Is there a specific number mentioned in the dhikr (remembrance of Allah), and what is the ruling on using a misbaha (prayer beads)?

Question:
May Allah reward you. The sender, Sulayman Jalu ibn 'Abd Allah from Guinea, residing in Riyadh, sent a number of questions. In the first, he says: Did the pure Sunnah specify certain or fixed numbers for the dhikr we repeat, such as seventy times, one hundred times, or one thousand times, as I have seen in some books for various reasons, which compels us to use misbahas (prayer beads), or is this not mentioned?

Answer:
As for using misbahas based on the belief that they have virtue and that their use is prescribed, this is not permissible and is a bid'ah (religious innovation). However, using them with the belief that they have no virtue, and that the intention is only to use them to help count the tasbih (praise of Allah), tahlil (declaration of Allah's oneness), or types of dhikr, is permissible. Praise be to Allah. If one does not believe they have virtue, nor that they are prescribed, but uses them only for counting, just as a person uses pebbles for counting, or uses his fingers for counting, so too the misbaha. But it is better for the Muslim to recite dhikr with his fingers; because the fingers are advocates. He moves them with the remembrance of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
As for the numbers of dhikr, one should restrict oneself to what is mentioned in the hadiths. It is said: "Whoever says 'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no god but Allah) one hundred times, his sins are forgiven; if they are like the foam of the sea, his sins are forgiven." After the obligatory prayers, one praises Allah thirty-three times, thanks Him thirty-three times, and magnifies Him thirty-three times, and completes the hundred by saying: "La ilaha illa Allah, He has no partner, to Him belongs the dominion and to Him belongs the praise, and He is over all things competent." It is obligatory for you to refer to the authentic books of dhikr, such as the book of Al-Adhkar by Imam al-Nawawi, the book of Al-Wabil al-Sayyib by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, the book of Al-Kalim al-Tayyib by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and the book of Tahfat al-Akhyar by Imam Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him). These are authentic books written by famous imams who care for the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So you must refer to them. Yes.