Written by: Qārī Usāmah bin ʿAbd al-Salām
Performing matam (ritual mourning with chest-beating, screaming, or self-harm) in Muḥarram or at any other time is not permissible in Islam. It is ḥarām and sinful, because it contradicts the teachings of patience (ṣabr) and the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ, and it revives the customs of Jāhiliyyah.
﴿ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ ﴾
(al-Baqarah 2:155–156)
Translation: And give glad tidings to the patient ones, who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return.’
This verse establishes that the response to trials must be ṣabr and istirjāʿ — not chest-beating, screaming, or wailing.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ ضَرَبَ الْخُدُودَ، وَشَقَّ الْجُيُوبَ، وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَى الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1294, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 103)
Translation: He is not from us who slaps the cheeks, tears the clothes, and calls with the cries of Jāhiliyyah.
This is an explicit prohibition of matam, wailing, screaming, and tearing clothes.
«نَهَى النَّبِيُّ ﷺ عَنِ النِّيَاحَةِ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 934)
Translation: The Prophet ﷺ forbade wailing.
«إِنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يُعَذَّبُ فِي قَبْرِهِ بِمَا يَنُوحُ عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُهُ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1292)
Translation: The deceased is tormented in his grave because of the wailing of his family over him.
This hadith warns that matam not only harms the living but also causes suffering to the deceased.
"Wailing, screaming, and chest-beating are all ḥarām. There is consensus of the scholars on this."
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
"Matam, wailing, and self-harm are all innovations and prohibited. They have no place in Islam."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 24/380)
"Wailing is ḥarām, and if a woman performs it, she is liable to punishment (taʿzīr)."
The following practices are:
All of these are:
◈ Not established from Qur’an or Sunnah
◈ Innovations resembling pre-Islamic rituals
◈ Acts of sin and misguidance
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
❖ Introduction
Performing matam (ritual mourning with chest-beating, screaming, or self-harm) in Muḥarram or at any other time is not permissible in Islam. It is ḥarām and sinful, because it contradicts the teachings of patience (ṣabr) and the guidance of the Prophet ﷺ, and it revives the customs of Jāhiliyyah.
Evidence from the Qur’an
➊ Command of Patience During Calamities
﴿ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ ﴾
(al-Baqarah 2:155–156)
Translation: And give glad tidings to the patient ones, who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Indeed, we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we shall return.’
This verse establishes that the response to trials must be ṣabr and istirjāʿ — not chest-beating, screaming, or wailing.
Evidence from the Sunnah
➊ Clear Condemnation of Matam
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ ضَرَبَ الْخُدُودَ، وَشَقَّ الْجُيُوبَ، وَدَعَا بِدَعْوَى الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1294, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 103)
Translation: He is not from us who slaps the cheeks, tears the clothes, and calls with the cries of Jāhiliyyah.
This is an explicit prohibition of matam, wailing, screaming, and tearing clothes.➋ Prohibition of Wailing
«نَهَى النَّبِيُّ ﷺ عَنِ النِّيَاحَةِ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 934)
Translation: The Prophet ﷺ forbade wailing.
➌ Wailing Harms the Deceased
«إِنَّ الْمَيِّتَ يُعَذَّبُ فِي قَبْرِهِ بِمَا يَنُوحُ عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُهُ»
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1292)
Translation: The deceased is tormented in his grave because of the wailing of his family over him.
This hadith warns that matam not only harms the living but also causes suffering to the deceased.
Statements of the Scholars
➊ Imām al-Nawawī (رحمه الله)
"Wailing, screaming, and chest-beating are all ḥarām. There is consensus of the scholars on this."
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
➋ Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله)
"Matam, wailing, and self-harm are all innovations and prohibited. They have no place in Islam."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 24/380)
➌ Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله)
"Wailing is ḥarām, and if a woman performs it, she is liable to punishment (taʿzīr)."
Shīʿa Practices in Muḥarram
The following practices are:
- Zanjīr zani (self-flagellation with chains)
- Chest-beating
- Cutting or injuring oneself
- Carrying taziyah
- Reciting lamentations (noḥah)
All of these are:
◈ Not established from Qur’an or Sunnah
◈ Innovations resembling pre-Islamic rituals
◈ Acts of sin and misguidance
The Islamic Way of Expressing Grief
- Show patience (ṣabr).
- Recite Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn.
- Make duʿāʾ for the forgiveness of the deceased.
- Give charity on their behalf.
- Recite Qur’an and gift the reward to the deceased.
Conclusion
- Matam, wailing, chest-beating, and self-harm are all ḥarām, sinful, and acts of Jāhiliyyah.
- The Prophet ﷺ explicitly forbade these practices and declared disassociation from those who perform them.
- The month of Muḥarram is sacred; it is meant to increase good deeds — not to indulge in sinful innovations.
هٰذَا مَا عِندِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
