When we beat ourselves or wail, it is not for gaining anything, but it is respect to remember our prophet`s (saw) family who sacrificed themselves for our religion.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
This
is absolute rubbish. When we beat ourselves or wail, it is not for gaining
anything, but it is respect to remember our prophet`s (saw) family who
sacrificed themselves for our religion ISLAM. When we take time out and gather
on the day of Ashura, this is to pay respect. Think, when your loved ones die,
don`t you perform rituals when certain days, months, years have passed. If
gatherings can be attended then, so why not in Ashura? I advise you stop
brainwashing people, and review your knowledge of Islam.
Regards.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors
in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions,
comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Wailing and matam
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, it has always
happened that when one is born and brought up believing a certain belief or
practice is good, meritorious, and acceptable in Sight of their Creator….and
they find someone challenging their belief or their practice even with evidence
from the Quran and the Sunnah, some amongst them refuse to accept the guidance
and insist on following the ways of their forefathers.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 170-171:
When it is said to them, “Follow the Commands
that Allah has sent down”, they reply,
“We will follow only what we found our forefathers practising.” Well,
will they go on following their forefathers even though they did not use
common sense and did not find the
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 34 Surah
Saba verse 43:
When Our clear Revelations are recited to these
people, they say, “This person only wants to turn you away from
those deities whom your forefathers have been worshipping.”
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 43 Surah
Zukhruf verse 22-25:
Nay! But
they say, “We found our forefathers on a way and we are only walking in their
footsteps.” Even so, whenever before you We sent a warner to a
habitation, its people of means said,
“We have found our forefathers on a way and we are only following in their
footsteps.” Every Prophet asked them,
“Will you still go on following the same old way even if I guide you to a more
right way than that you found your forefathers following?” They replied, “We disbelieve the religion
with which you have been sent.”
Consequently, We took vengeance on
them. Just consider what was the end of
those who denied.
Thus my beloved sister, ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘truth’ and
‘falsehood’ cannot be determined by what one has been taught and brought up
since childhood, or what one finds one’s loved ones and forefathers believing
and following….but the ‘truth’ and the ‘falsehood’ can only, and we reiterate
only be determined through the two divine sources of guidance: the very Words
of the Lord Creator in the Glorious Quran, and the practice of the Last and
Final Messenger of Allah (saws).
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 185:
Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was sent
down: this Book is a Perfect Guidance for mankind and consists of clear
Teachings which show the
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imran verse 31-32:
O Prophet,
tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me.
Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His
Messenger.” And if, in spite of this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love
those, who refuse to obey Him and His
Messenger.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example for you to
follow in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah
and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.
Thus my respected sister, for any act to be regarded as
worship in the Sight of Allah Subhanah, it is absolutely imperative that that
act be endorsed by Allah and His Messenger (saws).
Your
Statement: When we beat ourselves or wail, it is not for gaining anything, but
it is respect to remember our prophet`s (saw) family who sacrificed themselves
for our religion ISLAM. When we take time out and gather on the day of Ashura,
this is to pay respect.
The Prophet’s (saws) beloved uncle Hadrat Hamza ibn
Abdul-Muttalib (r.a.) was mercilessly martyred and his body was mutilated along
with 70 other noble companions on the fateful day of the Battle of Uhud. The Messenger of Allah (saws), as hurt and as
pained as he was at what had transpired, gave the martyrs a honorable burial
and as guided by Allah Subhanah, did not mourn for more than three days.
What
needs to be determined is:
Beloved Sister, when the Messenger of Allah (saws) did not
practice wailing, nor nominated the Day of Uhud to be commemorated every year,
nor gathered the believers every year to commemorate the severe afflictions
that befell on that fateful day…..then it should be obvious to any believer who
looks at Prophet Mohamed (saws) as their perfect example that such gatherings,
and wailings, and beatings, and ‘matams’, and ‘nohas’, and commemorations, and
rites and rituals of remembrance of afflictions, etc. are neither part of the
deen of Islam, nor are such acts acceptable or have any merit in the Sight of
Allah Subhanah whatsoever.
Not only did the Noble Messenger of Allah (saws) not
endorse such practices of wailing and beating oneself when afflicted with a
calamity, but the Prophet (saws), time and time again, guided and commanded the
believers to abstain from such self-invented and unlawful practices!
Sahih Muslim Hadith 2033 Narrated by Abu Malik al-Ash'ari
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “Among my people there are four
characteristics belonging to pre-Islamic period of ignorance which they do not
abandon: 1. boasting of high rank,
2. reviling other peoples'
genealogies, 3. seeking rain by stars,
and 4. wailing. And he
(further) said: If the wailing woman does not repent before she dies, she
will be made to stand on the Day of Resurrection wearing a garment of pitch and
a chemise of mange.
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said in an
authentic narration “He is not a believer, who beats his face, or tears his clothes, or wails,
when afflicted by a misfortune.”
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Hadrat Ali ibn AbuTalib
(r.a.)
Hadrat Ali (r.a.) heard Allah's Messenger
(saws) curse those who took usury, those who paid it, those who recorded it,
and those who refused to give sadaqah. And
he (saws) used to prohibit wailing.
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3122 Narrated
by AbuSa'id al-Khudri
The Messenger of Allah (saws) cursed the
wailing woman and the woman who listens to her.
Umm 'Atiyyah reports: "The
Messenger of Allah (saws) made us pledge that we will not wail over (the dead)" (Bukhari and Muslim).
Al-Bazzar has transmitted, at the Prophet,
peace be upon him, said: "Two sounds are accursed in this world and in the
hereafter: the sound of wind instruments
(to celebrate) good fortune, and of moaning aloud when afflicted with a
misfortune."
Your
Question: Think, when your loved ones die, don`t you perform rituals when
certain days, months, years have passed.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.257 Narrated by Zainab bint Um Salama
That Um-Habiba (r.a.), the wife of the
Prophet (saws) said that she heard the Prophet (saws) say, "It is not
lawful for a lady who believes in Allah and the Last Day to mourn for more than
three days except for her husband for whom the (mourning) period is four months
and ten days."
There is absolutely no evidence that the Messenger of
Allah (saws), his noble family, or any of his noble companions ever gathered
people at the house of the deceased after a certain number of days (9, 10, 11,
40, etc.) to make dua, or recite the Glorious Quran, or perform the ‘tasbeeh’,
or enjoy a feast in the name of the deceased!
Without an iota of a doubt, such commemorations are no more than
innovations which have unfortunately crept into the pure and perfect deen of
Islam; and the believers who sincerely fear Allah and the Last Day must strive
to absolutely abstain from all such innovations.
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a
sermon: “The best speech is that which
is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran;
and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the
innovations (bida), and every innovation (bida) is an error.”
Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 4515 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib
That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If
anyone introduces an innovation (bida in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation (bida) or
gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (bida), he is cursed
by Allah, by His Angels, and by all the people!”
My dear and respected Sister in Islam, if after all the
evidence which has been presented to you, you still believe that the yearly
gatherings, wailing, beatings, ‘matam’s, etc. on the day of Ashura are lawful
in Shariah or have any acceptance in the Sight of Allah Subhanah…..we humbly
request you to give us even only one evidence from the authentic and
established Sunnah that the Messenger of Allah (saws) ever himself wailed or
endorsed the annual wailing and beating of oneself at the death of any of his
noble family members or companions!
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
