Rosary
Rosary. In Christianity, a Catholic devotion which consists in reciting fifteen ‘decades’ (groups of ten) of Hail Marys (Ave Maria), each decade preceded by the Lord's Prayer and followed by the Gloria Patri. A string of variously numbered (e.g. 55 or 165 ‘beads’, Med. Eng., beda, ‘prayer’) are used to count the individual prayers. Each decade represents one of the ‘fifteen mysteries’ (five ‘joyful’, five ‘sorrowful’, five ‘glorious’), each an event in the life of Jesus or his mother.
Prayer beads are also used in other religions (e.g. Hinduism and Buddhism: see MĀLĀ; Jap. Buddhism: see NENJU), and are referred to in English as ‘rosaries’. Thus, many Sikhs use a rosary (mālā) to assist meditation. See also NĀM SIMARAN. In Islam, the subḥa (Arab., sabbaḥa, ‘praise God’, cf. subḥān Allāh, ‘Glory to God!’) is the Muslim string of prayer beads, in three groups, divided by two larger beads (imām), with a larger piece serving as a handle. By different reckonings, the total is always 100—Allāh + his Ninety-nine Beautiful Names. See NĀFILA.
Prayer beads are also used in other religions (e.g. Hinduism and Buddhism: see MĀLĀ; Jap. Buddhism: see NENJU), and are referred to in English as ‘rosaries’. Thus, many Sikhs use a rosary (mālā) to assist meditation. See also NĀM SIMARAN. In Islam, the subḥa (Arab., sabbaḥa, ‘praise God’, cf. subḥān Allāh, ‘Glory to God!’) is the Muslim string of prayer beads, in three groups, divided by two larger beads (imām), with a larger piece serving as a handle. By different reckonings, the total is always 100—Allāh + his Ninety-nine Beautiful Names. See NĀFILA.
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Rosary