Cheek Striking in Mourning Al-Hussein

Shiite Fatwa
http://www.islamonline.net/

Nothing in the Shari`ah prohibits sadness for the death of dear people; it is an innate
feeling. However, one should demonstrate such sadness without violating the rules of
Islam. For example, slapping the face, tearing clothes, slashing the back and hitting
the head with swords are all forbidden acts. If one does so, then he is harming himself,
and in Islam one is not allowed to even expose himself to harm or ruin.
If people do such deeds to show sympathy for Imam Al-Hussein (may Allah be
pleased with him), then they should rather show it by spreading justice, as Al-Hussein
sought to do. Moreover, reviving past sorrows is not permissible. That is why the
interval specified for mourning someones demise is just three days after death.
Thus, these Shiite customs done to mourn Imam Al-Hussein (may Allah be pleased
with him) have no Islamic basis, not even in the Shiite jurisprudence itself. Such acts
are no more than individual practices that developed into regular customs of millions
of people with the elapse of time so that anyone who acts against them is resented.
However, most contemporary Shiite scholars prohibit such acts and practices and
consider them a type of backwardness.
Responding to your question, Sheikh Muhammad Hussain Fadlullah, a major
Shiite scholar in Lebanon, states the following:
There is a common denominator between the rites of celebration on the tenth of
Muharram in the past and in the present time. It is mainly to condole the death of
Imam Al-Hussein (may Allah be pleased with him). In the past, people used to strike
their cheeks as an expression of sorrow, but not in an excessive way as people do at
present.
Nowadays, people observe some excessive habits such as hitting their heads with
swords and slashing their backs with iron chains.
Such extreme customs did not emerge as a result of legal collective ijtihad based on
the Shari`ah. Rather, they emerged out of individual innovation that turned into ritual

acts that so excited peoples sympathy that they imitated them blindly until they
became sacred customs that none can ignore; otherwise one would be considered
negligent and extremist. The issue reached the extreme that even reverent scholars do
not dare to stand in the face of the majority to dissuade them from such extremism,
because whoever tries to do so will be accused of hating the Prophets household and
trying to erase their tracks and erase them from peoples memory.
Some people may argue that some great scholars in the field of Shari`ah, 50 and 60
years ago, issued fatwas legalizing the Shiite rites on that occasion. They said that
such rites are not originally prohibited unless they lead to ruining oneself.
Concerning the reason for issuing those fatwas, it was raised in a juristic seminar on
Is It Prohibited for Man to Harm Himself? What about Slight Harms? This means,
for instance, injuring ones hand, hitting the head, and the like which does not lead to
mans ruin. Is the harm itself prohibited or what is unlawful is the harm that leads to
destroying oneself or jeopardizing ones heath?
There are two views on this case:
The first view indicates that harming oneself is intrinsically forbidden, unless there is
an urgent need for it, such as the dangers man faces in his travels or working day and
night to attain material and spiritual gains. There must be a prior estimation of the
benefit or loss entailed by subjecting oneself to harm. If the benefit expected from
tiring oneself deserves the harm borne in its cause, then benefit is given priority over
harm in such a case. That is, one disregards the harm he would do himself for the
benefit he would attain. Hence, those who hold this view see that it is prohibited for
man to harm himself, even in mourning or expressing love, et cetera.
There is another view adopted by many scholars. They maintain that man is not
prohibited to harm himself if such harm would not lead him to a bad state of health or
to death.
In light of this view, scholars see that hitting the head with a sword and striking the
cheeks in mourning are not forbidden acts in themselves. Rather, they are forbidden
because man is forbidden to do anything that may lead to his ruin.
Scholars who legalize harming oneself in principle hold some restrictions. They see
that the issue in question is prohibited in certain cases if it leads to something
prohibited in the second place.
The above view is also maintained by the late major Shiite scholar Sheikh As-Sayed

Abul-Qasim Al-Khaw`ie.
As for my own opinion regarding this issue, I consider such acts and practices
as forbidden. This stems from the well-established fact that hurting oneself is
forbidden as far as the Islamic Shari`ah is concerned unless there is a necessity for
that. Thereupon, it is forbidden to strike heads with swords, or backs with chains, or
even to harshly strike ones cheeks that may hurt him even slightly. This can be
deducted from the aforementioned texts that prove that harming ones self is
forbidden.
In addition, rational thinking requires this, as people reject the idea of anyone doing
any sort of harm to himself. All these support my opinion that such acts are forbidden
in Islam even if they are done in the name of sadness and mourning.
I have another observation in this regard, that those who strike their heads with
swords or backs with lashes claim that: they do this to express sympathy with Imam
Al-Hussein (may Allah be pleased with him) in his pains and with Zainab (may Allah
be pleased with her) and her sisters when she was scourged. But, I would say that
expressing sympathy does not require one to be injured in the same way as Imam AlHussein or to be scourged in the same way as Zainab.
Truly, Al-Hussein was injured while he was striving in Allahs Cause. So, those who
express sympathy with Imam Al-Hussein are only those Palestinian young men who
fight against the Israeli enemy. They are indeed injured in a similar stance as that of
Imam Al-Husseins. Also, those who show sympathy with Zainab are none but those
who suffer from whipping in the vaults of the Israeli prisons. This is because she was
scourged in the way of an issue.
Based on all the aforementioned, I find it necessary to wipe out these customs, for
they are forbidden due to the many negative effects they have on the individual level
and on the level of the image of the Shiite Muslims all over the world. Thats why I
said earlier that they are some sort of backwardness.