Why do Shias beat themselves up?

Question

does it make them tough

Answer 1

The Day of Ashura is on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar and marks the climax of the Remembrance of Muharram but not the Islamic month.

This day is well-known because of mourning for the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61 AH (AD 680). Furthermore Sunni Muslims believe that Moses fasted on that day to express gratitude to God for liberation of Israelites from Egypt. According to Sunni Muslim tradition, Muhammad fasted on this day and asked other people to fast.

Commemoration of Ashura is not a festival, but rather a sad event for both Shi'as and Sunni Muslims -- and for Shias a period of intense grief and mourning. Mourners, both male and female, congregate together (in separate sections) for sorrowful, poetic recitations such as marsiya, noha, latmiya and soaz performed in memory of the martyrdom of Husayn, lamenting and grieving to the tune of beating drums and chants of "Ya Hussain." Also Ulamas give sermons with themes of Hussayn's personality and position in Islam, and the history of his uprising. Also in Arab countries like Iraq and Lebanon they read Maqtal Al-Husayn. In some places, such as Iran, Iraq and the Arab Gulf states, T'azie, passion plays, are also performed reenacting the Battle of Karbala and the suffering and death of Hussainn at the hands of Yazid.

For the duration of the remembrance, it is customary for mosques and some people to provide free meals (nazar) on certain nights of the month to all people. These meals are viewed as being special and holy, as they have been consecrated in the name of Husayn, and thus partaking of them is considered an act of communion with God, Hussain, and humanity.

Many of the male participants congregate together in public for ceremonial chest beating (matham/latmiya) as a display of their devotion to Husayn and in remembrance of his suffering.


Although suffering and cutting the body with knives(Churrio ka matam)have been prohibited by most Shi'a marjas like Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran ,[10], some Shi'a observe mourning with blood donation which is called "Qame Zani" and flailing. Certain rituals like the traditional flagellation ritual called zanjeer zani or zanjeer matam, involving the use of a zanjeer (a chain) are also performed. These are not religious customs but popular one done for the sake of Imam Hussain and his family. Many Shia's today in the West give blood to the Red Cross when commemorating the blood that spilled in Karbala.


From Experience.... Sunni only fasts.. while shias have it more as a yearly ritual...

Answer 2

I am proud sunni.i understand the fact that they do matam.what i want to know is where in their books it is encourage to do matam? n what if someone choose not to do matam?.i understand the reason behind it could be to make them mentally tough cause they r minority in islam. but beside matam there are lot of things in shia which makes me think of them as non muslim.such as in thier kalma at the end there is a mention of hazrat ali.i mean their is no mentioning of hazrat ali in quran correct me if i am wrong? and obviously he was not prophet by any means. so i think that is very very wrong to mix someone with allah n his prophet (pbuh). no matter how close they were to prophet . according to shia hazrat ali was born in inside KABBA. regardless but he was not a prophet us sunni people respect all the companian of prophet (pbuh) and specially his family or ahlulbat.but their has to be fine line between president n a congressman no matter how great is a congressman he cant have the power of president.BY THE WAY my fiancee used to be shia.and alhumdulelah she is SUNNI now.

Answer 3

Shias do many wrong practices that they invented and not true Islamic and they are less than 7% of Muslims today.

Answer 4

What's wrong with you and why have you got it in for Shias. They beat themselves in Moharram because of the Sad memory or Hazrat Hussain and other Ehle Bait who gave their lives to protect Islam.

Stop doing it, it's religious prejuidice.

I'm sunni, and we sunnis don't do it, but I don't blame the Shias for doing it.

Answer 5

hazrat awais kerni(r.a) sahabi of mohammad (s.a.w.w).. broke all his tooth after one in all prophet's the tooth went down in a conflict. this become the affection for prophet and mohammad(saww) loved his act. we the shia follows 12 imam(the rightful vendors of islam) . karbala is a philosphy of life.all aur imam(a.s) continued to mourn on the martydom to unfold the message of karbala everywhere. any1 have confussion related to following 12 imam until eventually ultimately imam mehdi(a.s) can question me approximately it? and if some one have a week wisdom of historical past, then i'l remind all appropriate to the adjustments and new allegations bought in islam by ability of the three of the caliphs of islam?

Answer 6

chloe has answered you truth fully.

its non of my concern but today Islamic world are proud of them salve because of Koran, they should thank to the grand son of prophet Mohamed. whose scarifies has kept this Koran so much intake. or else they would had recited new books made by Yazid, abbubar usman, and new book every era that would had influenced by new Arabian leaders coming in with their cruel leadership.

Answer 7

To get into practise for Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.

Answer 8

To save us the trouble.

Answer 9

The Shia believe that the split between the Shia and Sunni began with Muhammad's death, when some number of Muslims supported the successorship of Ali and the rest accepted Abu Bakr, then Umar and Uthman. They believe that the successorship was given to Ali at Ghadir Khum (a hadith accepted by both Sunni and Shi’a scholars[citation needed]), and that the testimony that can be traced back to reliable sources is to be trusted, while traditions that cannot be fully verified are suspect.

Shia and Sunni historians record that many Shia have been persecuted, intimidated, and killed, through what Shia consider a coup d'état against Ali's caliphate.[citation needed] Many prominent Sunni scholars are known to have openly considered the Shia as "kufar" (disbelievers). Imam Ash-Shafi'i, one of the most prominent early scholars of his time said in regards to the Shia "I have not seen among the heretics a people more famous for falsehood than the Raafidite Shi’ites."[10] Such statements stem mainly from differences in beliefs regarding Ali, Umar, and other companions, and in the Shia's use of various concepts, such as Muta.

The renowned al-Azhar university of theology in Egypt, originally founded by the Shia during the reign of the Fatimid caliphate in 988[11], considers Shia philosophy to be an indivisible part of the body of Islamic jurisprudence. [12] Today, both Sunni and Shia students graduate from the Al-Azhar university which also teaches regarding both doctrines and uses certain Shia material in its courses. (See List of Shia books). On July 6, 1959, Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot -the head of the al-Azhar Theological school- announced the al-Azhar Shia Fatwa

1) Islam does not require a Muslim to follow a particular Madh'hab (school of thought). Rather, we say: every Muslim has the right to follow one of the schools of thought which has been correctly narrated and its verdicts have been compiled in its books. And, everyone who is following such Madhahib [schools of thought] can transfer to another school, and there shall be no crime on him for doing so. 2) The Ja'fari school of thought, which is also known as "al-Shia al-Imamiyyah al-Ithna Ashariyyah" (i.e., The Twelver Imami Shi'ites) is a school of thought that is religiously correct to follow in worship as are other Sunni schools of thought. Muslims must know this, and ought to refrain from unjust prejudice to any particular school of thought, since the religion of Allah and His Divine Law (Shari'ah) was never restricted to a particular school of thought. Their jurists (Mujtahidoon) are accepted by Almighty Allah, and it is permissible to the "non-Mujtahid" to follow them and to accord with their teaching whether in worship (Ibadaat) or transactions (Mu'amilaat)[13][14].

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has made differing statements on the matter, and seems to have changed his stance on Shi'aism as he acquired more knowledge on the topic:

"Let it be known to all that the Shi`ah are Muslims who believe in the Oneness of Allah and the Prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Yes, there is no doubt that the Shi`ah have their beliefs and dogmas which we condemn as heresy but this doesn’t make them non-Muslims." (August 17, 2006)[15]

"He pointed out that he travelled to Iran around 8 years ago and met with former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami and was received enthusiastically. And he told the Shia scholars there that if there is to be a true discussion and unity amongst us it is necessary for a number of things to be fully stopped, such as your saying that the Quran in our hands is altered and that the Mushaf Faatemah is an addition to this Quran, and the constant insults upon the Sahaabah, May Allah be pleased with them . And it is beyond imagination that I would say Abu Bakr, Radhia Allahu Anhu, and you say, La'anahu Allah, this is totally unacceptable. Also to stop consistently talking about Ali's higher right to Khilaphah, for all them have died and the matter is finished, and that Umar bin Abdul Aziz was asked on the past conflict between Ali and Muawiyah and the blood in this conflict, he said that Allah has cleansed our hands from this blood so why should we soil our tongues with it." (September 3, 2006)[16]

Similar fatwas (promoting the acceptance of Shi'as into mainstream Islam) have not been issued by some Sunni scholars or universities. A number of contemporary Sunni scholars such as Shaykh Dr Khaalid ibn ‘Ali al-Mushayqih (who released a fatwa regarding praying with the Shia) maintain that Shia are not considered as Muslims, unless they deny certain beliefs found in a number of Shia hadith books like al-kafi that are accepted by the majority of twelver Shia:

The Shia and Sunnis differ in their view of Aisha (one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad). The Shia have a dim view of her character whereas the Sunnis consider her an exemplary woman. The differences stem primarily from her (perceived) dishonourable behaviour with the Prophet and her taking a position opposed to the fourth Caliph Ali when he was the ruler. For more details, please refer to Sunni and Shia views of Aisha.

Answer 10

Because they are stupid.