Darulifta Ahlesunnat
(Dawateislami)
Question
What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the following matter: is the khatm of koonde carried out for
Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ or Amīr Muʿāwiyah رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ? Is it permissible to conduct such a khatm? Some people claim that Amīr Muʿāwiyah رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ passed away on the 22nd of Rajab, not Imam Jaʿfar Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, and carrying out such a khatm is the way of the misguided. Meaning they celebrate
the passing ofAmīr Muʿāwiyah رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ by means of this. Therefore, we should avoid it lest we resemble them.
However, it is mentioned in Sunni Behishti Zewar that it is permissible to conduct the khatm of koonde. Please give
guidance as to what is correct.
بِسْمِ اللہِ
الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ
اَلْجَوَابُ بِعَوْنِ الْمَلِکِ
الْوَھَّابِ اَللّٰھُمَّ ھِدَایَۃَ الْحَقِّ وَالصَّوَابِ
Muslims generally prepare food, etc., and recite Quran etc., on the 22nd of Rajab, in particular so that they can transmit its reward to Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ.
This is known as koonde. This is totally
permissible according to the sharīʿah. The erudite
Ḥanafi jurist, Mufti Amjad ʿAli Aʿẓami
رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ
عَلَيْه
states the following regarding koonde:
Similarly in the month of Rajab, in some places pooriyan[1] for koonde are made in order to
transmit the reward to Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ.
This is also permissible but some people insist that they must be eaten in the
same place; this is a baseless restriction.”[2]
He further writes:
Filling koonde for Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ,
reciting Fātiḥa, etc., and transmitting
the reward is permissible. The basis for this action lays in the fact
transmitting reward is permissible. Its permissibility is established through
hadith and jurisprudence, unless prohibition is established in specific cases.
To label it impermissible is to invent a lie against Allah, His Messenger and sharīʿah.[3]
Mufti Aḥmad Yār
Khān Naʿīmi
رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ
عَلَيْه
explains regarding the koonde of Rajab,
On the 22nd of this month within the
Indo-Pak Subcontinent, koonde takes
place. Meaning, new koonde (clay basins) are
ordered, and pooriyan are prepared from flour,
sugar and ghee. Fātiḥa is then performed for Imam
Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ.”[4]
He further mentions, “The practice of koonde
on the 22nd of Rajab is good and full of
blessings. However, you must do away with the restriction that the food upon
which Fātiḥa is recited cannot be taken
outside, and that a particular story of a carpenter must be narrated.[5]
This khatm cannot be deemed forbidden
if Amīr Muʿāwiyah
رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
passed away on the 22nd of Rajab, along with the fact
Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
did not pass away on this day. Firstly, it
cannot be said with certainty that the 22nd of Rajab is the day that Amīr Muʿāwiyah
رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
passed away. This is one opinion from many that have been narrated regarding
the date of his passing. Historians agree that Amīr Muʿāwiyah
رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
passed away in 60 AH, but there are four opinions
regarding the date in the month of the Rajab; 1st, 4th, 15th or the 22nd.
On page 21 of volume 1 of al-Muhabbar, his date of passing is mentioned as the 1st of Rajab. On page 86 Mashāhir ʿUlamā al-Amṣār’s first volume, it is the 15th. On page 226, volume 1 of Tarīkh
Khalīfa bin Khayyaṭ,
the 22nd. In volume 5, page 324 of Tarīkh Ṭabari, all three of the above dates are given. In Al-Bidāyah
wa al-Nihāyah, all
four opinions are mentioned.
It is written in Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah:
لا خلاف أنہ
رضی اللہ عنہ، توفی بدمشق فی رجب سنۃ ستین.فقال
جماعۃ:لیلۃ الخمیس للنصف من رجب سنۃ ستین. وقیل:لیلۃ الخمیس
لثمان بقین من رجب سنۃ ستین.قالہ ابن إسحاق وغیر واحد.وقیل:لأربع
خلت من رجب.قالہ اللیث.وقال سعد بن إبراهیم:لمستهل رجب
There is no disagreement that Amīr Muʿāwiyah
رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
passed away in Damascus, in 60 AH. One group says it
was on the night of Thursday the 15th of Rajab 60 AH. Another opinion is that
it was a Thursday night on 22th of Rajab 60 AH; this is the view of ibn Isḥāq and others. One opinion is the 4th of
Rajab, as held by Layth. Saʿd
bin Ibrāhīm said the 1st of Rajab.[6]
Even if we assume that the 22nd of Rajab is the day that Amīr Muʿāwiyah
رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
passed away, it still cannot be deemed to be prohibited to transmit reward to
Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ on this day because of this. This
is because the passing away of a pious predecessor on a certain day, cannot be
a reason to prohibit transmitting reward to another on the same day. Likewise,
Imam Jaʿfar
Ṣādiq رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ
عَـنْهُ
not passing away on this day does not mean that reward cannot be transmitted to
him on it, for transmitting reward is unrestrictedly proven from hadith. It is
valid whenever it is carried out. Regardless of whether it is the day of his
passing or not; this matter is absolutely clear.
