Why is Zanjeer considered forbidden but regular Matam is allowed when slapping yourself hard on your chest can also cause hurt? At what point or in what shape, if any, could Matam by hand be considered disallowed?
Why is Zanjeer considered forbidden but regular Matam is allowed when slapping yourself hard on your chest can also cause hurt? At what point or in what shape, if any, could Matam by hand be considered disallowed?
Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 3 years ago
Our great Fuqahaa' who are the very high in Fiqh (Jurisprudence) do not issue any verdict of Haraam (not allowed) unless they have concrete evidence against it in Quran and Sunnah of the Ma'soomeen. There are many ways to express sadness and grief of the tragedies of Ahlul Bayt (AS) including beating the chest which called (Matam) in some countries and beating the back with chains which is called Zanjeer in some countries. Both are permissible to express the noble feeling of sadness and grief on Ahlul Bayt (AS). Having said that, we are not allowed to cause dangerous harm to ourselves which means that we must keep the limits of our mourning practices away from causing dangerous harm to ourselves.
Wassalam.