O slaves of Allah! The month of Muharram, the month we have entered, do you know that it is the best month for such an act of worship as fasting (siyam), the best month for fasting after Ramadan, according to the testimony of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?
أفضَلُ الصِّيامِ بعد رمضانَ شَهرُ اللهِ المُحَرَّمُ
The most excellent fast after Ramadan is God’s month. al-Muharram. This hadith was narrated by Muslim (1163).
And on the tenth of this month, a great event took place when truth was victorious and falsehood was humiliated. On this day, the tenth of Muharram, Allah (pure and exalted is He) saved Musa (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his people and drowned Pharaoh and his people. And as Ibn Abbas narrates, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to Medina, he saw that the Jews (yahud) were fasting on this day, the day of Ashura. The Muslims had also fasted before this, in Mecca. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked them:
ما هذا اليَوْمُ الذي تَصُومُونَهُ؟
What day are you fasting on?
They replied, “This is a good day, the day on which Allah rescued Bani Israel from their enemy. So, Moses fasted this day.”
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
فَنَحْنُ أَحَقُّ وَأَوْلَى بمُوسَى مِنكُم
“We have more claim over Moses than you.”
And he commanded to fast on this day and he himself fasted, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This hadith was narrated by al-Bukhaari (2004) and Muslim (1130).
And this fast was obligatory until Allah (pure and exalted is He) sent down the command to fast in the month of Ramadan, and then fasting on the day of Ashura became mustahabb. As Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: “When the command to fast in the month of Ramadan was sent down, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) addressed the people and said:
إن عاشوراءَ يومٌ من أيامِ اللهِ فمَن شاء صامه ومن شاء تركَه
‘He who wishes to observe this fast may do so, and he who wishes to abandon it may do so.’
This hadith was reported by al-Bukhari (4504) and Muslim (1125).
And shortly before the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), at the end of his life, he expressed his determination that if he lived until the next year, he would definitely fast in addition to the 10th of Muharram (i.e. in addition to the day of Ashura itself) the day before that, and he said:
لئِنْ بَقِيتُ إلى قابِلٍ، لأَصومَنَّ اليومَ التاسِعَ
“If I live until next year, I will fast the ninth day (of Muharram) too.”
This hadith was narrated by Muslim (2667).
This is an important act of worship to Allah (pure and exalted is He). Its dignity is high. And what indicates this? That the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sought this day especially. Ibn Abbas says:
I do not know Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) singling out any day’s fast and considering it more excellent than another, except this day (the day of Ashura). This hadith was reported by al-Bukhari (2006) and Muslim (1132).
Why? The reward for this is great, because this fast on the day of Ashura is a means of atonement of the sins of the entire past year. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
وصِيامُ يومِ عاشُوراءَ، إِنِّي أحْتَسِبُ على اللهِ أنْ يُكَفِّرَ السنَةَ التِي قَبْلَهُ
I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura may atone for the sins of the preceding year. This hadith was narrated by Muslim (1162).
The best thing, O slaves of Allah, is for you to fast the day of Ashura and the day before it, the 9th and 10th of Muharram. After that, it is inferior to fast only on the 10th of Muharram. This is also permissible, but it is inferior.
Is it permissible to fast on the day of Ashura, the day before it and the day after it? There is nothing like that in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). There is nothing authentic from the Prophet. Or, in order to fast, people say: “Fast on the day of Ashura, and if you want, the day before it, or the day after it.” This is also not in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The only exception, according to the scholars (‘ulama), and this is what Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) says, is if a person is unsure when the month of Muharram began and is afraid of missing the day of Ashura, so he fasts three days just in case. Then it is permissible, then there is no problem with it.
And in the end I will tell you that from what we have mentioned, there are very important things.
The first point is that a Muslim rejoices in the victory and rise of truth. A Muslim is not a person who lives only with his personal problems, his personal interests. A Muslim rejoices when believers rejoice, and is sad when believers are sad. He rejoices when the religion of Allah (pure and exalted is He) rises. This is a Muslim. This is the conclusion from the story of Musa (peace be upon him).
And the second conclusion, O slaves of Allah, is that a Muslim should be different from non-Muslims. The personality of a Muslim should be different from non-Muslims. This rule is established by Allah and His Messenger. As the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did, saying:
“I will distinguish myself from the People of the Book and will fast on the ninth (of Muharram) as well.”
And what is happening to Muslims today? We all belong to Allah, and to Him is our return (inna li-Llahi wa inna ilayhi raj’iun). They compete with each other in becoming like the unbelievers and humiliate themselves, and therefore Allah humiliated them, and therefore they became weak. But if they exalt themselves, holding on to the religion of Allah, then Allah will exalt them and give them strength.
And finally, the last thing. With regard to the day of Ashura, people are divided into three parts: two extremes and one correct path.
The first extreme is people who make a holiday, a celebration, a treat out of the day of Ashura, even prepare special food, distribute it, give gifts, allow their children, their families, on these days what they do not do on other days. This is a mistake. And this is done by the followers of Sufism.
And the other extreme is those who made this day a day of sadness, grief, mourning and beat themselves, torture and shed blood, supposedly showing their grief over the death of Hussein (may Allah Almighty be pleased with him). Moreover, on this day they do the most terrible thing – polytheism (shirk): they call out with prayers to the household of the Prophet (ahlu l-bayt), exalt the household of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to the level of God. May Allah protect us (pure and exalted is He). And we are talking about the rafidah (rawafid).
And there is the straight path (Sirat al-Mustaqim), the moderate path of Ahl s-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah. We do not single out this day in any way, neither with a holiday nor with mourning, but only with one thing, and that is fasting (siyam).
O slaves of Allah! Do not forget and encourage your loved ones, your children, relatives, neighbors, and friends, and Muslims, so as not to miss this day and this opportunity, this fast, the reward for which is the atonement for the sins of the past year.
