-Why do they cry, scream, and beat themselves?
-Is this behavior acceptable in Islam?
-Oh, what misguided people they are! Beware of these “Shiites”!
But let’s look at the reality of Shia’s mourning.
The Messenger of Allah (S) was the best creation, a role model, and a “mercy for the worlds”. But what was he doing? He was crying for Hussein (A).
One day, I went to the Prophet (S) and saw that his eyes were filled with tears. I asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Has someone angered you? What is happening? Your eyes are filled with tears!” He replied, “No! But Jibrail (A) just left me, who told me that Hussein would be killed near the Euphrates. Should I show you the land (on which he will fall)? I said,”Yes, of course”.
He extended his hand and opened his palm, which had some soil on it, and he gave it to me. And I could not hold back my tears”.
(Musnad of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Chapter: Musnad of the Ten Those Given the Gladness of Paradise, Section: Musnad of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, Subsection: Musnad of Ali ibn Abu Talib, may Allah be pleased with him).
Fatima Zahra (A), the Quranic “Kawthar” and one of the “ashabul qisa” whom Allah “purified with complete purification,” narrated from the Messenger of Allah (dbar) that he said:
“O Fatima! On the Day of Judgment, all eyes will shed tears except the eyes that wept for Husayn (A). These eyes will shine with joy and will receive the good news of the rewards of Paradise”
(Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 44, p. 293).
Zainab (A), the sister of Imam Hussein and the daughter of Ali, the granddaughter of the Prophet (S), used to beat herself in mourning for her dead brother.
Ali ibn Hussein (Imam Sajjad), the son of Hussein, wept for the martyrs of Ashura all his life. It is said that he could not see water without crying, because his father, young children, and companions died thirsty.
Abu Ammar says about Imam Ja’far Sadiq (A), the teacher of the founders of all four Sunni madhhabs:
“I once visited Imam Sadiq. He asked:”Read us verses about Imam Hussein.”When I started reciting the poems, the Imam started crying. I was reciting the poems, and the Imam was crying so much that his voice was heard outside the house. When I finished reciting the poems, the Imam told me about the importance and great reward of the one who reads the mourning songs, and thereby encourages people to cry for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein”.
Imam Sadiq also said:
“It is not appropriate to shed tears and show impatience over any grief, unless it is the tragedy that happened to Hussein ibn Ali, the reward for which will be priceless”.
Jabir Ansari, a great companion of the Prophet (S), one of the most selfless and close to him people, was the first to come to the place of the death of the grandson of the Prophet (A) forty days later (Arbaeen). He became the first pilgrim of Karbala. One of Jabir Ansari’s close associates, Atiyya, describes this event as follows:
“We left Medina to visit the grave of Imam Hussein (A) with Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari. As soon as we reached Karbala, Jabir went to the Farat (Euphrates) River and performed ablution (ghusl). Afterwards, he put on his clothes and rubbed himself with perfume. Then, repeating dhikr at every step, he headed towards the Shrine of Imam Hussein (a). When we approached the grave, he ordered me: “Put my hand on the grave” (the venerable Sahabah was already blind). I did so. At that very moment, I saw Jabir lose consciousness and fall on the grave. I splashed some water on his face. Having regained consciousness, Jabir exclaimed three times: “Hussein! Hussein! Hussein!”.
Why do you need the example of these people? You are better than them! Your pure monotheism with attributing body parts and places to Allah is higher than the monotheism of the Prophet, his successors, and companions. They did bid’ah, wept for Husayn, but you did not.
And when our “akhis” call us crazy, we answer: no, unfortunately, we are not crazy enough in our grief for Imam Husayn (A), we have not yet reached the level of “madness like the honorable Sahabah Jabir Ansari.
But is it worth explaining this issue to our akhis at all? After all, its understanding is possible only under the condition of knowledge of the Imamate and the true position of Wali. Indeed, if I do not understand the reason for some action, but see only the effect, how can I understand its motives? If our “akhis” see people who have gathered in one place and immediately begin to cry, their behavior will seem strange to them, to say the least. And so it will be until they understand for whom they are crying, WHO in fact were those killed for whom they are crying. Don’t you cry when your body is hurt? But our pain for the killed and oppressed Imams is stronger than this pain. Wali is closer to the believer than he himself. If the believer has a soul, then wali is the essence of his soul, if he has a body, then wali is the flesh of this body.
We are told that crying and wailing is not the way the Prophet (S) wanted us to behave. However, the Prophet (S) taught us to obey those who were killed. He didn’t advocate oppressing or exterminating them, which would have destroyed the entire system of Islam. If you hadn’t killed them, we wouldn’t have cried for them.
Therefore, those who object to Shia ceremonies on Ashura and other mourning days should not be argued with or given any arguments. We say: learn about the Imamate and the Ahl al-Bayt (A), then come back. Study the religion of Islam, and everything will become clear to you. Until then, we have nothing to talk about with you. You won’t understand anything anyway.
Imam Sadiq (A) said:
“Nanhu llazi faraza Allahu ta’tana layasahu nnas illa ma’rifatana wa layu’zaru nnas bi jahalatina” — “We are those to whom Allah has made obedience obligatory, only the knowledge of us is important for people, and there is no excuse for those who do not know us”. There is no excuse. The one who did not know Ahl al-Bayt (A), did not obey the Wali, and did not follow the Imam of his time — goes to Jahannam. There you will talk about “bid’ah in Shia”.
Mourning ceremonies will always be a stumbling block between those who recognize the wilayah and those who do not. They flow from great love, the Qur’anic mawaddatun fil qurba, which the Shias have, and the rest do not. At all times, tyrants and oppressors, from Yazid to Saddam, aimed their attacks at mourning ceremonies — first of all, on Ashura and Arbaeen of Imam Hussein (A). There was no taghut who would not try to ban these ceremonies. Namaz, fasting, halal food, hijab — all this was allowed, they did not touch it, but as soon as the conversation turned to Ashura, a completely different conversation began.
Why? Because these ceremonies express the spirit of Shia. That is, the spirit of Islam in general. They are a living, year after year repeating confirmation of the covenant with Wali Allah, an agreement with him, submission to him.
Labbeyka ya Hussein — “we are before you, Hussein!” Labbeyka ya Mahdi — “we are before you, Mahdi!”
What tyrant would tolerate this — an agreement not with him, but with the Wali of God? These ceremonies are a bone in the throat of every despot. He wants to deal with those who are in his system, not in the system of Allah, the system of the wilayah.
These ceremonies are not obligatory in the religion of Islam, like prayer or fasting in the month of Ramadan. But, nevertheless, they are, without exaggeration, what supports the very existence of prayer and fasting. Without them, raising people to fight, uniting them in one grandiose impulse, there would have been neither prayer nor fasting for a long time.
As Muawiya said to one of his satraps: “I still have not won. Do you know when I will win?” — and pointed his finger towards the window from which the adhan was heard. – “When this sound will no longer be heard.” After Ashura, Imam Sajjad (A) was asked: “Has Hussein (A) won?” He did not answer anything, he simply pointed to the sounding adhan: “Do you hear this sound? Hussein has won.”
