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Fatwa CenterUsing beads for remembering Allaah
Question
Imam shawkani and your website doesn't consider praying beads as bidah while Albani refutes these evidences and consdiers them bidah? what is the correct position? In one of your fatwa: https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/84295, after quoting 2 evidences presented by imam shawkani. you have concluded permissibility of doing dhikr on praying beads. but the evidences presented by imam shawkani has been declared as weak by shaykh Al-Albani and hence he concluded that prayer beads are bidah: http://followingthesunnah.wordpress.com/2007/10/21/a-scholarly-research-by-shaykh-albaani-that-prayer-beads-are-a-bida%E2%80%99/ Can you please explain the authenticity of narration by imama shawkani under the light of above link and eventually re-clear the issue whether praying beads are bidah or permissible. jazakallah khair Assalamualaikum
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know that using beads is just a means that is not intended as an end in itself to worship Allaah with; rather, it is just intended to count the number of Tasbeeh (saying Subhaan Allaah, i.e. how Exalted Allaah is), Tahleel (saying La Ilaaha Illa Allaah, i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah), Tahmeed (saying Alhamdu Lillaah, i.e. praise be to Allaah) and Takbeer (saying Allaahu Akbar, i.e. Allaah is the Greatest), so this is a means and it is not intended as an end in itself.
Even if there were no Sharee’ah evidence for its permissibility, then it is permissible based on the principle that all means are permissible unless there is evidence that they are impermissible.
Among the contemporary scholars who issued a Fatwa that beads are permissible is the Permanent Committee for Issuing Fataawa in Saudi Arabia as well as Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen 
in his Fataawa among other contemporary scholars. However, they clarified that making Tasbeeh with the fingers is more appropriate and not doing Tasbeeh with the beads is better in order to avoid showing off and the like.
Nonetheless, Shaykh Al-Albaani is of the view that it is an innovation based on the weak Ahaadeeth that were narrated about it. This is his Ijtihaad (i.e. the effort a jurist makes in order to deduce the verdict) for which he is rewarded. However, despite him classifying those Ahaadeeth as Dha’eef [weak], some other scholars classified them as Hasan [good].
In addition to this, beads are just a means as we mentioned, so the opinion that it is not an innovation is the correct opinion in our view. Moreover, the issue is a matter of Ijtihaad, so no party should blame the other in regard to their Ijtihaad, since the purpose of all is to follow what one sees to be closer to the evidence.
For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 82285 – 84295.
Allaah Knows best.
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