Re: Too much Matam ?
I was like WoW
Ok, Karbala I understand. whether i agree or disagree is different. But I dont understand why people need to do so much matam at Hazrat Ali's and Hazrat Imam Hasan's Shahadat ?
Why feel sorry for oneself and extend negative outlook on life ? Why not cherish the greatness of these people in a more positive way. Cherish the wisdom and spritual intellect, their teaching and spread their message in more befitting maner.
Perhaps not to the extent of muharram or ashura, but whereever there is a significant shia community, there is always a majlis and maatam held, not just for Imam Hassan and Imam Ali (as), but for every Imam's death anniversary and aswell as a milaad event on thier birthday, where everyone dresses up and attends a function and dinner at the mosque etc.
The point of these majalises is like you said, to remember the greatness and the wisdom of these people. In a traditional majalis, first comes the fazail of these people, then the masail and the masaib at the end. After that its, nauhas, matam (at a shahadat), ziyarat, dua and dinner. So rememberance of the imams does not emcompasse just the maatam, but a whole range of things that are brought together on that night.
[quote]
For example, If I you were working for an NGO in earthquake devastated area Would you organise an event on the 8th of every month and gather children, elders and ask them to do matam for their loved one ? and remember the time when earthquake struck. Would you read the poems describing the gory details of destruction and misery of children and people who lost their loved ones?
[/quote]
yes, thats perfectly normal for most. Folks hold khatams when a relative passes away, and khatam e Quran or sura yaseen is held on every death anniversary, so if people want to remember, cry and do maatam on those days, its perfectly natural IMO.
simliarly in the UK, they have events like war memorials, rememberance day (which is being held today), the holocaust, where they recite sad poems, relate sad (and gory) events and watch films that relate back to that time and age etc...so that those victims or soldiers are not forgotten to this day, and theres nowt wrong that as its pretty much the norm.
[quote]
How does this excessive matam (sorrow, sadness, grief ) positively impact your life and society in general ?
[/quote]
If you'd ask me that question, prolly a few years ago, i can honestly say I wouldnt have been able to tell you. As a kid, it was an important ritual that symbolised mourning of our great Imams. How it benefited everyone in their wider lives, i wouldn't have a clue, nor was it something i thought much about either.
However ask me now and i can tell you that just like milaads, eid, ramadhan, muharram it has a positive effect on the whole community, its an event that brings the whole community together and most of all it is a humbling and refreshing experience.
its ironic however, you are asking shia folks of all people, why they are sorrowful on these sepecifc events, a community that cries its eyes out every thursday night reading dua kumail, its really a not a question they could easily fathom.
To them sorrow is not about feeling sorry for oneself, but rather is a selfless act, hence the more you cry the better!
Infact, even if you are not crying over the masaib in the majlis, or the the dua in dua kumail, it is highly encouraged that you remember and weep over any daily problems you're facing in life.
The scientific benefit for this is that emotional crying naturally release toxin that gather up and are rarely released in our day to day lives.
And with that, any tension and pain that we subconciously gather, are released from your system in a carefree atmosphere, and you often come out of it feeling refreshed and re-invigorated.
You can call it mass therapy sessions or the likes, but once you remove the stigma that comes with crying in public, and actively take part, it is very therapeutic and beneficial altogether.
I understand that unless you grew up with it, its prolly hard to grasp how you can switch from back and forth so easily. You forget however that you cannot and are not involved at the same level as a person who has suffered from the death of a loved one.
Hence you do not go through the long lasting emotional and mental turmoil, that a person would normally suffer. Its more akin to feeling teary or emotional after reading about or hearing a really sad event of someone in the past...you feel sad for a period and then move on.
As for matam, it is considered as following the foot steps of bibi zainab (as), and also throughout time has become a major symbolism of not only mourning but of the shia identity itself. Although, its not compulsory to do, but to listen to nohas/poems that are read along side maatam, is highly reccomended.
and zanjeer zani, although looked down upon and discouraged by most shia scholars as an extreme form of matam, it has been practiced by a small minority for centuries, so ineffect has also become part and parcel of the whole thing...
From one aspect, it is often looked upon in the community as an act of great bravado and great level of faith, as its something that not many have the courage to do... other folks in the community, however, waver between morbid bemusement and disgust...but so long as these folks are doing it to themselves, and abiding by the set conditions laid down, its not really a huge issue.
Although i have to say, for some it maybe a case of putting on a show of bravado, however there are others with good level of understanding, and for these zanjeer zani may be a case of genuine emotional experience. And you can generally tell these folks apart.
There are also other well documented facts in recent history that are evident to the collective force and advantages of muharram, matam and majalises in the shia community. but i will leave that for another time and day inshallah.