What is the ruling on using prayer beads for dhikr to keep count if it is difficult for him?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The question about using prayer beads to assist the one making dhikr has been asked frequently.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : To assist the one making dhikr in keeping count,
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : because the Sunnah has emphasized keeping count of the recitations, and some people feel that keeping count is difficult for them, especially the elderly. Is it permissible for them to use them?
The Shaykh : Using prayer beads for dhikr is permissible, but counting on the fingers is better, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us when he said: A person, if he becomes accustomed to something, gets used to it. Those who did not know about prayer beads, or those who did not know about making dhikr with prayer beads, do not care about counting the number, even if it is a thousand. Those who are accustomed to counting the number with prayer beads are the ones who are lost if they do not use them. So the matter depends on custom.
And if it is better for a person to count the number with his fingers, then it is better for him to accustom himself to that. Even if it may be difficult for him at first, in the end it will be an easy matter.
This is provided that the use of the prayer beads is free from showing off, because some people adopt it as showing off so that it is said: "This is a man who does a lot of dhikr." Or they adopt a specific prayer bead that indicates that this man is a shaykh and that he is among those who know Allah, as is found with some of the Sufis. You find a person with a prayer bead from his neck to his crotch, as if he is saying to people: "O people! Look at the number of dhikr I recite." Or he invites people to honor him and take him as a wali (close friend of Allah). There is no doubt that if something is associated with it that makes it forbidden, it becomes forbidden. But as for just the count, and if a person finishes with it and puts it in his pocket, we say: the best is to count with the fingers. Yes.
The Shaykh : What?
The questioner : To assist the one making dhikr in keeping count,
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : because the Sunnah has emphasized keeping count of the recitations, and some people feel that keeping count is difficult for them, especially the elderly. Is it permissible for them to use them?
The Shaykh : Using prayer beads for dhikr is permissible, but counting on the fingers is better, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us when he said:
Tie them with your fingers, for they are the ones that will be questioned.
اعقدن بالأنامل فإنهن مستنطقاتAnd if it is better for a person to count the number with his fingers, then it is better for him to accustom himself to that. Even if it may be difficult for him at first, in the end it will be an easy matter.
This is provided that the use of the prayer beads is free from showing off, because some people adopt it as showing off so that it is said: "This is a man who does a lot of dhikr." Or they adopt a specific prayer bead that indicates that this man is a shaykh and that he is among those who know Allah, as is found with some of the Sufis. You find a person with a prayer bead from his neck to his crotch, as if he is saying to people: "O people! Look at the number of dhikr I recite." Or he invites people to honor him and take him as a wali (close friend of Allah). There is no doubt that if something is associated with it that makes it forbidden, it becomes forbidden. But as for just the count, and if a person finishes with it and puts it in his pocket, we say: the best is to count with the fingers. Yes.