Use of the Prayer Beads

Question
Is it true that using prayer beads is an innovation and that every innovation leads to misguidance in hell? I was using an electronic prayer bead, and my colleague told me that prayer beads are an innovation and forbidden, and that they are a form of associating partners with Allah, especially the electronic ones. She said this is a fatwa from one of the scholars?
Answer
I say, and with God's help: The prayer beads, whether made of beads or electronic, are a means and a tool just like a car is for going to the mosque. If this tool helps in doing good and getting closer to God Almighty, how can it be prohibited when there is no specific text forbidding it? There is nothing that prevents it; rather, it is well-known among the predecessors and successors. It serves as a reminder of God and aids in the remembrance of God Almighty. Prominent scholars have written books on its permissibility, such as Al-Suyuti, Al-Laknawi, and others. However, we are astonished by those who have emerged in this time without a legal school of thought, whose only work is to confuse people and distance them from the religion of God by diverting them from prayer, fasting, remembrance, and other acts. We ask God for well-being. We are people of the Sunnah, and we do not take fatwas except from legal schools of thought, which state that it is permissible and recommended, and not from individuals who do not belong to established Sunni legal schools. And God knows best.
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