Some notes about Muharram

The month of Muharram… Once again, there are heated arguments around the question – should we celebrate the month of Muharram? Radical elements are trying in every possible way to form such views in people. First, it seems that Islam opposes mourning and therefore it is not possible to celebrate the month of Muharram in this way. Secondly, Imam Hussain (a) became a martyr and attained the highest rank before Allah, so we should be happy and not sad. Thirdly, even more arrogantly, these persons claim that the month of Muharram is the beginning of the year according to the Hijri calendar. Therefore, it will be better if the beginning of the year is celebrated as a holiday. Islam is a religion full of optimism. Pessimism is not welcome in this religion. But, first of all, Muharram mourning lasts the whole year, but only two months. Second, no sane person would deny that mourning is appropriate if there is a reason. Islam condemns only extreme manifestations during mourning. Our saints were always saddened by grief, mourned, wept. The Prophet (pbuh) cried during the funeral of his son Ibrahim, and when the Companions objected to him, he replied that crying is a natural human need and it is not a sin at all.

As for the mourning for Imam Husain (a), both Shia and Sunni sources contain quite a few hadiths, in which it is said that the Prophet (pbuh) kissed the throat of his little grandson and wept. When His Eminence was asked about the reasons for such an act, he foresaw the events of Karbala.

In response to the second type of claim, I would like to say that no matter how valiant the events in Karbala are in Islamic history, it is still a tragedy. And in this there is no reason for fun. Is the killing of relatives of the imam and the imam himself, the capture of representatives of the family of the Prophet (s), cruel treatment of them joyful? What sane person can have fun on the anniversary of such events? And are those who put forward such absurd versions amused themselves at the loss of a loved one? We have repeatedly seen on video footage how after an ISIS terrorist is killed (or rather, sent to Hell), his comrades shed sad tears. If it is so bitter to experience the death of an ordinary person, then is it easy to accept what happened to the grandson of the Prophet (pbuh)? And where is the love for Ahl al-Bayt, as some claim? Now to the question about the beginning of the new year. The demands of the representatives of the group, which considers it inadmissible to celebrate the anniversary of any word, to have fun at the beginning of the new year, are simply ridiculous. For more than 13 centuries, the month of Muharram has been associated in thoughts with the tragedy in Karbala. And how can this story be presented in the form of a holiday, fun? Perhaps the authors of such harassment can celebrate the holiday at the onset of the month of Muharram. But true followers of the Prophet (s) and Muslims simply cannot do this.

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