ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Uprising of Ashura and Responses to Doubts Mourning and Lamentation Mourning and Paying Homage to Allah’s Awliya’ One of the precepts strongly recommended by the divine law of Islam [ shari‘ah ] is holding ceremonies with the intention of paying homage to the signs of Allah. Upholding this precept is considered an act resulting from the piety of the hearts.

There is no dispute or disagreement among the various schools of thought regarding the essential verdict pertaining to this precept. Disagreement, however, lies in the question of whether application of this verdict must be determined by divine decree alone or whether instances of its application can also be determined by common sense and wisdom. In this chapter regarding mourning and paying homage to Allah’s saints [ awliya’ ], we will examine this difference of opinion.

Different types of religious rites and ceremonies Religious rites, which have been subject to objection or disagreement by certain sects of Islam, are of diverse kinds listed as follows: Celebrating the birth anniversaries of the great personalities of the religion, such as birth anniversaries of the Noble Prophet (S) and the Holy Imams of the (as). The Wahhabi sect considers such celebrations to be acts of innovation in religion.

They contend that celebrating these days amounts to heresy [ bid‘ah ], straying and deviation. Celebrating memorable days in the history of Islam like days on which great events happened, such as the day when the Holy Prophet (S) was appointed to prophethood, the day the glorious Battle of Badr took place, the day the Battle of Khandaq occurred, the day of the Conquest of Mecca, the night of the Prophet’s (S) ascension to heaven [ laylat al-mi‘raj ], the night of his migration to Medina, the Day of Mubahalah ,[^1] the Day of Ghadir [^2], and other similar events.

Another level of holding religious rites and paying homage to the signs of Allah occurs, for example, when followers of the Fourteen Infallibles (as) inhabit and improve the areas around the graves and shrines of the religious awliya’ . The followers of these infallible people build domes and minarets over their shrines in order to serve as a declaration to mankind that the people buried there are the true Imams and divine leaders for mankind.

Therefore, the act of raising shrines on their graves serves to invite people to follow the Fourteen Infallibles (as).