The Tasbih (Rosary) of Lady Fatima (A.S.)

Explanation of Lady Fatima’s (SA) Tasbih:

It is quoted from Imam Ali (AS), saying: “Fatima (SA), the apple of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him and his household) eyes was in my house. She ground with the mill so much that her hands formed calluses, and drew water from the well with the bucket so much that the rope marked her chest, and swept the house so much that her clothes became dusty.

So, she was in difficulty and trouble. One day I heard a slave had been brought to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household). I said to Fatima (SA): “When you go to visit your father ask him for a servant to help you in doing your daily work.” The next day she went to her father, She saw a group of people talking to him. So, she came back without saying anything for the sake of decency.”

Imam Ali (AS) said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) knew that Fatima (SA) had come to his house for a need, so he came to our house and asked her: “Dear Fatima (SA), what did you want?” She remained silent. He asked again and she didn’t say anything. I said: “O Messenger of Allah, I’ll tell you. Fatima (SA) has ground with the mill so much that her hands formed calluses, and drew water from the well so much that the rope marked her chest and she swept the house so much that her clothes became dusty and got the smell of smoke. We heard that some slaves were brought to you. So, I told her to come to you and ask for a servant to help her.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) said: “I’ll teach you something that is much better than a servant you asked for. When you get up (when you go to bed, according to some books) recite these praises unto the Lord:

Say “Allah-u-Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest) 34 times.

Say “Alhamd-u-Lillah” (Praise is for Allah) 33 times.

Say “Subhan-Allah” (Glory to Allah) 33 times.

Teaching the Tasbih to the Children:

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) taught her daughter, Fatima (SA), the best lesson, which was the Tasbih. From that time, millions of people have been saying that Tasbih after
their prayers. They have been asking the Lord for help via the Tasbih.

In the book “Qorb-al-Asnad”, it is quoted from Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (AS): “We instruct our children to say the Tasbih just as we instruct them to pray. You, too
(addressing Abu Haroon) do it, because whoever doesn’t recite the Tasbih, falls into misery.”

The Tasbih with a Long Presence of Heart:

Sheikh Ali bin Jazaeri, said the Tasbih for one hour because with each word of the praises he said, his tears flowed down his cheeks.

The Tasbih, the Sign of a Faithful Person:

It is written in “Makarem-ul-Akhlaq” that the Tasbih of Fatima (SA) is one of the five signs of a faithful person.

The Tasbih and Imam Sajjad (AS):

It is said that when Imam Sajjad (AS) was taken to Yazeed, he decided to kill Imam. So, he started speaking to Imam and intended to make him say something that
would give him a pretext to cause his death. But the Imam said nothing more than Yazeed had said. In his hand, there was a Tasbih and while speaking he turned it.
Yazeed said: “I speak to you and you answer me while your fingers turn the Tasbih. How do you permit yourself to do that?”

The Imam said: “My father informed me that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) didn’t move from his place after the morning prayers and didn’t say anything. Sometimes he took the Tasbih and said: “O Lord! I entered morning while I was praising You equal to the number of the beads of the Tasbih that is in my hand.” Then he turned the Tasbih and spoke without praising.

The Imam continued: “This will be counted for me and will protect me till bedtime.” When he went to bed he also gave a special praise to Allah. “I follow my great grandfather and do the same thing.”

Then Yazeed looked at the people around him and said: “He defeated me by his answer,” and ordered them to let him go.

The Favors of the Angels:

When one of you goes to bed an honorable angel and a mulish Satan come to you quickly. The angel says: “End your day in a good way and start your night doing
the right.” At the same moment the Satan says: “End your day committing sins and start your night with wrongdoings.” If the person obeys the angel and ends his day
and begins his night in Allah’s name and says the Tasbih, that angel drives the Satan away and protects the person till he/she gets up.

When the person gets up, the Satan comes to him again and repeats what it said the night before. If the person recites the Tasbih, the Satan flees and Allah gives the
reward a heavenly reward equal to the reward of the one who has prayed the whole night.

Fatima’s (SA) Tasbih (Rosary):

It is written in “Makarem-ul-Akhlaq” that Fatima (SA) had a Tasbih made of woolen thread, which had 100 knots, and she used it to recite the Tasbih. When Hazrat Hamzah (Prophet’s uncle) was martyred, she used his soil for making Tasbih.

After the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (AS), the people used his soil to make Tasbih.

Imam Sadiq (AS) said: “The first Tasbih was our mother’s (i.e. Fatima’s (SA)) which was made of blue thread and after that, she made beads of Tasbih from the soil of Hamzah’s grave.

The Soil of Imam Hussain’s Grave:

Imam Sadiq (AS) said: “Prostration on the soil of Hussain (AS) illuminates the seven layers of the earth, and if somebody keeps a Tasbih made of Imam Hussain’s
soil, they are considered the prayers of Allah, even if they don’t say anything.

The Value of Tasbih:

Imam Baqir (AS) said: “Allah has not been praised in any way better than saying the Tasbih. If there had been something better, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) would have
taught Fatima (SA).”

The Effects of the Tasbih:

Imam Sadiq (AS) said: “Two brothers went to the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) and said: “We want to go to Syria for trading. What shall we do to be protected from dangers?”

He (Prophet) said: “When you go to bed, say the Tasbih, and after that say Ayat-ul-Kursi (A verse of the Holy Qur’an, surah Baqara). Then, you will be protected from all the dangers.”

On the way thieves followed them, and when they entered the caravanserai, the thieves sent their slave to see what they were doing.

When the slave reached them, the two brothers went to bed and did whatever the Prophet (peace be upon him and his household) had told them. Suddenly, the slave saw walls surrounding the brothers. He came back to the thieves and told them the story, but they didn’t believe him and went in the caravanserai themselves. They also didn’t see anything but walls.

The next morning the thieves went to the brothers and said: “We wanted to steal your goods but last night we didn’t see anything but walls.”

The brothers told them the whole story and the thieves said: “We will not follow you anymore because with what you say nobody can rob you of your goods.
Imam Sadiq (AS) said: “Whoever says the Tasbih after saying his prayer, before moving from his place the heaven is their reward.

Tasbih in the Qur’an:
 
Imam Sadiq (AS) said about the Verse: “Praise Allah a lot.”

The one who says the Tasbih has obeyed Qur’anic verses and has praised Allah a lot!

By: Mansooreh Gharib