WHY WE MOURN AND COMMEMORATE MARTYRDOM

We do not only mourn and commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), but we also mourn and commemorate the memory of all the other Infallibles (peace be upon them) and hold mourning programmes on their martyrdom anniversaries. However, the reason why we may put greater emphasis on the mourning and weeping for Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) is because our pure Infallibles (peace be upon them) themselves strongly encouraged us to do so.

According, to the traditions of the pure Imams (peace be upon them), the tragedy of Karbala is the most tragic event of Islam and for the Ahlulbayt (peace be upon them). It has been narrated that Imam al-Hassan al-Mujtaba (peace be upon him) said: “There is no day like your day, O’ Aba Abdullah” (al-Amali by Saduq, p. 177).  It has also been narrated that Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “There is no tragedy like ours at Karbala“(al-Hidayah al-Kubra by al-Khusaibi, p. 417), which means that the day of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) is the most calamitous of all days for Aal Muhammad (peace be upon them).

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his pure family) was in fact the first individual who held a mourning Majlis for Imam Hussain (peace be upon him). This fact is reported by the authentic Bakri resources (The so-called Ahlus Sunnah):

Ammul Fadl bint al-Harith narrated that she took Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) to the Prophet and put him on his lap. The Prophet’s (peace be upon him and his pure family) gaze turned away from her and his both eyes were flowing with tears. She said: “(May I ransom you) with my father and mother Apostle of God, what is the matter with you? ‘Gabriel, peace be on him, came to me’ he said. ‘He told me that my community will seek to kill this son of mine and he brought me dust made red by his (blood)." (This was reported by: al-Hakim al-Nisaburi in Al-Mustadrak alaa Al-Sahihain 176 / 3, al-Hafidh al-Bayhaqi in Dalael al-Nubouwa, al-Hafidh ibn Asakir in Tarikh al-Sham and al-Hafidh bin al-Khawarizmi 1 / 158 – 162)

Therefore, we follow the example of the Holy Prophet and his pure family in mourning Imam Hussain (peace be upon them all).
 We do not punish ourselves in any shape or form when we mourn and commemorate the Martyrdom of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him). This is an incorrect interpretation of the essence of al-Sha’aer al-Hussainiyah (The mourning rituals of Imam Hussain peace be upon him). When we practice the mourning rituals of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) such as beating the chest (known as, al-Latm or Seeneh-Zani) or wounding the top of the head with a sword (known as, al-Tatbir, Qameh-Zani or Teegh-Zani), we try to recognise and feel some of the pain our master Imam Hussain (peace be upon him) had felt.

We were in fact recommended by the pure Infallibles to practice such rituals, as they ordered us to perform ‘Muwasat’ for Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), which means imitating and sharing some of his pain. Similarly, we find that Allah the Most Exalted has made the Muwasat for Lady Hajar (peace be upon her) among the rituals of Hajj and Umra; as all Muslims are ordered to perform Sa’i between Safa and Marwa to commemorate and share some of the pain and difficulties Lady Hajar went through when she ran back and forth between the two hills (Safa and Marwa) seven times in search of water for her infant Isma’il (peace be upon him). So do we really punish ourselves when we perform the Sa’i?!

Therefore, when we mourn, beat our chests and wound the top of our heads upon the loss of Imam Hussain (peace be upon him), we try to imitate and share some of his pain, and this is among the core teachings of our pure Imams (peace be upon them). As it has been narrated that imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: “The family of Fatima (peace be upon her) tore off their collars and slapped their cheeks upon the loss of Hussain son of Ali (peace be upon them), upon the likes of Hussain, cheeks must [certainly] be slapped and collars must be torn” (Wasa’il al-Shia by Al-Hurr al-`Amili, Vol. 15, p. 583).

It is ironic to see the opponents of Ahlulbayt attacking and ridiculing the mourning rituals of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and falsely claiming that these practices are nothing but Bid’ah; when it has not only been reported in their own books that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his pure family) performed Latm but also threw dust on his head and beard upon the martyrdom of his grandson!

Narrated Salma: "I went to visit Umm Salamah and found her weeping. I asked her what was making her weep and she replied that she had seen Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) (in a dream) with dust on his head and beard. She asked him what was the matter and he replied, `I have just been present at the slaying of al-Hussain.'” (al-Tarikh al-Kabir by al-Bukhari vol. 3 p. 324, Sunan al-Tirmidhi vol. 5 p. 323, al-Mu’jam al-Kabir by al-Tabarani vol. 23 p. 373, Mustadrak al-Hakim vol. 4 p. 19)

Furthermore, the opponents of Ahlulbayt might be unaware that their mother Aisha herself claimed that she slapped her face and beat her chest upon the loss of the holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his pure family). Al-Thahabi reported that she said: “I got up weeping, beating my chest and slapping my face along with the women". (Tarikh al-Islam by al-Thahabi vol. 1, p.154) So why do the opponents of Ahlulbayt not attack their mother Aisha for indulging in such a Bid’ah?!

In fact, mourning the martyrdom of the holy Prophets and Imams (peace be upon them) by beating the chest is a permissible act; it washes one’s sins away, strengthens his faith and keeps him ever closer to the religion and its symbols; as imam al-Ridha (peace be upon him) said: “Those who weep should weep over the likes of Hussain (peace be upon him) for surely, weeping over him does away with one's great sins” (al-Amali by al-Saduq, p. 190).