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:

assalolaiukum

first of all i would like to appreciate you as u are doing a tremendous job with this forum ... i`m one of a big fan of u ...

may allah bless you in ur efforts ..ameeen

my question is that one of my shia friend argued that they follow different book of hadith ie najahul balagha.. and according to it he believe that our nabi sallaho alah_e_wasallam also performed matam that`s why they do so as a sunnah... i qouted one hadith to him that i read in your site . ie 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.”

and few more ahadith but he refused to accept and demand me to bring any ayat from quran ... asked me where it is written in quran that matam is not allowed and it is natural reaction when u feel pain ... i told him that i`ll bring solid evidence for him in the light of quran and sunnah ...

so i wanna ask how can i convince that person if he is not even ready to get the meaning of quran and sunnah as we get. he is with point of view that u have different perception of meanings of ayat coz u never attend our MAJALIS and when u do so u will get to know what is right or wrong ... the same argument i told him but he did convinced plz help me and give me some clues ayaats and sunnah from their own book of ahadith so that i could prove him whatever they are doing (MATAM) is wrong...

thank you so much

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Answer:

Shirk prove maatam is wrong from hadith

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.

Your Statement: first of all i would like to appreciate you as u are doing a tremendous job with this forum ..may allah bless you in ur efforts ..ameeen

May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the propagation of the Truth. If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord accepts our humble and weak efforts, forgives us our shortcomings, and saves you, us, and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.

Your Statement: my question is that one of my shia friend argued that they follow different book of hadith ie najahul balagha.. and according to it he believe that our nabi sallaho alah_e_wasallam also performed matam that`s why they do so as a sunnah...

I myself have read the book ‘Nahjul Balagha’, and to the best of my knowledge and understanding it is a collection of the supposed sermons delivered by Hadrat Ali Ibn Abi Taalib (r.a.), and not a book of hadiths relating to the Messenger of Allah (saws). And to the best of my knowledge, there is absolutely nothing in the Nahjul Balagha which states or implies that ‘matam’ or beating oneself in sorrow is from amongst the authentic Sunnah of the Noble Prophet (saws)! Please do ask your friend to give the reference number of the sermon where he claims that ‘matam’ is mentioned in the Nahjul Balagha if indeed he is truthful!

Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, one should be extremely careful in relating or attributing something to the Prophet (saws), because whatever he (saws) did or said or endorsed is an example for the believers to follow until the end of time!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 2.378 Narrated by Al Mughira

I heard the Prophet (saws) saying, "Ascribing false things to me is not like ascribing false things to anyone else. Whosoever tells a lie against me intentionally then surely let him occupy his seat in Hell-Fire."

Your Statement: plz help me and give me some clues ayaats and sunnah from their own book of ahadith so that i could prove him whatever they are doing (MATAM) is wrong...

Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, the believers are commanded by Allah Subhanah to submit unconditionally to every command of Allah and His Messenger (saws)! Thus it is not as if the root of ‘their’ and ‘our’ books are any different; for the root of all ‘books’ in Islam is first and foremost the Glorious Quran, and then the authentic traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws). No other ‘book’ of guidance, regardless of who might have authored it has the right to be believed unconditionally, or has the right to supercede the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws)!

Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, the real issue is not that ‘matam’ is right or wrong, but the real issue is the absolute and unconditional acceptance and obedience of the clear guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

When one is born surrounded by a set of beliefs and rites and rituals, it is only natural that in the absence of Truth, one will believe and follow with conviction what he found his father and forefathers following. Sometimes, the conviction of these followers is so strong, that even when they are confronted with the Truth of the Quran and the Sunnah, instead of submitting to these two sources of guidance unconditionally, these people only accept from the Quran and Sunnah the things which conform to their belief….and twist or eject everything which is against what they have believed for all of their lives! In effect, they try to make the Quran and Sunnah follow their beliefs, rather than formulating their beliefs in absolute accordance with the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

It is only when one clears one’s heart of all prior beliefs and prejudices, and makes a solemn covenant with Allah Subhanah and intends to unconditionally submit to the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah, then and only then will he be guided aright.

Thus, my dear and beloved brother, even if one were to produce the evidence prevalent in the heavens and the earth and present it to such of our brethren who have no intention to submit unconditionally to the clear evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, they would not change the beliefs they have believed in for all their lives!

It is only when one makes a solemn intention to accept and submit unconditionally to the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws), can he be guided aright!

Besides, my dear Brother, the real issue is not of ‘matam’ or the various commemorations and celebrations and rites and rituals our brethren do in the name of some of the mightiest companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws); the real issue is much much deeper and sinister than only ‘matam’ or beating themselves in their remembrance! And that is an issue of the one crime and sin which the Lord Himself has declared as ‘unforgivable’ on the Day of Judgment: and that is ‘shirk’!!!

