new_beau
Age: 124
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What is wrong in doing 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 act of matam, where one beats oneself physically, is absolutely prohibited by the Messenger of Allah (saws) in Islam.
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.”
Your Question: However, from my reading of the hadiths (please correct me if I am wrong), Rasulallah (SAWS) says "Allah does not punish a person for feeling pain in the heart". If one were to take the true meaning of mataam - an individual`s sign of grief - then what is wrong with doing mataam as it is merely an action to show "pain in the heart".
You have not quoted the full narration of the Messenger of Allah (saws). It says and I quote:
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 (saws) pointed to his tongue.
When a misfortune or calamity happens on a human being, it is only natural, and a sign of mercy from the All Merciful Lord, that one’s heart is in pain and one’s eyes shed tears! That is beyond the control of the human being when afflicted with a calamity like the death of a loved one, etc. But the Messenger of Allah (saws) specifically warned the believers that one must be careful to say only what is pleasing to Allah Subhanah, and not utter words or wail over the dead, which are absolutely displeasing and hated in the sight of Allah.
The Prophet (saws), wept on the death of his son, Ibrahim, and said: "The eyes shed tears and the heart feels pain, but we utter only what pleases our Lord. O Ibrahim! We are aggrieved at your demise." He (saws) also wept when his grand daughter, Umaymah, daughter of Zainab, died. At this Sa'ad ibn 'Ubadah said: "O Messenger of Allah! Are you weeping?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied: "This (weeping) is the mercy that Allah has placed in the hearts of His servants. And surely Allah bestows mercy upon those who are merciful among His servants."
Many a close family member and loved one of the Prophet (saws) died during his lifetime. His beloved uncle, Hadrat Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib (r.a.) was brutally murdered and mutilated in the Battle of Ohud; but never did the Messenger of Allah (saws) wail or beat himself in grief; nor did he allow any of the believers to do matam on the martyrs or anyone or anything else.
The act of matam was extremely prevalent in the days of ignorance, but when Prophet Mohamed (saws) was appointed the Prophet of Allah, he absolutely forbade this act of the days of jaahiliyya.
Your Question: Many a times, even when I have read a book on the event, I have been overcome with grief and have wept and have done mataam. This mataam was done in the confines of my own home and as a sign of my personal grief at what my Imam went through. What is wrong with that?
Your paining of the heart, and being overcome with grief to a point that you weep, are indeed signs of your esteem and love and respect for the noble Imam Hussain and his family; which is the state of any believer who reads or hears the heart-wrenching events and incidents that took place in the fields of Kerbala. The noble and beloved grandson of the Prophet (saws), and the righteous son of righteous parents like Ameer ul Mumineen Imam Ali (r.a.) and Hadrat Fatima binte Rasool Allah (r.a.), and the leader of the youth in Paradise… Shaheed-e-Karbala, Hadrat Imam Hussain ibn Ali (r.a.) was indeed brutally murdered at the hands of the aggressors; and this incident is without a doubt one of the darkest pages in the annuls of Muslim History. But, whatever may happen, and whatever misfortune or grief may befall man in this worldly life, it does not behove a believer, who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day, to disobey the commands of the Messenger of Allah (saws). No matter how much grief one is befallen with, a believer must always stay within the boundaries set by Allah and His Messenger (saws)!
It does not matter if one does matam in public or in private; this act of matam is strictly prohibited by the Messenger of Allah (saws) and he (saws) himself declared that one who beats himself or wails, cannot be a believer!
Your Question: My reading of the other hadiths (once again please correct me if I`m wrong) is that Rasulallah (SAWS) was referring to the "professional mourner". Yes, that is not allowed in Islam, but are you not taking things to the other extreme by terming mataam prohibited. Or do you consider the bhaisaheb or whoever is giving the waaz to be a `professional mourner`?
It is not I who has termed the act of matam prohibited in Islam, nor do I have the authority to do so! It is the Messenger of Allah (saws) who has prohibited the act of matam, or beating oneself, or wailing over a misfortune.
A professional is someone who gets paid for doing something; and there is absolutely no doubt that every bhaisaheb or aamil or the ones who sing the marseeyas negotiate the price for their services before they give their sermons or sing their marseeyas! And this is a well known fact.
Your Statement: Also to me is seems as if rasulallah`s (SAWS) hadiths were directed towards the women wailing loudly.
Indeed, one of the hadiths does refer to the women waling in a loud voice!
Abu Malik al Ash'ari reported 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 armour of blistering puss." This is narrated by Ahmad and Muslim.
Your Question: And what do you make of the hadith that of the 4 practices which rasulallah (SAWS) said would continue to be practiced by the ummah, one was `wailing over the dead`. This hadith does not say that these practices should be stopped. Where (if at all) has Allah forbidden in the Holy Quran to recount a tragedy and to show grief over it? When did Rasulallah (SAWS) say that one should not do mataam?
Muslim has 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.”
You are right in saying that the above hadith does not specifically say that the above four acts of the days of ignorance are forbidden! But, if one reads the Quran and the hadiths with understanding and in context, he/she would realize what is permissible and what is not. The above four practices, by virtue of its being ca
