As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

In the reply you gave , can the following Verse be put please ? this is the same Verse from Surah Nisa which Shias use to proof their matam , I will be grateful to you if you please help me.

48 Allah loveth not that evil should be noised abroad in public speech except where injustice hath been done; for Allah is He who heareth and knoweth all things.

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Answer:

Matam reference

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The massacre that took place in Kerbala was definitely an injustice. Nobody can deny that. But does it mean that till the Day of Qiyamah some people have to perform matam. What benefit will anybody gain? Will the injustice be reversed? Was the injustice done at Kerbala the only injustice ever done in the annals of history of this planet?

The Christians believe that Jesus a.s. was crucified by the Jews. Do the Christians do matam? He Jesus a.s. was one of the mightiest Prophets of Allah swt and nobody does matam. The shias should do matam for Isa a.s. also, is he not of a greater rank than Hadrat Hussain r.a..

Hardat Hamza r.a. was brutally killed in the Battle of Ohad. Does anyone do matam? The shias should do matam for him too or he is not of any rank. Did the Prophet saws beat his chest (aoudobillah) on the bloody fields of Ohad?

Millions of mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers have lost their loved ones in unjust causes. Does anybody do matam? Only some shias beat their breasts when they lose their loved ones, but that also for some days or months.

6 million jews were massacred by the Nazis of Hitler. We don't see the Jews doing any matam. Is their loss not worth beating their chests and exposing the injustice done to their ummah.

A couple of million Muslims and Hindus were unjustly and brutally massacred during the Indo-Pak partition in 1947. No matam has ever been done for them. As a matter of fact the memory of those sad days is slowly being forgotten completely.

Everyday some injustice or the other is being done on this planet. Nobody mourns their loved ones more than a few days leave alone doing matam.

Did our Prophet saws or his Sahabas ever do matam for anybody. There is no mention of such occurrences at all in the history of Islam.

When will the shias realize that the massacre at Kerbala is from one of the saddest pages of Islamic history. It is not our deen. We have to leave Allah swt to take revenge from the perpetrators of that killing. By making a tamasha (circus) every year in Muharram do the shias believe that the injustice will be reversed. Are they blaming the other Muslim sects like the Sunnis for that massacre? There was no such thing as shias and sunnis at that time. All of them claimed to be Muslims. So who are they punishing every year, only themselves.

If even the pagans, infidels, Jews and Christians of this world don't do matam, does it behove of Muslims who claim to follow the Deen of Truth and The Last Messenger of Allah swt to beat their chests and crack their fore-heads with a sword on the beat of drums every year in Muharram in a procession like in a circus make a mockery of Islamic traditions, faith and perseverance.

The ayah 148 in Surah (4) Al Nisa is mainly referring to the hypocrites living in those times from ayah 142 onwards. The shias have a strange habit of taking a few words from an ayah and aligning them to their beliefs. Their whole belief is based on such unjust interpretations of the Noble Quran. You will never find a direct command of matam or any of their strange beliefs in the Quran. If you take the effort to reflect on ayah #148 you will find the subject is totally different to anything even remotely connected with the matam as done by the shias.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is only ones. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brothers and well wishers in Islam,

Members of Islamhelpline