What is Tabarra?
Tabbara means to disassociate yourself from the enemies of Allah (swt), the Holy Prophet (saww) and his Ahlulbayt (as). Tabarra means that we do not repeat the wrongful actions of those who have not listened to Allah (swt) or saddened the Ahlulbayt (as).
Why do we practice Tabarra?
When you love someone you love everything associated with them. It also causes you to dislike what they dislike. Doing Tabarra allows us to separate our selves from the enemies of Allah (swt) and their wrongful actions. It means that we do not repeat the actions that have made these people enemies of Allah (swt).
Tabarra in the Holy Quran
There are various verses that point to the belief of Tabarra, one of them being when Prophet Ibrahim (as) became aware that his father (reported to be his uncle) was found to be an enemy of Allah (swt), he distanced himself from him:
وَمَا كَانَ اسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ إِلَّا عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَا إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ أَنَّهُ عَدُوٌّ لِّلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ ۚ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لَأَوَّاهٌ حَلِيمٌ
Abraham’s pleading forgiveness for his father was only to fulfill a promise he had made him. So when it became manifest to him that he was an enemy of God, he repudiated him. Indeed Abraham was most plaintive and forbearing. (9:114)
Things to remember about Tabarra
Tabarra means to distance one’s self from the enemies of Allah (swt), however there is a big misconception that doing Tabarra means using profanities against the enemies of Allah (swt). Nowhere does our religion allow for the use of profanities, or accusing someone of acts they did not commit without proof of those acts. The limits that Allah (swt) has set for us always remain.
Care should be taken to ensure that other communities do feel insult towards themselves or their holy personalities. Our Holy Prophet (saww) and the Ahlulbayt (as) are perfect examples of the noble ways in which they dealt with the enemies of Allah (swt), and there should be no reason for us to cross the ethical limits of our holy personalities.
