IS OSTENTATION IN WORSHIP PERMISSIBLE?
It has been said that some of these reciters have diminished the value of the condition of sincerity from this act of worship. On the contrary, they consider ostentation permissible in it. In fact, they consider it to be one of the merits of Imam Ḥusayn (as) that although ostentation in all forms of obedience to Allah (swt) and worship ruin the act, it does not harm this specific act of worship. Due to the Imam's closeness to Allah (swt), He (swt) ignores this condition and accepts this act of worship even if it is accompanied by ostentation.
The root of this misconception lies in the permissibility of tabāki55 which has been mentioned in a few narrations - and they have been alluded to in the introduction. That is to say, anyone who cries, makes another person cry, or pretends to cry, has a certain allocated reward.
This foolish, senseless person, who has slandered Allah (swt) and his Messenger (pbuh), does not even know that if an authentic narration which can be utilized, happens to permit ostentation in obedience and worship, it has to be understood and explained away differently as it goes against the explicit message of the Qur'ān, Sunnah, intellect and the consensus of the scholars. This vague word (tabāki) does in no way signify the meaning of ostentation and has no connection with their corrupted goals (i.e. deeming ostentation in this act of worship permissible). What is meant by this word is something much more important. Something that some of those who fulfil their responsibilities can utilize as a means to ask Allah (swt) for their requests, and thus it is a part and parcel of the laws of Allah (swt). From the narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt (as) it can be understood that this was an act that enables some to help perfect their internal spiritual traits.
In order to understand this point, consider the good traits such as satisfaction, dependency on Allah (swt), asceticism, perseverance etc. upon which the human-ness of mankind is reliant and suspended. Thus, the acquirement, firmness and consistency of every single one of these traits in the heart results in certain actions and effects. The intellectuals and people of insight are able to witness these effects and come to the conclusion that this individual possesses these certain spiritual traits.
For example, the reality of asceticism is this that one sincerely distances themselves from the world, does not feel attracted to it, does not tie his heart to it, does not unnecessarily like it or feel happy with attaining it, and if he gives away from it, he does not feel upset over it. Anyone who attains such a position, certainly does not feel any desire or greed towards finding it, attaining it and accumulating it. He does not express happiness when he attains it and neither does he feel stressed, upset or depressed when he loses it. Furthermore, obeying the commands of Allah (swt) that relate to giving away from his wealth - whether it is obligatory like Zakāt or Khums, or whether they be recommended such as all types of charities - becomes an easy task for him. In fact he carries out this obedience to his Lord with pleasure, because he sees no difference between gold and rocks, and silver and sand. From this outwardly behaviour of his, it is possible to determine that he is a real ascetic.
However, it is important to keep in mind that in order for this individual to express such behaviour, it is necessary for him to be a true ascetic. Sometimes, a person who is not a true ascetic will also show apparent signs of an individual who is an ascetic, when in reality his heart has not distanced itself from the world, rather it has attached itself to it completely. The latter category of people can be divided into two groups:
1) Those whose purpose of carrying out an act, is nothing but to show off and to find a spot in the hearts of people so that they consider him to be one with a noble status and a beloved of God. He uses this apparent show of asceticism to attract the worthless wealth of this world. This behaviour is a form of hidden polytheism, from which it is incumbent upon us to stay away from, and there is absolutely no permissibility for this behaviour in religion.
2) Those, who although do not hold a noble status or possess good qualities, are sincere in their quest to attaining them through means of gaining knowledge and acting upon it, in accordance with the prescribed methods given by the scholars of ethics. In fact the love and closeness that they have with the material world disgusts them, and they detest the fact that it is difficult for them to eliminate this love and relationship. One of the ways that such individuals attempt to attain those noble qualities is by acting upon the advices of the Imams (as) and expresses those apparent signs and behaviour - despite them being tough to carry out at times - with the hope that these qualities will become a part and parcel of their true self, and that they will attain a noble status. They hope that that this apparent behaviour fixates itself in their hearts after constant practice of it, so that eventually they become easier on them to perform. In other words, they go through hardships by performing these actions, but after constantly going through these hardships, those actions slowly and steadily become fixated in their hearts and it becomes easier for them to perform them.