Their various rites and rituals like ‘matam’, their gatherings of Aashura, etc. which are done in the name of the noble and chaste ‘ahle-bayt’ of the Messenger of Allah (saws) are done with the intention that the ‘ahle-bayt’ have the power to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ and ‘appreciate’ the striving of their supposed ‘followers’; and that on the Day of Judgment, our misguided brethren think that their these deeds and rites of ‘matam’, Aashura, etc. will earn them the favor of the ‘ahle-bayt’, who will then use their influence and ‘shafaa’ with Allah Subhanah to get them into Paradise! Their sole intention in doing all these rites and rituals and commemorations is only to earn the Pleasure and Good Will of the ‘ahle-bayt’, and a form of ‘insurance’ and ‘guarantee’ for their intercession in the Just and Supreme Court of Allah Subhanah on the Day of Judgment!

Thus the real and deeper issue to be asked is ‘WHY’ this matam, and the gatherings of Aashura, and the various rites and rituals of commemoration on the birthdays and death-days of the noble ‘ahle-bayt’ are held by our brethren?

To believe that anyone other than Allah Subhanah can ‘see’ or ‘hear’ or ‘appreciate’ anything after they have tasted death is a clear manifestation of sharing the Exclusive Rights and Attributes of Allah Subhanah with someone in His creation; and that is precisely what Allah Subhanah calls ‘shirk’ in the Quran!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 18: These people serve beside Allah those which can neither harm nor benefit them, and say, “These are our ‘shofa’a’ (intercessors) with Allah!” (O Mohammed), tell them, “Do you wish to inform Allah of that thing which He knows not in the heavens, or in the earth?” He is absolutely free from, and exalted above the SHIRK that they commit.

To do deeds in the religion in the hope of gaining favors and appreciation of some deceased noble and pious slave of Allah, or to do acts in religion in the name of others in the hope of getting closer to Allah Subhanah is precisely what is termed ‘shirk’ in the Holy Quran.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumur verse 2-3: So worship Allah Alone, making your religion His exclusively. Beware! Religion is the exclusive Right of Allah. As for those who have taken other ‘auliyas’ (guardians) with Allah (and justify their this conduct by saying): “We serve them only that they may bring us closer to Allah.” Allah will surely judge between them concerning all that in which they differ. Allah does not show guidance to any liar and denier of the Truth.

If only our brethren knew that the noble and chaste ‘ahle-bayt’ are absolutely unaware of the service they render in their names; and if only our brethren knew that on the Day of Judgment the noble ‘ahle-bayt’ will disown the worship that they did in their names….they would leave their these beliefs and align their beliefs to the commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 46 Surah Ahqaf verses 4-6: Prophet, say to them, "Have you ever seen them with open eyes those whom you invoke instead of Allah? Show me what they have created in the earth? Or have they any share in the creation and control of the heavens? Bring me a Book revealed before this, or produce some remnant of knowledge in support of your beliefs if you are truthful." And who could be further astray than the one who invokes, instead of Allah, those who cannot answer him till the Day of Resurrection. Nay, they are even UNAWARE THAT THEY ARE BEING INVOKED. And when all mankind shall be gathered together (on the Day of Qiyamah), they (the so called leaders and intercessors) will become enemies of those who invoked them and they will DISOWN THEIR WORSHIP!!!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 20-21: All the other beings, whom the people invoke with Allah, create nothing! Nay, they are themselves created. They are DEAD, not living, and they do not at all know themselves when they shall again be raised to life!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verses 28-30: On the Day when We will muster them together, We shall say to those who committed ‘shirk’, “Stay where you are, you and those whom you set up as partners with Us.” Then We shall remove the state of strangeness from among them, and the partners they had set up will say, “You did not worship us! Allah suffices as a witness between you and us, and (even if you worshipped us), we were utterly unaware of your worship!” At that time everyone will taste of what he did. All shall be brought back to Allah, their real Lord, and all the lies they had invented will vanish from them!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 19 Surah Maryam verses 81-82: These people have set up other gods that Allah, so that they may become their supporters! There will be no supporters! They will not only disown your worship, but also become their opponents.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter16 Surah Nahl verses 86-87: When the people who had committed shirk in this world will see those whom they had made associates with Allah, they will say, “Our Lord, here are those associate-deities whom we used to invoke besides You.” At this their deities will retort, “You are liars!” At that time, all of them will proffer submission before Allah, and all that they used to forge in this world shall vanish from them.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqan verses 17-19: And on that Day, (Your Lord) will gather all these people together as well as those whom they used to invoke besides Allah and ask them, “Did you mislead these servants of Mine, or did they themselves go astray?” Those associate-deities will answer, “Glory be to You! We dared not take any ‘auliya’ besides You. You did give them and their forefathers all the good things of life till they forgot the Admonition, and incurred the punishment.” Thus will your deities deny all that you are professing today! Then you shall neither be able to repel your punishment, nor shall you be able to get any help from anywhere. And whoever is guilty of iniquity among you, We shall make him taste a severe torment!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 102: What? Do these people, who have disbelieved, presume that they would make My servants their ‘auliyaas’ besides Me? We have prepared Hell for the hospitality of such people.

