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:

Please tell me the people does matam on moharram it is true!  

(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:

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 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.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 2033 Narrated by AbuMalik 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."

The Messenger of Allah (saws) absolutely forbade the believers and invoked the Curse of Allah on those who practiced wailing, beating their faces, or tearing their clothes, etc. when afflicted by a misfortune!

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