Light Kuk Nut Wood with Camel Bone Accents 9.1mm/.35"

Remembrance at its core is a tool to wake up certain aspects of our memory and it is important to understand what exactly memory is and how it works. When we come to know things or experience them, they leave imprints in both our conscious and subconscious minds. If what we come to know is significant, impactful, and transformative, it leaves a large imprint. If what we experience is insignificant and trivial, chances are it doesn’t leave much of an imprint at all. For example, you will always remember your first love, either for positive or negative reasons, but chances are you will not remember the person at the check-out counter the last time you went to the store. This process of remembering and forgetting is a mercy in disguise. Not remembering unimportant things allows our minds to retain what is critical and important, otherwise mental fatigue would settle in too soon and we wouldn’t be able to remember much of anything. Furthermore, when we recall our memory and subsequently repeat these memories, they become intermixed with us. In the introduction to his commentary on the famous Arabic dictionary al-Qamūs, Murtaḍa al-Zabīdī writes when a person remembers something frequently, it becomes a necessary part of their being, it overcomes their heart to the point that it is remembered and observed. These memories, then, are potential packets of power within us that need to be rediscovered, unearthed, and invoked. Finding our moments of “sweet silent thought” to unearth them is a critical part of the mindfulness journey.

            To this effect the Quran declares, Indeed by the remembrance of God is the heart comforted (Quran 13:28) and Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) said, everything has a polish, and the polish of the hearts is the remembrance of God.

            One of the greatest tools to help you develop a practice of remembrance (dhikr) are prayer beads. These 100 count beads are an Egyptian invention that allow you to count up to one million by using the three counters (two-ten bead counters, and one-one bead that can move around the entire 100 beads).

            These prayer beads are always a limited quantity as they are based on the harvest of current crops. They are also all handmade by Azhar students who help pay their way through school by providing these beads to others. In a way, there can’t be a more perfect and ethically traceable product.