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What is important namaaz or maatam?

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:

What is more important namaz or Imam hussain matam? If one has to choose between two? 

 

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Answer:

 

What is important namaaz or maatam?

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 no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

 

The choice between performing salaah and matam, is the difference between obeying Allah and His Messenger (saws), and disobeying Allah and His Messenger (saws)!!!

 

Without an iota of a doubt, performing the salaah is a bigger and better deed and in accordance with the commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws); whereas performing matam is a prohibited act and against the command of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Salaah is an act which will win one the pleasure and good-will of Allah Subhanah; and the matam is an act which will earn one the anger and wrath of Allah!

 

Ref: Salaat

The act of salaah is such an important duty ordained by Allah on the believers, that it is considered one of the pillars of Islam! There are so many aayahs of the Holy Quran and so many narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws) regarding the virtues and importance of prayers, that it would be impossible for us to quote all of them in this short article.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 51 Surah Dhariyat verse 56:I have not created the jinn and men except for this that they should worship Me alone.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 103:Indeed, the salaat is a prescribed duty that should be performed at the appointed times by the believers.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Muminoon verses 1-11:Most certainly those believers have attained True Success: WHO PERFORM THEIR PRAYERS WITH HUMILITY; who refrain from vain things; who spend their zakat dues in appropriate ways; who guard their private parts scrupulously, except with regard to their wives and those women who are legally in their possession, for in that case they shall not be blame-worthy; but those, who go beyond this shall be the transgressors; who are true to their promises; and WHO STRICTLY GUARD THEIR PRAYERS. These are the heirs who will inherit Paradise, and will dwell therein forever.

 

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 74 Surah Muddaththir verses 41-48:(The people of Paradise) will ask the culprits, “What has brought you into Hell?” The culprits will reply, “We were not of those who offered the salaat, and we did not feed the poor, and we used to join with those who indulged in idle talk against the Truth, and we used to belie the Day of Judgment. Till the inevitable overtook us!”

 

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said in an authentic narration: “The difference between Islam and “kufr” is salaat.”

 

Abdullah ibn Qart related that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said "The first act that the slave will be accountable for on the Day of Judgement will be prayer. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil." (Related by at-Tabarani.)

 

Salaah is also among the last thing that the Prophet (saws) recommended to his nation before he died, saying, "Prayer, prayer, and what your right hand possesses. If Islam were stripped away, piece by piece, people would hold tight to the next one. The first thing taken would be ruling and governance, and the last thing would be prayer." (Related by Ibn Hibban from the hadith of Abu Umamah.)

 

Ref: Matam:

The actual act of ‘matam’ or physically beating oneself, or even wailing upon the dead, has nothing to do with Islam and its teachings, and is a manifest ‘bidah’ as it was adopted by some sects in Islam, long after the death of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Wailing refers to mourning in a loud voice and/or crying in a high pitch voice, which was prohibited by the Prophet (saws).

 

Many companions were martyred in the life of the Prophet (saws), but the Prophet (saws) never ever wailed over their death, nor allowed anybody else to wail or beat themselves. This act of matam, or physically beating oneself, and wailing, are considered acts of ‘jaahiliyaa’ (pre-Islamic days of ignorance), and the Prophet (saws) strictly forbade the muslims from doing it.

 

It has been reported in an authentic narration that the Messenger of Allah (saws) cursed the wailing woman and the woman who listens to her.

 

It is reported in an authentic narration that the Messenger of Allah said: “He is not a believer, who beats his face, or tears his clothes, or wails, when afflicted by a misfortune.”

 

It has been reported in an authentic narration that the Prophet (saws) said: "Four practices of the ‘jaahiliyaa’ (pre-Islamic days of ignorance) will continue to be practiced by my ummah:

taking pride in one's parentage.

giving a person a father other than his own genealogical father.

believing that rain is caused by some stars.

wailing over the dead.”

 

It has been reported in an authentic tradtion that the Prophet (saws) said: "A (professional) mourner, unless she repents before her death, will be raised on the Day of Judgement wearing a garment of tar and an armor of blistering puss."

 

It has been reported in an authentic narration that the Prophet (saws) 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.”

 

It has been reported in an authentic narration that the Prophet (saws) said, that some women who took allegience to Islam with the Messenger of Allah (saws) asked him, 'O Messenger of Allah, some women helped us (in mourning our dead) during the pre-Islamic days. Should we (also in return) help them (in mourning their dead), now that we are Muslims? ' He replied: 'There is no such thing in Islam (i. e., helping each other to mourn the dead loudly)'."

 

It is reported in an authentic narration that the Prophet (saws) said: "Allah does not punish a person for shedding tears or feeling pain in his heart. But He does punish, though he may show mercy, because of what he utters with this," and then he pointed to his tongue.

 

Weeping for the dead is permissible in Islam, whereas wailing, matam (physically beating oneself) and crying in a high pitch voice is absolutely prohibited in Islam. Matam is a clear and manifest innovation; and as with every innovation in Islam, it is considered an evil error, and a major sin.

 

It has been reported by Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a.) that the Prophet of Allah (saws) said: “If anyone introduces an innovation (in religion), he will be responsible for it. If anyone introduces an innovation or gives shelter to a man who introduces an innovation (in religion), he is cursed by Allah, by His angels, and by all the people.”

 

(It is indeed a pity that the same noble Imam and Ameer ul Mumineen, who narrated the above narration from the Prophet (saws), Imam Ali ibn Abu Taalib’s (r.a.) and his noble descendant’s names are invoked when one does the abominable innovation of matam!)

 

It has been reported by Jabir ibn Abdullah (r.a.) in another authentic narration 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, and every innovation is an error.”

 

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

 

 

 

Your Brother in Islam,

 

 

Burhan

 


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