Allah Almighty has showered many blessings on us and one of them is the arrival of the sacred month of Muharram after the departure of sacred month of Dhul Hijjah. It is the first month of the Islamic Hijri calendar and one of the four sacred months in which the acts of worship hold great importance. As mentioned in the last week's issue, fasting in this month holds great importance and even the fast on the Asoura expiates sins. Apart from these sunnahs that are associated with this sacred month, there are many wrong traditions associated with the Day of Ashoura and Muharram, which have nothing to do with the Islamic Shariah. Many of our brothers and sisters are misguided in doing actions that were not at all practiced by Prophet (peace be upon him) or the Sahaba. We as followers of the Qur'an and Sunnah should guard ourselves from falling into these wrong traditions and bid'ah because they regarded wrong and sinful. Some other people attribute the sanctity of Ashoura to the martyrdom of Hussein. No doubt, the story of Hussein is one of the most tragic episodes of our history. Yet, the sanctity of Ashoura cannot be ascribed to this event for the simple reason that the sanctity of Ashoura was established as of Ashoura, the 10th of Muharram that expiates sins during the days of the Prophet (pbuh) much earlier than the birth of his grandson Hussein. Muharram is considered an evil or unlucky month, for Hussein was killed in this month. People avoid weddings and other celebrations during this month. This concept is again baseless which is contrary to the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Believing in superstitions, such as this, is committing a kind of Shirk since one associates a particular event or person with having power to harm or do good. Only Allah is the One Who has power over all things. Some people think it is rewarding to prepare a particular type of meal on the 10th, and they hold big gatherings for this purpose which has no basis in Shariah. Mourning and lamenting over the death of Hussein and holding special ceremonies for this very purpose also has no roots in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The Prophet (pbuh) has forbidden us from holding mourning ceremonies on the death of any person, which was the practice of the people of Jahiliyyah (ignorance). “He is not from our group who slaps his checks, tears his clothes and cries in the manner of the people of Jahiliyyah.” (Bukhari) And if you really think about it, it is the greatest merit and reward that Hussein received, when he attained martyrdom for the sake of Allah. Holding special prayers, special food items, visits and sacrificial offerings on graves specifically on the 10th of Muharram with the intention of reward is also a kind of bidah (act of innovation) that we Muslims should abstain from. Our behavior during this month should be like the behavior of the Sahabah, not one of mourning, neither one of celebration. Rather, we should value Muharram as one of Allah's sacred months in which we should strive to do good deeds and be extra careful about following in sinning. We should try and fast as much as we can in this month, especially the 9th and 10th. We should not be superstitious about it (or for anything else, for that matter) and if someone wants to get married during it, they may. We should not cook special meals on the 10th as it is an innovation. __
