Dzikir counter/ Rosemary

Be it while waiting for the call of azan or during breeze-walking along the road, one can easily note that a tasbih (rosemary) is at hand. The motion of flicking the next bead after saying a supplication (dzikir) is done in a quick manner to a similarity of breathing in air, instead of saying 'breathe in'. Some are even able to do it as they are in a conversation while others are in deep trance, drowning within the meaning of such supplication.

While majority remains loyal to the traditional form which ranges from the most colourful stones to an array of wood, decorated with flashy threads that adorn the heads of the rosemary, there are those who fancy the high tech version. I, for one, opt for the metal-sort which requires me to push a button so a count appears but very noisy. There are of course, other ranges of modern tasbih. I have seen one that looks like a ring. The owner simply hides it away from prying eyes, under her telekung (praying garment). This particular gadget is silent and small in size. Mine, on the other hand, comes in two faults: it requires some strength to push the button, particularly of late (almost hinting that it needs some greasing to do) and it attracts a lot of attention, thanks to its sound (tapi Alhamdulillah, it works).

Some time a week after our arrival in the Holy City of Makkah, Mak fell and her only means of holding back from having her face landed on the walking pavement was her left hand. Due to this, her little pinky looked something like a railroad track that went off-rail. Abah straightened it back and it has been swollen since then (Having her right hand broken at three points before, she seems to be able to identify this injury as dissimilar). There are times when she would utter claims of pain despite that we had applied an anti-swollen cream, purchased from a nearby pharmacy. Abah then remembered a particular dzikir that eases pain if one chants it for three thousand times, hoping that Allah will grant Mercy and take away the sufferings. And so, it is my China-made, sound-making tasbih counter that enabled me to do it. Alhamdulillah!