Thereby, it is understood that those actions whose effects are positive, are at times expressed from a person in whose heart those good qualities truly exist. At other times, they are expressed by a person whose heart is empty from these good qualities. In both cases, the actions are considered good and will be counted as a form of worship. Other than that, the actions are miles away from what is considered to be ostentation and showing off. Besides the fact that this discussion can be understood through intuition, and can be tested, heard and seen in real life, a few narrations from the Ahl al-Bayt (as) have also reached us regarding this topic. In the book Ghurar wa Durar, it has been reported that Amīr al-Mu'minīn (as) said:
"If you cannot forbear, feign to do so because it is seldom that a man likens himself to a group and does not become as one of them." 56
On the same page, there is also another narration from him (as) stating:
"One who does not feign to forbear, will never forbear." 57
Since we have understood this premise, we can say that mourning upon Abu 'Abdillah (as), despite being the job of the limbs and the eyes, is caused by the love that resides in the heart. From the mere conceptualization of the great hardships that befell upon His (swt) beloved (as), the heart catches fire and causes tears to flow. The Prophet (pbuh) has said:
إِن لِقَتْلِ الْحُسَيْنِ حَرَارَة فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَا تَبْرُدُ أَبَدا
"Surely there exists in the hearts of the believers, with respect to the martyrdom of Ḥusayn, a heat that never subsides." 58
He (pbuh) is also reported to have said: Every believer has love for Ḥusayn (as) in their heart.
Upon hearing the hardships, this love heats up, which then causes one to mourn. Many times, a believer would love to be in such a state, but due to that love being diminished, or because the worldly desires have covered that love, or there are obstacles that prevent one from conceptualizing the hardships, or other obstacles that do not allow the heart to burn, prevent him or her from mourning. He becomes deprived of this great blessing, and hates it, and wishes that he could mourn like the rest. Thus it is for someone like him - whose heart has been polluted, and he wishes to cleanse it - that it has been prescribed to force himself to cry and bring himself in a state like others and express the signs of one whose heart is intensely burning from hearing about the hardships.
If he performs this action (tabāki) with the intention of attaining that easiness, he will be rewarded and a path will open up for him that will allow his heart to become illuminated with the light of love and guardianship (wilāyah) of the Ahl al-Bayt (as).
Another point that is important to mention here is that, this same action has been prescribed regarding crying from the fear of Allah (swt). In al-Amāli of Sheikh Tūsi and in Makārim al-Akhlāq of Tabrasi, it has been reported from the Prophet (pbuh):
"O Abu Dharr! Whoever is given knowledge which doesn't cause him to cry simply because he has been given knowledge, it will not benefit him. Allah has described the learned and said, "Surely those who were given knowledge of it before, when it is recited onto them, they fall upon their faces in prostration and they say, "Glory be to our Lord. Surely the promise of Allah shall be done." They fall on their faces crying and they increase in humility. O Abu Dharr! Whoever is able make his heart weep, should then make it weep. Whoever is not able to cry then let him have his heart feel sadness and let him try to cry. O Abu Dharr, surely the hard heart is far from Allah (swt), but they don't realize." 59
It should also be pointed out that the word "ta'āwun", which is on the same pattern and paradigm of "tabāki", also has another graceful meaning, and perhaps this is the meaning that is implied. That is, the believers enjoin each other towards mourning, like when the brothers and sisters who have lost a father or a mother, gather around each other and recall the memories of their lost one and remember their good traits and their good works. They remember the hardships their loved one had gone through and essentially mention and describe anything else that comes to their mind for each other, and make each other cry, wail and at times even cause each other to hit their cheeks. The result of all this would be that those who faced hardships, those who recall the hardships, the mourners and others around them, all would have mourned.
What further solidifies this probable implication of tabāki is that which has come in the chapters pertaining to the behaviour one should have on 'Āshura. In the narration of the famous Ziyārat al-'Āshura, Imam al-Ṣadiq (as) has reported to have said:
"Then he must mourn and lament over Ḥusayn (as), and order everyone in his house to lament him (as), hold a gathering in his house narrating his tragedies and express restlessness upon his (as) tragedy, meet one another weeping and consoling one another over the Imam's (as) tragedies." 60
In any case, the form of tabāki which has been praised and is loved, is considered to be an obedience and a form of worship. It does not possess a taint of ostentation, which is a type of hidden polytheism.
Glory be to Allah! All the troubles that the Imam (as) had to endure was for the sake of strengthening the fundamental laws of religion whose basis is monotheism. He did it to exalt the truth, solidify the foundations of the true religion, and protect it from the various innovations of the godless ones. How could a person with conscience then suggest that the Imam (as) is that exception where one of the greatest sins which is polytheism, becomes permissible?
Rather the reason for this corrupt and Satanic imagination is their lack of contemplation over their own ugliness, or the concealment and justification of their extreme greed and love for wealth and money.