Q & A on Muharram and Aashurah (8/11)
Question
Is it permissable to make ‘Ta’zia'(wooden structures representing the mausoleums of the martyrs of Karbala) to parade the streets, mourning their death?
Answer
No, it is not permissable. Hadhrat Imran bin Hassan(radhiyallahu anhu) as recorded in Ibn Majah, that Rasulullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) saw in a funeral ceremony that that the people had taken off their sheets and were putting on only shirts, as a mark of mourning. The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) was very much displeased with this and declared that it was a custom of the days of ignorance which deserved to be condemned. On this admonition, the people put on their sheets and never committed this offence later on. This proves that, it is unlawful to adopt special guises, garments, structures etc., to form an attitude of expressing mourning and grief.
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