Giving offerings in Commemoration of Imam Hussain

Sayyiduna Shaykh Abdul Azeez al-Muhaddith ad-Dahlawi writes that the food which is offered in memory of Sayyiduna Imam Hussain becomes blessed when the Fatihah, Surah al-Ikhlaas and the other chapters of the Qur’an are recited upon it. Eating this food is an extremely praiseworthy action [Fatawa Azeeziyyah Volume 1 Page 78]. Shaykh Abdul Azeez even mentions that cooking specific food such as rice etc. is not blameworthy but moreover, it is permissible. After a few lines, Shaykh Abdul Azeez explains that the food which is being distributed in commemoration of a Saint or other esteemed personality can be eaten by wealth people as well as poor people. [Fatawa Azeeziyyah Volume 1 Page 50]

The food which is cooked and placed on the ritual Ta’ziyah of the misguided Shia should not be eaten. (The Shias hold ceremonies of condolence in which many cry and commit many other acts which are contrary to the teachings of Islam). Ala Hazrat Shaykh Ahmed Rida Khan al-Qadri writes that the food which is distributed as an offering in commemoration of Sayyiduan Imam Hussain should be eaten whilst the food that is given after Ta’ziyah should not be consumed. The carrying out of Ta’ziyah nullifies the possibility of the food being classed as an offering (Niyaaz). If food was originally described as Ta’ziyah or it was orignally Ta’ziyah then it was later described as Niyaaz, abstinence from eating this food is necessary. [Risaalah Ta’ziyah Daari Page 5]

Extracted from “Madinah to Karbala” – Translation of the work “Khutbaat e Muharram” by Mufti Jalaluddin Ahmed Amjadi, by Mawlana Kaleem Qadiri Azhari