The Ruling on Tasbih with a Misbaha

Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. Tell us about the misbaha (prayer beads), especially when a person has already recited the *baqiyat al-salihat* (the remaining good words) using his fingers.

Answer:
If a person uses it as a permissible matter, counting his tasbih (remembrance of Allah) with it just as he counts with pebbles or his fingers, and he does not believe that the misbaha has any special virtue, then this is among the permissible matters. However, if he takes the misbaha believing that it has a virtue, and as the Sufis do, believing that the misbaha is a symbol of worship, and they carry the misbaha with them around their necks and keep it with them, believing that this is an act of obedience, then this is a bid'ah (religious innovation), . As for tasbih with the fingers, tasbih with pebbles, and tasbih with the beads of the misbaha, there is no harm in it. However, tasbih with the fingers is better, because he uses his limbs in the obedience of Allah the Exalted and Majestic, which is better than tasbih with pebbles, and better than tasbih with the misbaha.