (The 99 Complete Qualities of Allah)
_____________( The 99 Names of Allah)

This is from the Sufi tradition.
The number of repetitions is up to the student.
These beads are used when the student is learning.
After one has memorized the Asma'ul-husna and aware of the names during the recitation, the beads will not be used. These beads are for the novice!
This was first expressed by: Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (May Allah be pleased with him).

They are not the same as Rosary beads.

Answer 5

Yes they're the same thing.. The rosary used to be small round stones "99" to help you concentrate while mentioning the 99 names of Allah.. Later on.. they were attached together by a rope....

Answer 6

UmmAbdelHamid has an excellent answer. But as she said it is preferred to use fingers in praise Allah SWT.

Answer 7

They are the same in that beads are used to track your prayers.

But, they are far different in their use and the prayers said.

Answer 8

No they are two different.

Answer 9

Question Tasbeeh and Rosary?
Is the Rosary in Christianity same as a Tasbeeh in Islam?

(NO DISRESPECTFUL ANSWERS PLEASE, I WANT PROPER ANSWERS NOT SILLY CHILDISH COMMENTS.)
You are: Call of Truth Your Answer: Yes it is.

That is why the companions of the prophet (sws) considered tasbeeh (prayer bead or masbahah) is a BIDAH (innovation). see proof below.

http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=3009&ln...


Ruling on using the masbahah (prayer beads)

Question:
What is the ruling on using the masbahah (prayer beads)?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Some scholars say that it is permissible to use the masbahah, but they say that it is preferable to do tasbeeh on one’s fingers; others say that it is bid’ah (reprehensible innovation).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in al-Fataawa (22/187): “Some of them might show off by putting their prayer-mats over their shoulders and carrying their masbahahs in their hands, making them symbols of religion and prayer. It is known from the mutawaatir reports that neither the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) nor his Companions used these as symbols. They used to recite tasbeeh and count on their fingers, as the hadeeth says: “Count on your fingers, for they will asked, and will be made to speak.” Some of them may count their tasbeeh with pebbles or date stones. Some people say that doing tasbeeh with the masbahah is makrooh, and some allow it, but no one says that tasbeeh with the masbahah is better than tasbeeh with the fingers.” Then he (may Allaah have mercy on him) goes on to discuss the issue of showing off with the masbahah, saying that it is showing off with regard to something that is not prescribed by Islam, which is worse than showing off with regard to something that is prescribed.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (al-Liqa’ al-Maftooh, 3/30) was asked whether using the masbahah for tasbeeh is bid’ah, and his reply was: “It is better not to do tasbeeh with the masbahah, but it is not bid’ah, because there is a basis for it, which is the fact that some of the Sahaabah did tasbeeh with pebbles. But the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught that tasbeeh with the fingers is better, as he said, ‘Count with the fingertips, for they will be made to speak.’ Doing tasbeeh with the masbahah is not haraam or bid’ah, but it is better not to do it, because the one who does tasbeeh with the masbahah has shunned something better. Using the masbahah may also be contaminated with some element of showing off, because we see some people carrying masbahahs that contain a thousand beads, as if they are telling people, ‘Look at me, I do a thousand tasbeehs!’ Secondly, those who use the masbahah for tasbeeh are usually absent-minded and not focused, so you see them doing tasbeeh with the beads, but their gaze is wandering all over the place, which indicates that they are not really concentrating. It is better to do tasbeeh with one’s fingers, preferably using the right hand rather than the left, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to count his tasbeeh on his right hand. If a person counts his tasbeeh using both hands, there is nothing wrong with that, but it is better to use the right hand only.”

Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani said in Al-Silsilat al-Da’eefah (1/110), where he quotes the (weak) hadeeth “What a good reminder is the subhah [masbahah],”

“In my view, the meaning of this hadeeth is invalid for a number of reasons:

Firstly, the subhah [masbahah] is bid’ah and was not known at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It happened after that, so how could he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have encouraged his Sahaabah to do something that was unknown to them? The evidence for what I have said is the report narrated by Ibn Waddaah in Al-Bid’ wa’l-Nahy ‘anhaa from al-Salt ibn Bahraam, who said: ‘Ibn Mas’ood passed by a woman who had a [masbahah] with which she was making tasbeeh, and he broke it and threw it aside, then he passed by a man who was making tasbeeh with pebbles, and he kicked him then said, “You think you are better than the Sahaabah, but you are following unjustified bid’ah! You think you have more knowledge than the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!”’ Its isnaad is saheeh to al-Salt, who is one of the trustworthy (thiqah) followers of the Taabi’een.

Secondly, it goes against the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) counting the tasbeeh on his right hand.’”

He also said (1/117): “If there is only one bad thing about the masbahah, which it is that it takes the place of the Sunnah of counting on the fingers, even though all are agreed that counting on the fingers is preferable, then that is bad enough. How rarely I see people counting their tasbeeh on their fingers!

Moreover, people have invented so many sophisticated ways of following this bid’ah, so you see the followers of one of the [Sufi] tareeqahs wearing the masbahah around their necks! Or some of them counting with the beads whilst talking or listening to you! Or another one – the like of whom I have not seen for some time – riding his bicycle through a street crowded with people, with the masbahah in one of his hands! They are showing the people that they are not distracted from the remembrance of Allaah for even an instant, but in many cases this bid’ah is a cause of their neglecting what is obligatory (waajib). It has happened many times – to others as well as myself – that when I greet one of these people with salaam, they answer only by waving and not by saying the words of the greeting. The bad results of this bid’ah are innumerable, and no one can say it better than the poet:

‘All goodness is in following that which went before (the salaf)

All badness is in the innovations of those who came later.’”

And Allaah knows best.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid Source(s) http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=3009&ln...