Tiny companions: Prayer-bead makers ready for Ramadan
ANADOLU AGENCY
By Nilay Onum Kar
TURKEY---Forty-four-year-old Necip Fazil Karadag, who has been making hand-made prayer and worry beads for around 30 years in Istanbul, describes tesbih as an "endless love". Many religions — including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Sikhism — have a tradition of prayer beads – from ‘mala’ for Buddhists to rosaries for Catholics.
Religiously, they are used to mark repetitions of prayers or other ritual recitations. [link]
By Nilay Onum Kar
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| Muslims generally use tesbih with 99 beads, which symbolize the 99 names of Allah, while Buddhists’ mala has 108 beads. “Efe tesbihi,” often sported by Turkish tough guys, have 17. |
