Tatbir: Difference between revisions

Tatbir is a kind of mourning for [[Imam al-Husayn (a)]] in which one beats one's head with a dagger, whereby blood runs from the head.<ref>Fatḥ Allāh, ''Muʿjam alfāz al-fiqh al-Jaʿfarī'', p. 114.</ref> Tatbir is usually practiced in mourning processions while they cross a street, and during tatbir, mourners loudly shout "Haydar Haydar." Moreover, drums and horns are played, and red banners are raised.<ref>Fadhlī, Iḥsān al-. ''Falsafat al-shaʿāʾir al-Ḥusaynīyya'', al-Imāmayn al-Hasanayn (a) website.</ref>

Proponents of tatbir believe that the proper time for the practice is the dawn of the [[Day of Ashura]]. In the past, the tradition was practiced on [[Ramadan 21]] as well. The most common manners of tatbir include putting on a white long gown (similar to a shroud) and shaving the head.<ref>Maẓāhirī, ''Qama zanī dar farhang-i sūg-i Shīʿī'', p. 389.</ref>

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.<ref>Tabrīzī Khiyābānī, ''Waqāyiʿ al-ayyām'',  vol. 2, p. 306-308.</ref> 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 other reliable sources or early books of [[maqtal]]. Moreover, the story of Zaynab's (a) beating her head on the howdah is also rationally implausible.<ref>Ṣiḥḥatī Sardrūdī, ''Taḥrīf-shināsī-yi Āshūrā'' p. 210-212.</ref>

On 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."<ref>Muṭahharī, ''Jādhiba wa dāfiʿa-yi ʿAli'', p. 154.</ref> [[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)]].<ref>Sharīʿatī, ''Majmūʿa-yi āthār'', vol. 9, p. 170-171. </ref> 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.<ref>Ḥaydarī, ''Tirājidī-i Karbalā'', p. 480.</ref>

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 widespread in the [[Qajar]] period, especially during the period of [[Nasir al-Din Shah]].<ref>Muntazar al-Qāʾim and Kishāwarz, ''Barrasī-i ijtimāʿī-i marāṣim wa manāsik-i ʿazādārī-i Āshūrā dar Irān'', p. 54, 55.</ref> '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]]/1935-6.<ref>Baṣīratmanisḥ, '' ʿUlamāʾ wa rijīm-i Riḍā Sḥāh''.</ref> The ban continued until 1320 sh/1941-2 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 1343 sh/1964-5), it was banned at the command of Shahrbani (police) or SAVAK, and in some years, it was freely practiced.<ref>Maẓāhirī, ''Risāna-yi Shīʿa'', p. 46.</ref>

:The strongest view is the permissibility of making one’s forehead bleed with a strike of a dagger if one is protected from any harm. That is, the running of the blood without 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. Still, 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 the love of Husayn b. 'Ali and are incontinent in the love of Husayn such that they do not care if harm might strike them during the use [of qama].<ref>Rabbānī Khalkhālī, ''ʿAzādārī az dīdgāh-i Marjaʿīyyat-i Shīʿa '', p. 55.</ref>

* [[Sayyid Muhammad Sadiq Ruhani]]<ref>[http://www.rohani.ir/fa/ndt/2131/%d9%be%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%ae-%d8%ad%d8%b6%d8%b1%d8%aa-%d8%a2%db%8c%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b8%d9%85%db%8c-%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%86%db%8c-%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%b8%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%a8%d9%87-%d8 Grand Ayatullah Ruhani's response to questions about the quality of mourning for the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them)(Persian)]</ref>

:The use of daggers and chains and drums and horns and whatever is common today in mourning processions on the [[Day of Ashura]] is forbidden and against the sharia.<ref>Ṣiḥḥatī Sardrūdī,''Taḥrīf-shinā sī-yi Āshūrā wa tārīkh-i Imām Ḥusayn (a)'' , p. 214.</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.imam-khomeini.ir/fa/c12_21315/%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85_%D8%AE%D9%85%DB%8C%D9%86%DB%8C_%D8%B3_%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87_%D8%AD%DA%A9%D (What is the opinion of Imam Khomeini about the religious rule of Tatbir?What is the problem in a private council?(Persian)]</ref> [[Ayatollah Khamenei]], the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said about tatbir in 1373 sh/1994-5: "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 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."<ref>[https://farsi.khamenei.ir/speech-content?id=8588 Statements of Ayatullah Khamenei in the meeting with members of Assembly of experts(Persian).]</ref> 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.<ref>Muḥaddithī, ''Farhang-i ʿĀshūrā'', p. 359.</ref>

* [[Husayn'ali Muntaziri]]<ref>Muntazarī, ''Risāla-yi Istiftāʾāt'', vol. 2, p. 321.</ref>

* [[Nasir Makarim Shirazi]]<ref>[https://makarem.ir/ahkam/fa/category/index/46953/%d9%82%d9%85%d9%87-%d8%b2%d9%86%db%8c-%d9%88-%d8%aa%db%8c%d8%ba-%d8%b2%d9%86%db%8c The rule of Tatbir in the viewpoint of Ayatullah Makarem Shirazi (Persian)). ]</ref>

