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?
(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:
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
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 74 Surah Muddaththir verses 41-48:(The
people of
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,
Wister