To choose one’s own ‘shafaa’ or intercessors, and hope that they have some influence in the Power of Allah Subhanah, or bring about something for them from Allah Subhanah, or that their chosen ‘shafaa’ have the power to change or alter the Decisions of Allah Subhanah, or that they can save them from the Hell Fire is absolutely against the guidance and principles of the Quran. And to serve and invoke them is a clear manifestation of the abomination and unforgivable sin of ‘shirk’ in light of the Glorious Quran!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 48: And guard yourselves against the Day when no one shall avail anyone else; nor shall ‘shafa’a’ (intercession) be accepted from anyone; nor shall anyone be acquitted for any amount of ransom; nor shall the guilty ones be helped from any quarter.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 6 Surah Anam verse 94: (And Allah will say), “So, you have come before Us all alone, as We created you at first. Now, you have left behind all that We gave you in the world. Now We do not see with you those ‘shufa’a’(intercessors), who, you believed, had a share in moulding your destinies! All the relations between you and them have been cut off, and all those, in whom you trusted, have left you in the lurch.”

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 41 Surah Ha Meem Sajdah verse 47-48: Then on the Day when Allah will call out to the people asking, “Where are those associates of Mine?” They will say, “We have submitted: there is none of us to bear witness to that.” At that time, all those deities whom they used to invoke before this, shall be lost to them, and they will realize that they have no refuge.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verses 44: What! Have they taken besides Allah others as ‘shofa’a’ (intercessors)? Say to them, “Will they intercede even if they have no power whatever nor understanding?” Say, “Shafa’a is wholly in the Power of Allah Alone!”. His is the Kingdom of the heavens and the earth. Then to Him you will be returned.

Thus in conclusion, my dear and beloved brother in Islam, the real issue for your friend is not in which book ‘matam’ is permitted in Islam; but the real issue to be asked of them is ‘WHY’ the matam and the various acts of commemoration are done in the names of the noble ‘ahle-bayt’!

Is the reasons for doing their commemoration of some of the pious deceased slaves of Allah Subhanah any different from reasons the commemorations the Christians do in the name of one of the mightiest Prophets of Allah Subhanah, Prophet Jesus (a.s.)? Just take a look at the conversation between Prophet Jesus (a.s.) and Allah Subhanah which will take place on the Day of Judgment!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 116-118: Allah will say, “O Jesus, son of Mary, did you ever say to the people, “Make me and my mother deities besides Allah?” Jesus will say, “Glory be to You! It did not behove me to say that thing which I had no right to say. Had I ever said such a thing, You would most surely have known it, for You know all that is in my mind, but I do not know what is in Your mind. Indeed, You have full knowledge even of all the hidden things. I never told them anything other than what You bade me. I said, ‘Worship Allah, Who is my Lord as well as your Lord.’ I was a witness to their conduct as long as I remained among them, but when You recalled me, You watched over them: for You keep over everything. Now, if You punish them, they are Your own servants, and if You forgive them, You are the All Powerful and All Wise.”

Will the noble and chaste members of the ‘ahle-bayt’ of the Messenger of Allah (saws) say anything different from Prophet Jesus (a.s.) regarding those who invoked them after their deaths??

Beloved brother, I have specifically quoted the Glorious Quran to address your question in the belief that no believer would ever challenge the authenticity of the Quran. But there is an authentic prophetic hadith of the Messenger of Allah (saws) which has been proved true today and relevant to your question, which I take the liberty to quote:

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 6093 Narrated by Hadrat Ali ibn AbuTalib (r.a.)

Allah's Messenger (saws) said to him, "You have a resemblance to Jesus whom the Jews hated so much that they slandered his mother, and whom the Christians loved so much that they placed him in a position not rightly his." Hadrat Ali afterwards said, "Two people will perish on my account, one who loves me so excessively that he praises me for what I do not possess, and one who hates me so much that he will be impelled by his hatred to slander me."

Our beloved but misguided Shia brethren have taken the pious and noble companion of the status of Hadrat Ali (r.a.) and the ‘ahle-bayt’ and raised them to a position of adoration and reverence that does not rightfully belong to them! They invoke them night and day, they serve them, they praise them, they have made their graves into places of worship, and they commemorate, celebrate, and do all sorts of rites and rituals in their names in the hope of winning their favors!

May Allah Subhanah guide our misguided brethren to differentiate the Truth from the falsehood and may Allah Subhanah bestow upon them and us the wisdom and the courage to submit ourselves unconditionally to none except the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws).

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), he 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), he 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. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan