Can a Christian use Tasbih for prayers?

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Can a Catholic use Islamic prayer beads (tasbih) for praying Jesus prayer or a rosary which looks like Muslim beads. Because my friend gave me a 150 beaded prayer rope which has a imam bead rather than a cross. He told me that some people I have seen without cross below instead a big bead? Should I use them?
 
I would be upset if a Catholic priest blest beads with an imam on them. We are Catholic not Muslim.
 
Well, if the priest doesn’t want to do it he can refuse. However, they aren’t your beads, so it’s not your concern what the OP or his priest does with the OP’s own beads.

I would further add that there are plenty of situations where a person can have their rosary, prayer card etc blessed by a blessing issued en masse to a large group at a shrine or Papal audience. You simply bring the item and when it’s time for the objects to be blessed, anything that you intend to use for your Catholic prayers and want to be blessed, is blessed. Priest or Pope or whoever never even sees it. You don’t even have to take it out of your bag.
 
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I’ve known plenty of Eastern Catholics (Maronites and Melkites) who use the Muslim prayer beads to pray the Jesus Prayer.

Personally, I don’t see a problem with it.
 
Pondero said:
I would be upset if a Catholic priest blest beads with an imam on them.
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Technically the Eastern Catholic way of “blessing” an item isn’t the same - or as formal - as the Roman Catholic way. Our mentality is that an item is blessed through use. So, if I finish making a prayer rope and start praying with it, it’s considered “blessed” through use.

If we want a more formal blessing, the priest simply places it on the altar during the Liturgy and it’s considered more formally blessed after that.
 
What is an “imam bead”?

A 150 bead or not prayer rope would be very Eastern Catholic. I don’t see why you couldn’t use the gift your friend gave you for the Jesus Prayer.
 
Have your priest bless them, then go ahead and pray.

If he won’t bless them, then ask why, and be guided by him.
 
When I was young my mother, on an.overseas trip, bought what turned out to be a set of such beads. She thought they were a necklace.

I don’t remember there being any specific imagery, text or anything else.on them.to indicate they were specifically Islamkc, so I.am.not sure exactly what is meant by “imam beads”.
 
The word “imam” means “leader”, and the bead is named that because of its position as the first bead.

Sometimes they have some symbol like crescent moon and star on them, but most are plain or have a design that appears to be just decorative and not Islamic.
 
Ok , Then I will put a new string and add a cross. I believe that Muslims had copied the prayer rope in beads and called it a misbah or tasbih . Why there are 33 beads in a tasbih? The number 33 symbolizes the age of Christ. Muslims are copycats.
 
Yes , He has blessed them. When I asked him about the beads he said " When Muslims conquered the Christian areas they saw the people praying the prayer rope some in woollen or in bead form. They copied them and started to call it the Islamic tasbih or misbah. He said they don’t know why there are 33 bead set . 33 is known to Christians as the age of Jesus".
Muslims are copycats. He also told me that Afghanistan was a Buddhist area when Muslims came they saw Buddhist mala with counters , so they took counters and added them to there prayer beads.
 
3335 said:
Afghanistan was a Buddhist area
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Mostly due the Silk Road trade. The main cities that practiced Buddhism were Sogdiana and Bactria. Quite a interesting history, how frequently there was religious and cultural changes in the Middle East.
 
Yeah. I heard that when Islam came they forced Buddhist to convert to Islam. Many who didn’t convert had to pay with there lives. Buddhist temples, Monestries were destroyed. Women were raped . Children were thrown in slavery. In India also they did the same with Hindus but they didn’t erase the Hindus as they did in Afghanistan. They put taxes called Jizya and Pilgrimage tax.
 
One only needs to read about the Yazidis people, one of the more recent genocides.
 
3335 said:
He said they don’t know why there are 33 bead set
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Three times around a 33-bead set is 99, the number of the names of Allah. Those who want to know more can google “99 names of Allah”; I’m not going to post a link.

D
 
The 99 Names of Allah is a rather nice prayer. I don’t see anything in it contrary to Catholic doctrine, in keeping with the Catholic teaching that Muslims worship the God of Abraham in common with us.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
The 99 Names of Allah is a rather nice prayer. I don’t see anything in it contrary to Catholic doctrine, in keeping with the Catholic teaching that Muslims worship the God of Abraham in common with us.
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Use the beads in prayer to Christ, and let it go at that. 📿
 
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