Iqna'a al-La'aem ala Iqamat al Matam

Iqna'a al-La'aem ala Iqamat al Matam is a book about the necessity of mourning for Imam Hussein and its correct method written by Seyyed Mohsen Amin Ameli and edited by Mahmoud Badri.

About the book

The book is about mourning for Imam Hussein and it is the most detailed and documented book regarding it in its time. The date of writing the book is Dhul-Qa'dah 1343 AH and the end date of its writing is Jumadi al-Thani 1344 AH, and the author has placed it as the introduction or the conclusion to the book Al-Majlis al-Sunniyyah fi zikre Masaib al-Itrat al-Nabbiyyah. This book was published for the first time in 1344 AH in Saida by Al-Irfan Press. It was republished in 1418 AH by the efforts of Mahmoud Badri at the Institute of Islamic Studies in Qom.

By "Iqamat al Matam" (establishing mourning ceremonies), the author means to cry over Imam Hussein, to express sorrow, to mention his calamities, to recite elegies, to express his virtues and other things like these, provided that it does not include forbidden activity (haram).

In the introduction, the author stated that his motivation for writing the book was to answer questions and criticisms while mentioning:

"Some people criticize us about the mourning ceremonies and say it is unnecessary. They either say that it has been hundreds of years since the death of Imam Hussein, so what does it mean to remember him every year? Or they say Yazid killed the Imam once and you kill him every year."

And in the following, it is pointed out the criticisms of Ahmad Surakti Ansari Sudani in Al-Zakhirah al-Islamiyya magazine, who criticized the Shia traditions on the day of Ashura. It seems that the author's main motivation in writing this book was to answer Surakti‘s criticisms. Therefore, in the book, he has repeatedly mentioned his criticisms and rejected them.

This book with the title "A'een-e-Sogwari" (Mourning Ritual) has been translated into Farsi by Ali Zohrab.

Content of the book

Iqna'a al-La'aem consists of an introduction and eight chapters. The first chapter is about grief and crying due to the death of Imam Hussein. In this chapter, 29 proofs have been presented for the permissibility of crying over the imam. The first proof is that crying is halal and the second proof is God's anger due to the killing of the Imam.

The author's intention for the second reason is the transformations that occurred in the world of creation after the death of the Imam including, the weeping of the heavens and the earth, raining blood from the sky, raining red soil from the sky, darkening the sky, reddening the sky, turning dirt and pebbles into the blood. The remaining proofs are the crying of the prophets and Imams over others as well as over Imam Hussein.

The second chapter is about elegies in mourning for the dead and expressing their virtues, and the elegies of elders and companions of the Prophet are mentioned with their examples.

In the third chapter, praising the dead with examples from the period of the beginning of Islam is mentioned.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to organizing a mourning ceremony, praising the dead, and expressing sorrow for it.

In the fifth chapter, charity, with the intention of giving rewards to the dead, and in the sixth chapter, the religious and worldly benefits of the mourning ceremony are discussed.

In the seventh chapter, the opinions of the Marbin the German and the Joseph the French about the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and the benefits of the mourning ceremony for him are mentioned.

The eighth chapter is dedicated to the conclusion of the past discussions and some of the criticisms on mourning have been quoted and condemned.