As for turning days of calamity into mourning assemblies (1), this has no place in the religion of the Muslims; rather, it is closer to the religion of the pre-Islamic era. By doing so they have also forfeited the merit contained in fasting on that day (2), and some people have introduced into it practices based on fabricated ḥadīths that have no authenticity—such as attributing special virtue to bathing, applying kohl, or exchanging handshakes on that day (3). All such matters are innovated and therefore disliked; the only recommended act is to fast it.
As for widening one’s spending on the family, there are well-known reports about this (4). The strongest of them is the ḥadīth of Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn (5) al-Munta shir (6) from his father (7), who said: “It has reached us that whoever provides generously for his family on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, Allah will grant him abundance for the rest of his year.” He transmitted it from him (8).
(1) Maatim (pl. of maʾtam). According to Mukhtar al-Sihah, a maʾtam among the classical Arabs is a gathering of women for either joy or sorrow, while in popular usage it means a calamity. The author is referring to the lamentation assemblies that some people hold—displaying grief, gathering crowds, reciting mournful tales, and the like—on objectionable occasions, such as the ceremonies performed by the Shia during the days of ʿAshuraʾ.
(2) MS T reads: “they dispersed.”
(3) For a detailed treatment, see Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmuʿ al-Fatawa, 25:299–317.
(4) From here until the phrase “and the cause may be excessive veneration for him …” (about a page and a half later) is missing in MS A.
(5) The word ibn is omitted in MS D.
(6) Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. al-Muntashir al-Ajdaʿ, al-Hamdani al-Kufi; reliable, fifth generation; cited by all six canonical collections. See Taqrib al-Tahdhib 1:42, no. 268.
(7) His father—mentioned just above—was likewise reliable, fourth generation, and is recorded by the six books; see Taqrib al-Tahdhib 2:210, no. 733.
(8) Masʾail al-Imam Ahmad reports: “I asked Abu ʿAbd Allah, ‘Have you heard the hadith, “Whoever is generous to his family on the day of ʿAshuraʾ, Allah will be generous to him for the rest of the year”?’ He answered, ‘Yes; it was narrated by Sufyan from Jaʿfar al-Ahmar, from Ibrahim b. Muhammad b. al-Muntashir.’ Sufyan—one of the finest men we met—added that this wording had reached him.” See Masʾail al-Imam Ahmad (1:136–137). Ibn Taymiyyah quotes it in Majmuʿ al-Fatawa 25:300 and declares it a fabricated hadith.