Welcome Judgment by The Supreme Court on the Muharram Processions
By
Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age Islam
29 August
2020
Citing
Covid the Supreme Court refused to grant permission for carrying out Muharram
processions across the country and said it did not want a situation where “a
particular community may be targeted for spreading” the coronavirus and “we as
a court cannot risk the health of all the people”. This is a welcome judgment
by the SC as the country is not yet protected from the risk of Covid-19 and that
the permission for tazia, akhara and other processions in public gatherings
during the month of Muharram might lead to chaos around the country. In
compliance with the lockdown restrictions, the Muslims of all sects should
avoid public gathering and other un-Islamic activities on the excuse of
mourning.
Supreme Court of India
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Above all,
our love to Hazrat Imam Hussain or mourning for his martyrdom is not to be
advertised, but rather it is solely the matter of our hearts. Mourning is not
prohibited but the way it is outwardly displayed on the excuse of Taziya
now-a-days is a matter of discussion so as to be reformed. In the history we do
not find any dignitaries for whom the Muslims have shed their tears as much as
for Imam Hussain, the beloved grandson of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and
his family members martyred in the tragedy of Karbala.
Just imagining
the hair-raising scenes of Karbala, our hearts ache. And Why not? The beautiful flowers of the
Prophet’s garden were brutally trampled by the horse-hooves of the Yazidi army.
What would have been the feelings of Imam Hussain at the time when the army of
Yazeed would have mercilessly slaughtered his sons in front of his eyes! What
would have been the magnitude of the grief of Imam Hussain at the time when an
arrow would have struck baby ‘Ali Asghar’s thirsty throat and he would have
writhed and died in his father’s lap! What would have been the situation of
Shahar Bano, the mother of baby Ali Asghar when she would have seen the
blood-stained corpse of her baby! Let us imagine for a moment, what would be
the feelings of Sayyidah Zaynab, Sayyidah Sakinah and other members of the
sacred family when Imam Hussain would be leaving the camp for being martyred
after his sons and other beloved companions had got martyred! Obviously, the
tragedy of Karbala will always cause tears in the eyes of the believers.
Odisha Bytes
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Undoubtedly
loving Ahle-bait, Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Fatima, Imam Hasan and Imam Hussain is
part of our faith. A famous hadith is thus reported that “The Prophet (peace be
upon him) said, “Hussain is from me and I am from Hussain. Allah loves anyone
who loves al-Hasan and al-Husayn. They are two of my distinguished
descendants.” (Al-Adab al-Mufrad by Imam Bukhari, the Book of Children, Hadith
3). We believers too love them. It is this love that brings tears to our eyes
whenever we hear or read the tragedy of Karbala and unforgettable martyrdom of
Imam Hussain.
The event
of Karbala must ache our hearts as it ached the heart of our Prophet (peace be
upon him) when he was foretold as we can see in the following Ahadith or
narrations.
It is
reported from the father of Abdullah bin Nujayy that he traveled with Hazrat
Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he used to carry his purifying water. When they were next to Nainawa on his way to
Siffin, Hazrat Ali called, “Be patient Oh Abu Abdillah (the kunya of his son
Imam Hussain), be patient Oh Abu Abdillah by the banks of the Euphrates. I [Nujayy] said, “what is this?”. He [Hazrat Ali] said, “I entered upon the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) one day while his eyes were
shedding tears. I said, ‘what is it with
your eyes shedding tears?’. He said,
‘Rather, Jibreel was here earlier and he told me that Hussain will be killed by
the bank of the Euphrates and he [Jibreel] said ‘do you want me to provide you
a sample from his soil [where he will be killed] so you can smell it?’ and I
said ‘yes’. So he extended his hand and
he took a grip from the soil and gave it to me so I couldn’t help my eyes to
fill with tears'”. (Recorded by Ahmad, vol. 1, p. 85)
It was
narrated by Anas bin Malik that the Angel of Rain took permission from his lord
to visit the Prophet (peace be upon him) so He gave him permission. The Prophet
told Umm Salamah to watch the door so no one could come in. Hussain came
wanting to enter and I stopped him. But he jumped, entered, and started sitting
on the back of the Prophet (Imam Hussain was a young child at the time), and on
his shoulders. Then the angel asked the Prophet, “Do you love him?”. He said,
“yes”. The angel said, “Indeed your Ummah will kill him, and if you wish, I can
show you the place where he will be killed”. Then, he struck with his hand and
came with red clay. So Umm Salamah took it and tied on it in her veil. Thaabit
[the sub-narrator] said, “it has reached us that it’s Karbala”. (Recorded in
Musnad al-Imam Ahmad, vol. 3, p. 242)
It is
reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said (either to Aisha or Umm
Salamah (may Allah be pleased with them), “An angel entered the house on me, he
never entered on me before, and he said to me, ‘this son of yours, Hussain,
will be killed, and if you wish I can show you the soil from the earth where he
will be killed’. Then he took out some red soil”. (Recorded in Musnad al-Imam
Ahmad, vol. 6 p. 294)
From these
narrations we know that the Prophet’s eyes shed tears when he was foretold
about the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. This mourning is the sign of real love. It
is worth mentioning that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not carry out any
procession such as Taziya. Most significantly, the way the Taziya procession
and gathering is held today as a sign for “love” to Imam Hussain is not love
but rather un-Islamic in many ways.
Apart from
creating the feeling of love to Imam Hussain in our hearts, we Muslims must
learn the lessons of patience, perseverance, righteousness and justice from the
tragedy of Karbala for applying them even in times of calamities. And presently
since we are confronted with the risk of Covid-19, we must remember the tragedy
of Karbala, being at homes with patience and following the safety and
precautionary measures.
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A
regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is an Alim
and Fazil (Classical Islamic scholar) with a Sufi background and
English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism