Why Sunnis Do Not Comemmorate Ashura

 

Shia says

Why do the Sunnis not comemmorate the death of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه), the Prophet’s grandson?

Answer by the Ahlel Bayt Admin:

There is no doubt in the minds of the rightly guided Ahlus Sunnah in regards to the great qualities of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه). We ask Allah Almighty to accept him into the Highest Ranks of Paradise with the Prophets and Messengers of Allah. Anyone who denies the greatness of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) is deviant, and has gone away from the accepted creed of the Ahlus Sunnah. There is not a single reputable scholar of the Ahlus Sunnah that has ever said otherwise.

Having said this, true Muslims must not take part in the Shia rituals on the day of Ashura. Although we recognize that the death of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) was a tragic event, it is a Bidah (evil innovation to Islam) to commemorate his death because the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) did not do so. How could the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) comemmorate his death when the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) himself died many years before the death of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه)?

Additionally–and this point cannot be stressed enough–there were many Sahabah who were killed in the Path of Allah, but the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) never mourned their deaths in the manner in which the Shia mourn Hussain (رضّى الله عنه). The Prophet lost his own dear uncle, his own wife, and many of his dearest companions, but do we see that the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) ever resorted to self-flagellation or excessive mourning? The Shia can never provide such an example from the life of the Prophet (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم), probably not even from Shia sources. Therefore, we find that it is not part of the Sunnah to mourn in such an uncivilized manner and we shall never take part in it because of this.

Islam-qa.com says

Neither the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) nor his rightly-guided successors (the khulafa’ al-raashidoon) did any of these things on the day of ‘Aashooraa’, they neither made it a day of mourning nor a day of celebration.

all of this is reprehensible bid’ah and is wrong. None of it has anything to do with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the way of the Khulafa’ al-Raashidoon. It was not approved of by any of the imaams of the Muslims, not Maalik, not al-Thawri, not al-Layth ibn Sa’d, not Abu Haneefah, not al-Oozaa’i, not al-Shaafa’i, not Ahmad ibn Hanbal, not Ishaaq ibn Raahwayh, not any of the imaams and scholars of the Muslims.

The religion of Islam is based on two principles: that we should worship nothing besides Allaah Alone, and that we should worship Him in the manner that He has prescribed, not by means of bid’ah or reprehensible innovations.

There have been many other great heroes of Islam who have been killed in the Path of Allah, and we do not find the Ahlus Sunnah comemmorating any of these days. The Ahlus Sunnah does not comemmorate the martyrdom of Umar (رضّى الله عنه), Uthman (رضّى الله عنه), or Ali (رضّى الله عنه). The reason is that we find all this to be Bidah, and forms of exaggeration like the Christians who comemmorate the death of Isa (عليه السلام).

We find it interesting that the Shia do not celebrate the death of Ali (رضّى الله عنه) or any of their other heroes. Ali (رضّى الله عنه) was stabbed to death, and he suffered a horrendous death. So what is the reason that the Shia make such a big deal about the death of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) but not of Ali (رضّى الله عنه)? Ali (رضّى الله عنه) is in fact considered superior to Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) by the Shia. So why the death of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) and not of Ali (رضّى الله عنه)? The reason is obvious: the Shia celebrate Ashura to spite the Sunni Muslims.

The Shia attest that it was Yezid who killed Hussain (رضّى الله عنه), and they say that Yezid was a Sunni. This is the reason that they mourn Hussain (رضّى الله عنه), because they blame the Ahlus Sunnah for this tragic event. The Shia mourning on Ashura is therefore a spiteful fist in the air against the Sunni majority. The Shia leave no stone unturned in their defamation of the Ahlus Sunnah, and thus they want everyone to remember that it was “Yezid the big bad Sunni” who was responsible.

As can be seen, the Shia mourning on Ashura has little do with their love for Hussain (رضّى الله عنه), but rather has more to do with their hatred of the Sunnis. Why else do they not comemmorate the martyrdoms of their other heroes, such as Ali (رضّى الله عنه) or Hamza (رضّى الله عنه)? The truth is that Ali (رضّى الله عنه) was killed by the Khawarij, a group of the Shia! This is why the Shia today do not make a big fuss about the death of Ali (رضّى الله عنه) since it was a man from their own party who killed him. It is much better instead to make great fan-fare about Hussain’s death (رضّى الله عنه), since the Shia blame the Sunnis for this death.

Sometimes the Shia of today will encourage the Sunnis to comemmorate Ashura, using and exploiting the fact that the Ahlus Sunnah also loves Hussain (رضّى الله عنه). We strongly urge our Muslim brothers not to fall into this trap of the Shia! They want us to take part in rituals that were designed to defame the Ahlus Sunnah, and nothing more. We cannot accept the Shia way of life.

Additionally, comemmorating Ashura with any special ritual would be adding to the faith of Islam, and this is Bidah. Bidah is considered part of Hell-Fire, and whoever invents a Bidah is promised Hell-Fire as well.

SunniPath.com says

[It is a] delusion that such innovation [commemorating Ashura] is a pious deed…Nor has such commemoration been Sunni practice at all - even for the death of the Holy Prophet, whose passing from this world is a much greater loss - whether on Ashura or any other time of the year…

As for love of Ahl al-Bayt it is an integral of Sunni belief but in a Sunni way, not a sectarian way chock-full with ill feelings fanned by fabrications. Ibn Kathir said in al-Bidaya wal-Nihaya (8:201-202):

Al-Tabarani mentioned in this chapter very strange reports indeed and the Shi`a went overboard concerning the day of Ashura, forging many hadiths that are gross lies such as the sun being eclipsed on that day until the stars appeared, no stone was lifted except blood was seen under it, the celestial region became red, the sun and its rays seemed like blood, the sky seemed like a blood clot, the stars were hurling against one another, the sky rained red blood, there was never redness in the sky before that day, and the like… among other lies and forgeries of which not one report is sound.”

Success is from Allah, may He keep us on the path of His Prophet and his Companions, away from sectarianism and bad adab posing as love of Ahl al-Bayt.

Hajj Gibril

From a logical standpoint too, we wonder if the Shia expect us to comemmorate the death of all the great heroes in Islam? If this were the case, then there would not be a single day left in the year in which the Muslims could be happy! Surely, in the great long history of Islam, there has been a martyrdom on every day of the year.

And even if we began the practise of comemmorating the deaths of martyrs, then there would be a long list of people whose death we would begin to comemmorate. On this list, Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) would not be the first, and there would be many before him. For example, we would comemmorate the wrongful deaths of Umar (رضّى الله عنه), Uthman (رضّى الله عنه), and Ali (رضّى الله عنه). Let us also not forget to give precedence to the deaths of past Prophets and Mesengers. So the Shia cannot accuse us of not loving the Prophet’s grandson; this is a childish accusation, and we refute it by asking the Shia why they do not mourn the other 364 days of the year in which other great heroes died.

And what about Prophet Isa (عليه السلام)? Should we also celebrate Christmas and Easter like the Christians do to celebrate the birth and death of Isa (عليه السلام)? Would it not be a great Bidah to take part in these Christian comemmorations? Can the Shia provide even one difference between these Christian holidays and the Shia holidays? Why do the Shia find it permissible to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلّم) and comemmorate Hussain’s death (رضّى الله عنه), but then they would look down on a Shia who took part in Christmas and Easter? If the Shia say that the Sunnis do not love the Prophet’s grandson because they do not comemmorate Ashura, based on this logic can’t we also infer that the Shia do not love Prophet Isa (عليه السلام) since they fail to comemmorate his birth and death? Surely this is faulty logic.

In regards to the actual rituals of the Shia, these are barbaric practises of self-flagellation, violence, and paganism. How can the Shia actually ask us to partake in such displays? We shall do no such thing and rather we shall distance ourselves from them. Instead, we shall continue to call our Shia brothers to the path of true Islam of the Ahlus Sunnah, as followed by Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) himself. We will not exploit the death of the Prophet’s grandson for sectarian agenda, as the Shia have done. And the truth of the matter, as we shall see in future articles, is that the death of Hussain (رضّى الله عنه) was the fault of the Shia of Kufa. If the Shia want us to remember tales of Yezid’s debauchery, then let us also remind them of the Shia of Kufa whose cowardice, back-stabbing, and deciet led to the demise of the Prophet’s grandson.

–Ibn al-Hashimi, www.ahlelbayt.com