I know Im going to get some flak for posting this, but I sympathize with a lot of friends and acquaintances who fall into acts of innovation without knowing why theyre doing what theyre doing. Islam does *not* permit you to harm yourself or harm others. Your body is a gift from the Creator and none of His Messengers ever condoned harming oneself. In fact, it was strictly prohibited as it goes against the nature of Shariah (the laws of the Creator). One of the purposes of Shariah is to protect you, not harm you. The Messenger of Allah, salAllaahu alayhi wasallam, never harmed himself, never condoned harming oneself, and never allowed the Companions to harm themselves, whether thats on Ashuraa or any other day of the year when great people were killed. He did mourn many great companions who were martyred during his lifetime, such as Jafar, Hamzah, and Zaid, may Allah have mercy on them. Yet his mourning did not exceed the limitations of Islam. The mourning of Al-Husayn, who ALL Muslims love, revere, and mourn, led to two major innovations. The first was in the year 400AH when a corrupt, domestic Ummayad ruling authority led a political party to introduce a day of mourning on Ashuraa as part of their rebellion, so they would mourn Al-Husayn (may Allah have mercy on him) and they would wail and strike themselves as the Arabs used to do before Islam, and about which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: He is not one of us who strikes his cheeks, rends his garment, or cries with the cry of the Jâhiliyyah (Period of ignorance before revelation).” [Muslim] The second innovation was that of celebration, ghusl, wearing nice clothes, and making it a festive occasion. This goes against the Sunnah and is not permitted as it falls under the same category as the other act. Thus, any innovation that emerges after the Messenger of Allah should be rejected if youre sincere in following the commandments of Allah. Put your political and blind bias aside and ask yourself what youre truly following in regards to its origins. This is not a us vs. them issue; this is you as a human being worshiping the Creator and preserving what He ordained. Dont let something that emerged as a political cause change the way you worship the Creator or conduct yourself as a good, moral human being. Harming yourself or mourning beyond the limits of Shariah is displeasing to Allah, His Messenger, and the righteous ones who loved to follow the Messenger, salAllaahu alayhi wasallam. Al-Husayns father, Ali bin Abi Talib, was better than him, and yet we do not take a day of severe mourning and self-flagellation to remember him. And Al-Husayns grandfather was the best of mankind, the greatest Messenger and greatest human being to walk this earth, peace be upon him, and yet we do not take a day to severely mourn his loss. We remember him by following the message he delivered from the Creator, by spreading righteousness and peace in this world, by establishing the commandments of the Creator when we can, by exemplifying his exalted moral manners, by being cautious with regards to innovations and political influences on religious ideology, and by praying to be with him in Paradise. Do not harm yourself or harm others. [Ibn Majah] May Allah allow our hearts to see the Truth as Truth, and to follow it, regardless of what we were brought up to believe. And may He grant us the ability to see Falsehood as Falsehood and to abstain from it. #Ashuraa #Muharram via Suleiman Salem
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 20:53:09 +0000