Cultural Post: The Tespih

[Yazmeen Nunez]

The tespih is something one will see many men and some women toting around anywhere. The tespih is a string of beads with which one traditionally recites a short prayer to Allah. It is very similar to the rosary of Roman Catholic churches in that each bead on the tespih is used to say one short prayer.

Tespih are made generally with either thirty-three or ninety-nine beads. Those with thirty-three beads will often also have a short tassel at the end of the loop of beads (as seen in the picture above) with two or three beads or some other apparatus attached. The number ninety-nine is significant in that it represents the ninety-nine names of God that one must glorify: by saying ninety-nine prayers, one is praying to each of those names (although they are not enumerated per say). In the instance that the tespih has only thirty-three beads, the two or three tassels at the end of the loop are used as markers so that one can keep track of where they are in their prayers. The beads can be used for simple worship or to continue glorifying God after prayer.

On the other hand, for less religious Turks, the tespih can also be carried around as something just to play with, although they may receive castigation from those who are more religious if they catch that they are not using the beads for prayer.