Fatwaa ID: 1518

Question:
Assalaam o alikum warahmatulahi wabarakatu respected mufti,

I’ve heard the practice for muharram is to fast as there is special reward especially 2 specific days and do good deeds as we should daily in our lives.

What to say to someone who listen to the “songs” about Hussain. Maaf I dont know much about this. I’m under impression it’s something shia’s do?

My kids are exposed to this so I’m not sure what is the stance here.

May Allah guide us all. Ameen

Answer:
In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullaahi wa-barakaatuh.

May Allaah Ta’aala guide us all and keep us steadfast on the right path.

In principle, commemoration is only in that which the Shari’ah has legislated. We commemorate the day of ‘Aashura because Nabi ﷺ advised us to do so. That is to express our gratitude upon the salvation of Sayyiduna Moosa ﷺ and Sayyiduna Nooh ﷺ.

Unlike the Shi’ahs, were are not a sadistic nation. We do not annually renew our mournings and beat ourselves over a sad occasion. We are definitely sad over what happened to Sayyiduna Husayn (R) on the 10th of Muharram 61 AH. Love and honor for the Ahlul Bayt is an integral part of our faith. However, we do not commemorate the day of ‘Aashura for that. We do not lament and mourn annually over the demise of anyone. Why should we then single out Sayyiduna Husayn (R) with this? The salaf did not do this either. Sayyiduna ‘Umar (R) also breathed his last in the beginning of Muharram due to oppressively being stabbed. We do not mourn on that day; most do not even know of this. If we were to do as the Shi’ahs do, every single day would perhaps become a day of mourning. Islam encourages us to be positive and move on.

At the same time, we take lessons and wisdom from everything. There is no harm in mentioning and learning from the lives of these illustrious luminaries and benefiting from them. That is rather encouraged.

It is permissible to listen to nasheeds regarding the Sahaabah (R) and their praises. However, one must ensure that the content is correct. Unfortunately, many of the nasheeds regarding Sayyiduna Husayn (R) are produced by the sadistic Shi’ahs. There is a lot of exaggeration in it. Similarly, many of them have the prohibited matam as the background beat. That should be avoided.

And Allaah Ta’aala knows best.
Mufti Muajul I. Chowdhury
Darul Iftaa New York
https://askthemufti.us/

01/03/1445 AH – 07/21/2023 CE | AML3-3535

وصل اللهم وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى ءاله وصحبه أجمعين

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