* [[Qurban'ali Muhaqqiq Kabuli]]<ref>[https://www.mohaqeq.org/fa/questions ( What is the rule of Tatbir?(Persian)]</ref>

* [[Husayn Mazahiri]]<ref>[http://www.almazaheri.ir/farsi/Index.aspx?TabID=0005&ID=1029&CategoryNum=163 ( What is the rule of Tatbir?(Persian)]</ref>

* It is against the sharia due to the jurisprudential principle of the "forbiddance of self-harm."<ref>[https://www.jamaran.news/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-59/59429-%D8%AD%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7%D9%87-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8% (what is the relationship between forbiddance of self-harm and Tatbir? (Persian)]</ref>

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 the views of other religions and denominations<ref>[https://pasokhgooyan.ir/culture/8472/%d9%85%d9%82%d8%b5%d9%88%d8%af-%d8%a7%d8%b2-%d9%88%d9%87%d9%86-%d8%af%db%8c%d9%86-%d9%88-%db%8c%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b0%d9%87%d8%a8-%da%86%db%8c%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%9f/ ( what does mean undermining the religion and the denomination?(Persian)]</ref>).<ref>[https://shoaresal.ir/fa/news/83341/%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%B2-25-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%B9-%D8%AA%D9%82%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%82%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%B2%D9%86%DB%8C Opinions of more than 25 Marja's about the rule of Tatbir (Persian)]</ref>

*Baṣīratmanisḥ, Ḥamīd. '' ʿUlamāʾ wa rijīm-i Riḍā Sḥāh; Nadharī bar ʾamalkird-i sīyāsī farhangī-i ruhānīyūn dar sāl-hā-yi 1305-1320''. Tehran: Muʾassisa-yi Chāp wa Nashr-i ʿUrūj, 1376 Sh.

*Fadhlī, Iḥsān al-. «[http://alhassanain.org/m/arabic/?com=book&id=442&view=download&format=pdf فلسفة الشعائر الحسینیة]». al-Imāmayn al-Hasanayn (a) website.

*Fatḥ Allāh, Aḥmad. ''Muʿjam alfāz al-fiqh al-Jaʿfarī''. Al-Damām, 1415 AH.

*Muntazar al-Qāʾim, Aṣghar, Kishāwarz, Zahrā Sādāt. ''Barrasī-i ijtimāʿī-i marāṣim wa manāsik-i ʿazādārī-i Āshūrā dar Irān''.  ''In Shīʿa shināsī'' 58 (1396 Sh).

*Muntazarī, Ḥusayn ʿAlī. ''Risāla-yi Istiftāʾāt''. Tehran: Nashr-i Sāya, 1384 Sh.

*Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. ''Jādhiba wa dāfiʿa-yi ʿAli''. Tehran: Intishārāt-i Ṣadrā, 1380 Sh.

*Ṣiḥḥatī Sardrūdī, Muḥammad. ''Taḥrīf-shināsī-yi Āshūrā wa tārīkh-i Imām Ḥusayn (a)''. Qom: Intishārāt-i  Amīr Kabīr: Shirkat-i chāp wa nashr-i bayn al-milal, 1383 Sh.

*Tabrīzī Khiyābānī, ʿAlī. ''Waqāyiʿ al-ayyām fī tatimmat Muḥarram al-ḥarām''. Edited by: Muḥamamd Alwānsāz Khoeī. Qom: Ghurfat al-Islām, 1386 Sh.

*[http://www.rohani.ir/fa/ndt/2131/%d9%be%d8%a7%d8%b3%d8%ae-%d8%ad%d8%b6%d8%b1%d8%aa-%d8%a2%db%8c%d8%aa-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d8%b8%d9%85%db%8c-%d8%b1%d9%88%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%86%db%8c-%d8%af%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%b8%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%a8%d9%87-%d8 پاسخ حضرت آیت الله العظمی روحانی دام ظله به سوالاتی درباره کیفیت عزاداری برای ائمه معصومین (علیهم السلام)] (Grand Ayatullah Ruhani's response to questions about the quality of mourning for the Infallible Imams (peace be upon them)(Persian)). Accessed: 2023/09/26.

 

*[https://www.jamaran.news/%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B4-%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-59/59429-%D8%AD%D8%B6%D8%B1%D8%AA-%D8%A2%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B7%D9%87-%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8% حضرت آیت الله سبحانی: رابطه روایات اضرار به نفس و قمه زنی چیست؟] (what is the relationship between forbiddance of self-harm and Tatbir? (Persian)). Accessed: 2023/09/28.

*[https://pasokhgooyan.ir/culture/8472/%d9%85%d9%82%d8%b5%d9%88%d8%af-%d8%a7%d8%b2-%d9%88%d9%87%d9%86-%d8%af%db%8c%d9%86-%d9%88-%db%8c%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b0%d9%87%d8%a8-%da%86%db%8c%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%9f/ مقصود از وهن دین و یا مذهب چیست؟] ( what does mean undermining the religion and the denomination?(Persian)). Accessed: 2023/09/28.