Digital TasbihWhat is dhikr?
What dhikr and tasbih are in Islamic practice: remembrance of Allah, the common phrases, the counting on fingers or beads, and why people count.
Dhikr (also zikr) means "remembrance" in Arabic: remembering and mentioning Allah, in the heart or aloud. Tasbih means glorifying Allah by saying "SubhanAllah" (glory to Allah), and also the name of the string of beads (misbaha or subha) used for counting.
Common phrases
- SubhanAllah: glory to Allah.
- Alhamdulillah: praise be to Allah.
- Allahu Akbar: Allah is the greatest.
- La ilaha illa Allah: there is no god but Allah.
- Astaghfirullah: I seek Allah's forgiveness.
Counting
Many Muslims count their dhikr, either on the fingers of the right hand or on a string of 33 or 99 beads. A widely known practice is to say SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar thirty-three times each (and in some descriptions, the last one thirty-four times) after the obligatory prayers. Counting helps to keep the mind on the task. Wording and numbers differ between schools and communities; ask your teacher.
The counter is a simple aid. It stores its numbers only in this browser on your device, and nothing is sent to us. Dhikr and japa are personal practices; ask a teacher of your tradition about wording and counts.