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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

 Please can you throw some light on MAATAM . how did it originate. and whether or not muslims are allowed to do MAATAM. is there any mention of MAATAM in the holy Quran 

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Answer:

Matam Originate

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 Question: Please can you throw some light on MAATAM . how did it originate.

When one is unable to comprehend the ‘Qadr’ or Divine Decree of Allah Subhanah, when one is unable to truly comprehend that the life on this earth is but a test ordained by the Lord to see how one reacts to good or evil conditions, when one is unable to accept that the Hereafter is the Place where the results of everything will be declared and announced by the All-Knowing Lord, etc…..then it is only natural that when one is afflicted by a severe calamity like loss of life, or property, or health, etc. that one loses hope and patience and in desperation and hopelessness starts wailing and beating their chests and their faces to display their abject pain and grief at what has occurred!

But when one believes and is guided aright, he acknowledges the ‘Qadr’ or Divine Decrees of his Lord Most High, knows with absolute conviction that the life of this world is but a test, knows with absolute conviction that every good or bad condition is from Allah Subhanah so that He may See how His slave reacts in those given situations, and he knows with absolute conviction that the only place for results is the Hereafter….then the person bears every loss or calamity or affliction with patience and beautiful perseverance, and keeps his trust and his hope in none save the Mercy and Grace of the One and Only True Lord of the Worlds.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 155-157:

155 Be sure We shall test you with something of fear, and hunger, some loss in goods, or lives, or the fruits (of your toil); but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.

156 Who say when afflicted with calamity: "To Allah we belong and to Him is our return."

157 They are those on whom (descend) blessings from Allah and Mercy, and they are the ones that receive guidance.

When exactly the concept of ‘matam’ or ‘wailing and beating themselves when afflicted by a calamity’ originated is difficult to ascertain; but it is safe to assume that it must have been first practiced as a natural extension of the emotions of those disbelievers who did not believe in Allah and His ‘Qadr’ and this practice was continued by the people in the Days of Ignorance before the advent of Islam in Arabia.

Your Question: and whether or not muslims are allowed to do MAATAM.

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! The Messenger of Allah (saws) went so far as to declare unbelievers those who wail, or beat their face, or tear their clothes when afflicted by a misfortune!

Your Question: is there any mention of MAATAM in the holy Quran

There is absolutely no mention of the concept of ‘matam’ in the Glorious Quran, but Allah Subhanah does guide the believers to the best and right conduct when one is tried and afflicted with a calamity from their Lord:

One who is afflicted with a calamity from their Lord does not show patience and beautiful perseverance, but rather displays his emotions of grief by wailing or ‘matam’, then it is evident that neither blessings nor mercy descend upon them from their Lord, nor are they amongst those who are guided aright.

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