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Fatwa CenterUsing Beads to Mention Allah
Question
Are dhikr beads Bidah? I have heard that they are, yet I see them a lot.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Using beads is permissible, Allah willing, because it was narrated that Juwayriyah 
used seeds when mentioning Allah. [Ahmad and Abu Daawood]
Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah 
stated that some Scholars disliked the use of beads while others approved of it. Therefore, if your intention is good, then using beads is permissible and not disliked. However, using beads without any necessity or in order to show off, and one’s intention is not to help oneself [by knowing the exact number] when making the mention of Allah, then it is feared that this is dispraised showing off. Also, using beads should not lead to being negligent in pondering over the Thikr (mention of Allah) that one makes, and mentioning Allah with beads should not become a kind of rituals and traditions lest it would lose its expected effect. Unfortunately, this is the situation of some people who use beads, so one should be mindful about this.
Some people in some countries like India and its neighboring countries have a habit of taking special beads for mentioning Allah, considering them as being sacred, and gathering around it, especially after the prayer of 'Asr and Fajr, and they continue this practice and hate those who do not participate in their meetings and hate those who use their fingers to mention Allah as approved by the Prophet . All the mentioned practices do not have any origin in the Sunnah; rather, they are innovations and not Sunnah.
Allah knows best.
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