Sibha
سبحة. The Islamic string of prayer beads used to count dhikr, and the name of this free counter.
The answer
A sibha (Arabic سبحة, also written subha) is the Islamic string of prayer beads used to keep count of dhikr, the repeated remembrance of Allah. It usually carries 33 or 99 beads. It is the same object called a misbaha in much of the Arab world and a tasbih across South and Southeast Asia.
What does sibha mean?
Sibha comes from the Arabic root س-ب-ح, which carries the sense of declaring something free of any fault. The same root gives tasbih, the act of glorifying Allah, and the word SubhanAllah itself. So the object is named after what it is used for: the bead string is literally a glorification-counter.
The word is used most in Egypt, the Levant and North Africa. In Turkey the same object is a tespih, in Iran a tasbih, in Pakistan and India a tasbeeh, and in Indonesia and Malaysia a tasbih. They all name one thing.
What is a sibha used for?
It keeps count so the mind does not have to. The most common uses are the post-prayer set of 33 SubhanAllah, 33 Alhamdulillah and 34 Allahu Akbar (Sahih Muslim 596), a hundred repetitions of istighfar, salawat on the Prophet, and reciting the 99 names of Allah. Some also use it for a personal daily target rather than a fixed reported number.
The bead is a bookmark, not the worship. Its only job is to free the attention so the words can be meant rather than tracked.
How is a sibha held and used?
- Hold the string in the right hand, letting it rest over the fingers.
- Say the phrase once, then move one bead with the thumb.
- Continue to the separator bead, which marks each group of 33.
- At the tassel or head bead, the cycle is complete. Start again if the target is higher.
Counting on the fingers of the right hand is the reported practice of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace, and carries its own merit. The bead string is a later convenience that does the same job when the number is large.
Sibha, misbaha, tasbih: what is the difference?
| Word | What it names | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Sibha (سبحة) | The bead string itself | Egypt, Levant, North Africa |
| Misbaha (مسبحة) | The bead string itself | Arab world, broadly |
| Tasbih (تسبيح) | The act of glorifying, and by extension the beads | South Asia, Indonesia, Turkey, Iran |
| Dhikr (ذكر) | The remembrance being counted, not the object | Everywhere |
Strictly, tasbih is the action and sibha or misbaha is the object. In everyday speech all three are used for the beads, and no one is wrong. See tasbih vs misbaha for the fuller comparison.
Sibha, the app
This site is named after the object. It does what the bead string does, on whatever device is already in your hand: tap to count, keep a target, save the total. It is free, needs no account, shows no adverts, collects nothing about you, and works offline once loaded. The counts live in your own browser, not on a server.
Questions people ask about Sibha
What is Sibha?
Sibha is a free digital tasbih counter on the web. It counts dhikr with a tap, saves your totals on your own device, works offline, and requires no account. The name is the Arabic word for the prayer bead string, from the same root as SubhanAllah.
Is Sibha free?
Yes, entirely. There is no paid tier, no trial, no adverts and no account. Nothing is upsold and nothing is locked. The site is funded by nobody and sells nothing, which is why it can afford to collect no data about the people who use it.
Does Sibha work offline?
Yes. After the first visit the app is cached on your device, so the counter opens and counts without a connection. Your totals are saved locally in the browser, not on a server, so they remain available offline and are never transmitted anywhere.
Does Sibha track its users?
No. There are no accounts, no analytics profiles tied to individuals, no advertising identifiers and no third-party trackers. Counts, targets and settings stay in your browser's local storage on your own device. Clearing your browser data clears them, because there is no copy elsewhere.
Do I need to install anything to use Sibha?
No. It runs in any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop. It can optionally be added to a home screen so it opens full screen like an installed app, but that is a browser feature and not a download from an app store.
Also asked about the object
Is sibha the same as a rosary?
They are separate traditions that arrived at a similar tool. Both count repeated devotional phrases on beads, but the phrases, the counts and the significance differ entirely. The Islamic sibha counts dhikr in groups of 33 or 99; the Catholic rosary follows a fixed sequence of prayers and mysteries.
Why do sibha beads come in 33 and 99?
Ninety-nine matches the number of names of Allah reported in Sahih al-Bukhari 2736. Thirty-three matches each third of the post-prayer set of 33, 33 and 34. A 33-bead string is cycled three times to complete 99.
What are sibha beads made of?
Wood, olive stone, date stone, amber, agate, glass, plastic and pressed rose petal are all common. Material carries no ruling. The one traditional preference is for something plain enough not to become a display item.
Is using a sibha allowed?
Counting dhikr is established: the Prophet ﷺ counted on his fingers and companions counted with pebbles and date stones. Scholars differ over the bead string specifically, with the majority permitting it as a neutral tool. See the fuller discussion.
How do you pronounce sibha?
SIB-ha, with a breathy throat h at the end rather than the ordinary English h. Some regions say SUB-ha, reflecting the same Arabic word with a different vowel.
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