Religious innovation (bidah) and sin during the blessed month of Muharram…

As previously mentioned this article, and others that will follow inshallah, are part of a series to confront the political, religious, and sectarian maleficence that has become increasingly prevelant during the blessed month of Muharram. The ultimate purpose of these postings will be to expose the deviations and sins of the radical Shia (rafidah) during the month of Muharram.

Furthermore, while we are all aware of the rewards of fasting the day of Ashoorah, I purposely chosen to begin this series with the Bid’ah(s) that have become synonymous with this blessed month. Basically, dear brothers and sisters, we are all familiar with fasting Ashoorah – and we, inshallah, have a relatively firm grasp of the legal/Juridical rulings pertaining to the Month of Muharram. As Ibn Abbas (radi’allahu’anh) states:

“I never saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so keen to fast any day and give it priority over any other than this day, the day of `Ashura’, and this month, meaning Ramadan.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, 1867).

The Prophet (saaws) states in an authentic hadeeth: “For fasting the day of `Ashura’, I hope that Allah will accept it as expiation for the year that went before.” (Muslim, 1976).

However, there are millions upon millions who take this month as one of excess in all things related (but not limited) to emotions of: sorrow/grief/guilt/anger/revenge/hatred/etc., celebration, worship, exteremism, sociopolitical radicalism, etc. etc.

The Shia (rafidah), for example, are known to take the month of Muharram as a time of mourning and sorrow as they remember the death of Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him). For the purposes of our discussion, we will focus upon the extreme Shia (rafidah) who not only sin during this month — but have systematically sought to pervert it’s very understanding — as the leaders of this sect play upon the emotions of their followers. With this series I hope to provide enough proof in the form of sporadic literature and video to prove, beyond a reason of a doubt (humorous legal jargon), the error that the extreme Shia and like-minded innovators are upon.

This will not be a theological debate of any kind and neither will it be a fair debate! This is simply me throwing out very solid information, inshallah, for public discourse. I plan on being as one-sided as possible! Here is but a taste of things to come, inshallah…..

 

And away we go!

Bidahs common on Ashura

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the things that people do on `Ashura’, such as wearing kohl, taking a bath (ghusl), wearing henna, shaking hands with one another, cooking grains (hubub), showing happiness and so on. Was any of this reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a sahih hadith, or not? If nothing to that effect was reported in a sahih hadith, is doing these things bid’ah, or not? Is there any basis for what the other group do, such as grieving and mourning, going without anything to drink, eulogizing and wailing, reciting in a crazy manner, and rending their garments?

His reply was:

‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Nothing to that effect has been reported in any saheeh hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from his Companions. None of the Imams of the Muslims encouraged or recommended such things, neither the four Imams, nor any others. No reliable scholars have narrated anything like this, neither from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), nor from the Sahabah, nor from the Tabi’een; neither in any sahih report or in a da’if (weak) report; neither in the books of Sahih, nor in al-Sunan, nor in the Musnads. No hadith of this nature was known during the best centuries, but some of the later narrators reported ahadith like the one which says, “Whoever puts kohl in his eyes on the day of `Ashura’ will not suffer from eye disease in that year, and whoever takes a bath (does ghusl) on the day of `Ashura’ will not get sick in that year,” and so on. They also reported a fabricated hadith that is falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), which says, “Whoever is generous to his family on the day of `Ashura’, Allah will be generous to him for the rest of the year.” Reporting all of this from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is tantamount to lying.’

Then he [Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)] discussed in brief the tribulations that had occurred in the early days of this ummah and the killing of al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), and what the various sects had done because of this. Then he said:

‘An ignorant, wrongful group – who were either heretics and hypocrites, or misguided and misled – made a show of allegiance to him and the members of his household, so they took the day of `Ashura’ as a day of mourning and wailing, in which they openly displayed the rituals of jahiliyyah such as slapping their cheeks and rending their garments, grieving in the manner of the jahiliyyah…The Shaytan made this attractive to those who are misled, so they took the day of `Ashura’ as an occasion of mourning, when they grieve and wail, recite poems of grief and tell stories filled with lies. Whatever truth there may be in these stories serves no purpose other than the renewal of their grief and sectarian feeling, and the stirring up of hatred and hostility among the Muslims, which they do by cursing those who came before them… The evil and harm that they do to the Muslims cannot be enumerated by any man, no matter how eloquent he is. Some others – either Nasibis who oppose and have enmity towards al-Husayn and his family or ignorant people who try to fight evil with evil, corruption with corruption, lies with lies and bid’ah with bid’ah – opposed them by fabricating reports in favour of making the day of `Ashura’ a day of celebration, by wearing kohl and henna, spending money on one’s children, cooking special dishes and other things that are done on Eids and special occasions. These people took the day of `Ashura’ as a festival like Eid, whereas the others took it as a day of mourning. Both are wrong, and both go against the Sunnah, even though the other group (those who take it as a day of mourning) are worse in intention and more ignorant and more plainly wrong… Neither the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) nor his successors (the khulafa’ al-rashidun) did any of these things on the day of `Ashura’, they neither made it a day of mourning nor a day of celebration…As for the other things, such as cooking special dishes with or without grains, or wearing new clothes, or spending money on one’s family, or buying the year’s supplies on that day, or doing special acts of worship such as special prayers or deliberately slaughtering an animal on that day, or saving some of the meat of the sacrifice to cook with grains, or wearing kohl and henna, or taking a bath (ghusl), or shaking hands with one another, or visiting one another, or visiting the mosques and mashhads (shrines) and so on… all of this is reprehensible bid’ah and is wrong. None of it has anything to do with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or the way of the Khulafa’ al-Rashidun. It was not approved of by any of the Imams of the Muslims, not Malik, not al-Thawri, not al-Layth ibn Sa’d, not Abu Hanifah, not al-Uzaa’i, not al-Shafa’i, not Ahmad ibn Hanbal, not Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, not any of the Imams and scholars of the Muslims.’(al-Fataawa al-Kubra by Ibn Taymiyah)

Ibn al-Haaj (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that one of the bid’ahs on `Ashura’ was deliberately paying zakat on this day, late or early, or slaughtering a chicken just for this occasion, or – in the case of women – using henna. (al-Madkhal, part 1, Yawm `Ashura’)                                   Taken from:  http://www.islaam.net