Beads and counters · 4 min read
How to make your own tasbih
Making a tasbih is straightforward beadwork. You need beads, a cord that fits through them, and about an hour.
There is nothing religious about the construction. No blessing is required, no particular material is prescribed, and a strand you made yourself counts exactly as one bought in Makkah. What follows is the practical side: how many beads, what cord actually survives daily use, and how to finish it so it does not come apart in six months.
What you need
Everything here is available from a craft shop.
The cord is the part people get wrong. Ordinary sewing thread will not survive being pulled through beads thousands of times.
- Beads — 33 or 99, plus 2 dividers and 1 head bead. Hole size 1mm or larger.
- Cord — waxed polyester, nylon beading cord, or strong silk. 1.5 times the finished length, plus 30cm for knots and the tassel.
- A beading needle, if your cord is soft.
- Scissors and a lighter, for sealing synthetic cord ends.
- Optional: a corkboard and pins to lay the strand out.
How many beads
33 for a single-round strand, 99 for one that does the whole post-salah sequence without restarting.
For 99, place a divider bead after the 33rd and after the 66th. These should be a different shape or size so your thumb can feel them without looking — that is their entire purpose, and a divider that feels the same as the others is decoration rather than a marker.
Do not count the dividers or the head bead. A 99-strand is 99 counting beads plus 3 others.
More on the counts and what they are for is on how many beads are in a tasbih.
Making it
The order below produces a closed loop with a head bead and a tassel, which is the standard form.
Test the loop before you finish it. A strand that is too tight will not move under the thumb, and one that is too loose will sag and lose its rhythm. There should be just enough slack that beads slide without the cord showing between them.
- Cut the cord and seal both ends with the lighter if synthetic, or wax them if silk.
- Thread the first 33 beads, then a divider.
- Thread the next 33, then the second divider.
- Thread the final 33.
- Bring both cord ends through the head bead in opposite directions, so the head bead sits at the join.
- Tie a secure knot below the head bead. A surgeon's knot holds better than a reef knot.
- Make the tassel from the remaining cord, bind it below the knot, and trim.
- Add a drop of clear glue to the knot if the cord is slippery.
Choosing beads
Material is entirely a matter of preference and budget. It has no effect on the worship.
Two practical points. Beads with sharp-edged holes will cut through cord over time, so run a needle through and check. And a strand that clicks loudly is a nuisance in a quiet masjid, so wood and plastic are kinder than glass and stone if you use it around others.
- Wood — light, quiet, forgiving. Olive, ebony, sandalwood.
- Seeds — date stones are traditional and cost nothing. Drill carefully; they split.
- Stone — heavier and more expensive. Agate, amber, onyx.
- Glass — bright and noisy.
- Plastic — cheapest, lightest, and completely sufficient.
Restringing a broken strand
A broken tasbih means nothing beyond a broken tasbih. There is no significance to it and no ritual attached.
Restring it exactly as above. Lay the beads out in order first if the strand had a pattern, because it is easy to lose the arrangement once they are loose.
If it broke at the head bead, that is usually the knot rather than the cord, and a stronger knot will fix it.
Where to go next
For how to actually use what you have made, see how to use a tasbih. For the method that needs no strand at all, see counting dhikr on your fingers.