Additionally, labelling the khatm of koonde
to be the way of the misguided, deeming it forbidden, and considering it
resemblance of the misguided is also false. The reason for this is: the rule in
relation to imitating disbelievers and the misguided, is that the person
carrying out the action has the intention of resembling them, or that thing is
a specific hallmark of those misguided people or that thing involves something
that is forbidden by the sharīʿah. Besides these cases, there is
no reason for its prohibition.
As mentioned in Durr al-Mukhtār and Baḥr al-Rāiq:
والنظم للثانی)’’التشبیہ بأھل الکتاب لا یکرہ فی
کل شیء وإنا نأکل ونشرب کما یفعلون إنماالحرام ھو التشبہ فیما
کان مذموما وفیما یقصد بہ التشبیہ کذا ذکرہ قاضی خان فی
شرح الجامع الصغیر‘‘.[7]
ʿAllāmah Mulla ʿAli Qāri writes in Minaḥ al-Rawḍ:
اناممنوعون من التشبیہ بالکفرۃ واھل
البدعۃ المنکرۃ فی شعارھم لامنھیون عن کل بدعۃ
ولوکانت مباحۃ سواء کانت من افعال اھل السنۃ اومن افعال الکفر واھل
البدعۃ فالمدار علی الشعار.[8]
In any case, it is apparent that there is no intention of imitation nor
did the claimant mention this as a reason for its prohibition, and there is no
intrinsic dislike according to the sharīʿah in
transmitting reward.
Thus remains the matter of whether the khatm
of koonde is a hallmark of the misguided. The
response to this is that it is not a specific hallmark of theirs; rather,
carrying out the khatm of koonde
on the 22nd of Rajab is the practice of
Sunni Muslims in many places. It is necessary upon the one who claims that the khatm of koonde is
a specific practice of the misguided to present proof, as it is not forbidden
to imitate every action of the misguided.
In responding to an objection made regarding the impermissibility of
hugging after Eid salah on the basis of “the practice of shaking hands after Eid salah being the way of
the Rawāfiḍ”, the Imam of Ahl al
Sunnah, Imam Aḥmad Razā
Khān رَحْمَةُ
الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه
said:
Similarly if the shaking of hands after fajr and
ʿasr was invented by the Rawāfiḍ
of a particular time and remained a specific sign of theirs, and the scholars
of that time considered it disliked for the Ahl al-Sunnah, then why will the
hugging after Eid salah be forcibly compared to this? First provide proof that
this is something invented by the Rawāfiḍ
and a specific hallmark of theirs. Otherwise, a permissible matter will not
become impermissible or makrūh merely if
it is carried out by the misguided. There are countless things that the Ahl
al-Sunnah and Rawāfiḍ, in fact the Muslims and
disbelievers at large, all take part in. Will they become forbidden for this
reason?
Baḥr al-Rāiq, Durr al-Mukhtār,
Radd al-Muḥtar and others mention that
it is prohibited to imitate the misguided in a matter that in itself is
condemned by the sharīʿah,
or is a specific sign of that group, or if the one carrying out the action has
the intention of resembling them. Otherwise, it is by no means a reason for
prohibition.[9]
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَرَسُوْلُہ
اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللّٰہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ
وَاٰلِہٖ وَسَلَّم
Answered By: Mufti
Muhammad Hashim Khan Attari
Ref No: Iar-3879
Date: 21 Rajab al-Murajjab
1441 AH/17 March 2020 CE
[1] A deep-fried Indian bread that is traditionally made from wheat flour, water and salt.
[2] Bahār-i-Sharīʿat, vol. 3, part 16, p. 643, Maktaba tul Madina, Karachi
[3] Fatāwā Amjadiyyah, vol. 1, part 1, p. 365, Maktaba tul Madina, Karachi
[4] Islami Zindagi, p. 76, Maktaba tul Madina, Karachi
[5] Islami Zindagi, p. 80, Maktaba tul Madina, Karachi
[6] Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, vol. 11, p. 458, Dār al-Hijr
[7] Al-Baḥr al-Rāiq, Kitāb al-ṣalāt, vol. 2, p. 11, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmi
[8] Minḥ al-Rawḍ al-Azhar ʿalā al-fiqh al-akbar, faṣl fī al-kufr ṣarīḥan wa kināyah, p. 496, Dār al-Bashāir al-Islāmi
[9] Al-Fatāwā al-Razawiyyah, vol. 8, p. 624, Raza Foundation, Lahore
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