Rethinking Islam with Sultan Shahin: Muharram: Religious Gatherings, Processions and Speeches

Friday, August 20, 2021

Muharram: Religious Gatherings, Processions and Speeches

By Shakeel Shamsi

Translated from Urdu by New Age Islam Staff

20 Aug, 2021

Muslim Scholars Must Focus on Muslim Unity Rather Than Adding Fuel to The Fire of Divisions

Main points

Muslims are confronted with numerous Problems and Transgressions

Religious divisions in beliefs and creeds can’t be bridged today so let them do what suits their beliefs

1. Muslim orators should deliver the message of unity rather than that of further conflict.

2. Other nations should also be informed of the fact that Islam is not a religion of war and violence but rather a religion of patience and self-sacrifice.

3. Let Muslims remember and mourn Imam Husayn in their own ways.

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Today, the Muslim Ummah is confronted with numerous problems, troubles and transgressions. There has not been much discussion about it among religious scholars and preachers. It is no longer possible to alter the course of history. How can the religious divisions that have existed among Muslims for the past fourteen centuries be bridged today? Some people have attempted to convert faith into history and history into faith.

t is a well-known truth that the Muslim intellectuals find a larger platform to deliver their speeches during Muharram processions and gatherings than they do during the year. Young people are also observed attending enormous gatherings at imambaras, mosques, and monasteries during the first ten days of Muharram, but instead of conveying the true message of Islam, the orators start talking about personal and sectarian conflicts.

Some folks simply want to say something that must hold the audience spellbound. Some people wish that no matter whether their message be received by the audience or not, but everyone must be convinced of their art of oratory. Instead, they must have highlighted the teachings of the Prophet [peace be upon him] while delivering the sermons commemorating the martyrs of Karbala, specifically Imam Husayn’s martyrdom, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him]. During their sermons, they must have advocated for Muslim unity and informed other nations about the teachings that Islam is not a religion of war and violence but rather a religion of patience and self-sacrifice.

Unfortunately, some people believe that accusing other sects of polytheism and heresy is the most effective way of spreading Islam. Some of our scholars appear to assume that bringing up controversial subjects will help all Muslims. Once I had an opportunity to observe and listen to a gentleman's speech. The message attributed to Allama Iqbal was the focus of his entire discourse. He was making numerous arguments as to why we do not mourn a living person.

He is unaware, however, that the response to the mourning over Karbala martyrs was supplied fourteen years ago by Hazrat Zainul Abidin (Alahissalam), the son of Imam Hussayn (Alaihissalam). When someone asked him, “If Martyrdom is your inheritance, why do you mourn over it?” He [Imam Zainul Abidin] replied saying, “Is it our heritage that the horse should be run over the corpse of the Prophet’s grandson [peace be upon him]? Is it our heritage to set fire to our tents? Is it our heritage to tie ropes around the arms of the Prophet's granddaughters and the honourable women of our house and make them walk in the markets of Kufa and Syria?”

That is why we believe that those who choose to mourn should be permitted to do so, while others who do not wish to weep should be permitted to remember Imam Hussayn in their own way. However, no one should add gasoline to the fire of Ummah's divisions and transform them into hypocrisy. We ask scholars, preachers, and orators to make it [“Can Muslims be unified in this volatile time?] the topic of their remarks.

Urdu Article: Muharram Religious Gatherings and Speeches محرم کی مجالس، جلسے اور تقاریر

URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-society/muharram-karbala-religious/d/125249