Tatbir: Difference between revisions

Proponents of tatbir see it as a ritual of [[Ashura]] and a means for the reinforcement of Shiism, and its opponents believe that it is a superstition undermining and defaming Shiism.

Shiite scholars disagree over the permissibility, [[istihbab|recommendation]], or [[Haram (fiqh)|forbiddance]] of tatbir. Some [[jurist]]s such as [[Muhammad Husayn Na'ini]] permitted tatbir, and some of them, such as [[Sayyid Abu l-Hasan al-Isfahani]], forbade it. [[Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin]] published a work in critique of tatbir for the first time. And in 1414/1994, [[Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei]], the Supreme Leader of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]], gave a speech against tatbir. Some scholars consider tatbir as undermining Shiism, and thus, illegitimate.

Different views have been suggested as to the origin of tatbir. Some people consider it as a symbol for [[Lady Zaynab]]'s (a) reaction when she saw Imam al-Husayn's head on top of a spear on the way of the [[Captives of Karbala|caravan]] from [[Karbala]] to [[Syria]] (al-Sham), lost control of herself, and beat her head on howdah, as a result of which blood ran from her head. Many scholars believe that the story is not well-documented. According to [[Shaykh 'Abbas al-Qummi]] in his ''[[Muntaha al-amal]]'', the source of the story is ''[[Nur al-'Ayn fi mashhad al-Husayn (a) (book)|Nur al-'Ayn]]'' and ''[[Al-Muntakhab fi jam' al-marathi wa l-khutab (book)|al-Muntakhab]]'', both of which are not reliable enough. The story does not appear in any other reliable sources or early books of [[maqtal]]. Moreover, the story of Zaynab's (a) beating her head on the howdah is rationally implausible as well.

To the contrary, others believe that tatbir has no Islamic origin. [[Murtada Mutahhari]] believes that "Tatbir and carrying drums and horns came to Iran from Orthodox people in Caucasia, and since people were ready to accept them, they quickly spread all over the place." [[Ali Shari'ati]] believes that tatbir and other similar practices come from ceremonies of the passions of the Christ, held by Orthodox Christians on anniversaries of the "murder" of [[Jesus (a)]]. However, others believe that tatbir was common among Iraqi Turks, [[Sufi]] sects (including Qizilbash), and Kurds in Western [[Iran]], and it spread to Iraq through Turkish pilgrims.

Tatbir in [[Iran]] dates back to the [[Safavid]] period. In some books of travel by Europeans of the time, tatbir and beating with blades are referred to, including in a report by Adam Olearius about a ritual of beating with blades on the Day of Ashura in [[Ardabil]] in the period of [[Shah Safi]]. The practice became very common in the [[Qajar]] period, especially during the period of [[Nasir al-Din Shah]]. 'Abd Allah Mustawfi believe that the cause of the propagation of this practice was [[Mulla Aqa Darbandi]], a scholar of the period of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar.

In the period of [[Reza Shah]], tatbir as well as other mourning rituals were banned since [[1354]]/[[1935 CE|1935]]. The ban continued until [[1360]]/[[1941 CE|1941]] when Reza Shah was removed from power. After that, its ban was lifted, and tatbir was resumed in some areas of Iran. In the period of [[Pahlavi]], tatbir flourished and declined at different times. In some years (including [[1384]]/[[1964 CE|1964]]) it was banned at the command of Shahrbani (police) or SAVAK, and in some years, it was freely practiced.

Tatbir has been a contentious [[jurisprudential]] issue among Shiite jurists since the period of Qajar until today. [[Jurist]]s can be divided into proponents and opponents of tatbir: jurists such as [[Mirza Na'ini]], [[Muhammad Taqi Bahjat]], and [[Mirza Jawad Tabrizi]] permitted tatbir, while jurists such as [[Sayyid Abu l-Hasan al-Isfahani]], [[al-Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin]], [[Sayyid 'Ali Khamenei]], [[Husayn'ali Muntaziri]], and [[Nasir Makarim Shirazi]] believed that tatbir undermines Shiism, and is therefore forbidden.

The main evidence appealed to by proponents of tatbir is, in addition to celebration of rituals and the protection of Shiite traditions and display of power by the Shiite community, a fatwa by [[Mirza Na'ini]]. In the second section of a well-known fatwa he wrote on [[Rabi' I 5]], [[1345]]/[[August 31]], [[1926 CE|1926]], he writes:

:The strongest view is the permissibility of making one’s forehead bleed with a strike of a dagger if one is protected from any harms. That is, the running of the blood without a damage to the forehead’s bone which is usually harmless, as those who use daggers manipulate it in a way that does not damage the bone, and if one thinks that the strike of a qama is not usually harmful, but after the strike, an amount of blood that comes out is harmful, then it will be implausible to forbid it, just as a person who performs [[wudu']] or [[ghusl]] with water or [[fast]]s in the [[Ramadan month]], and then it turns out that this was harmful. However, the cautious thing to do for those who do not know how to manipulate daggers is to refrain from doing so, particularly young people whose hearts are filled with love of Husayn b. 'Ali and are incontinent in love of Husayn such that they do not care if a harm might strike them during the use [of qama].

After this fatwa, the most important text in opposition to tatbir was the book, ''[[al-Tanzih li-a'mal al-shabih]]'' by [[Sayyid Muhsin al-Amin]], in which tatbir and other similar practices of mourning are considered as illegitimate, irrational, and a ground for undermining Shiism. The publication of the book led to different reactions, and books and essays were written and published in its defense or against it.

In answer to a [[istifta'|question]] concerning the permissibility or impermissibility of tatbir, [[Imam Khomeini]] said that it depends on whether it is harmful and on circumstances of the time, and because of present circumstances, he said that it was forbidden. [[Ayatollah Khamenei]], the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said about tatbir in [[1414]]/[[1994 CE|1994]]: "tatbir is an illegitimate, fabricated, and wrong practice which has, unfortunately, been propagated by some people in the last few years. Tatbir is a religious or a mourning practice, and it is certainly illegitimate and a heresy, and there is no doubt that God is not happy with it, and I am not happy in my heart with those who publicly practice tatbir." Some scholars confirmed the words of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and believed that tatbir undermines Shiism, and is therefore illegitimate.

* It is against the sharia, due to the jurisprudential principle of the "forbiddance of self-harm."

It undermines the religion and the denomination, that is, Islam and Shiism (that is, it leads to insults of the religion and the denomination in the public view or in the views of other religions and denominations).