What it means
تسبیح (tasbih) is a string of beads used to count repetitions of ذکر (zekr, “remembrance of God”): short phrases like سبحان الله (sobhân allâh, “glory be to God”) or الحمد لله (al-hamd-o-lellâh, “praise be to God”). The word comes from the Arabic root s-b-h, the same root behind sobhân.
The bead count varies. The Shia tasbih typically has 33 beads (one third of the standard 99 names of God), though 99-bead and 100-bead versions are also common.
How to use it
- تسبیح انداختن (tasbih andâkhtan) “to count tasbih, to do zekr on the beads”
- تسبیح به دست (tasbih be dast) “with tasbih in hand”
- تسبیح تربت (tasbih-e torbat) “karbala-clay tasbih”
Religious context
The Shia tasbih has a distinctive feature: the beads are often made from خاک کربلا (khâk-e karbalâ), clay collected from the area around Karbala, the site of Imam Hossein’s martyrdom in 680 CE. Pilgrims press the wet clay into bead molds, dry it, and string it. Praying on a tasbih made of this clay is considered especially meritorious in Shia tradition.
The standard practice after the daily prayer is the تسبیحات حضرت زهرا (tasbihât-e hazrat-e zahrâ), the prayer-beads sequence attributed to the Prophet’s daughter Fatima: 34 times الله اکبر (allâh-o-akbar), 33 times الحمد لله (al-hamd-o-lellâh), 33 times سبحان الله (sobhân allâh). One round of the 33-bead tasbih covers each phrase cleanly.
Tasbih has a second life outside formal worship. Iranian men, especially older ones, often carry a tasbih and finger it absent-mindedly during conversation, in the bazaar, in a taxi, in front of the TV. Used this way it is a fidget object, a worry-bead, a habit of the hands. Some are made of wood, some of carved bone, some of expensive amber, and the carrying of a beautiful tasbih is also a small status display.
Tasbih sets show up in cultural contexts well beyond strictly religious ones. A friend in Tehran who never prays may still carry a tasbih because his father did. A Sunni or Shia, a Sufi or a non-Muslim, can use one. The pattern of fingers moving bead by bead is older than any of the modern theologies attached to it.
Related words
- ذکر (zekr) “remembrance of God, the phrases counted on the tasbih”
- سبحان الله (sobhân allâh) “glory be to God”
- خاک کربلا (khâk-e karbalâ) “clay from Karbala, used for tasbih and prayer tablets”
- مهر (mohr) “prayer tablet, often made from the same clay”
References
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