The day of Ashura

Worshipers of Allah, from the mercy of Allah upon His servants is that He has prescribed for them seasons in which they can abundantly engage in righteous deeds and seek closeness to Him through acts of worship.

And among the virtuous seasons and multiplied acts of worship is fasting in the month of Allah, Muharram. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: "The best fasting after Ramadan is the fasting in the month of Allah, Muharram".

And Fasting on the tenth day of Muharram, the Day of Ashura, expiates the sins of an entire year. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: "Fasting on the Day of Ashura, I hope from Allah, will expiate the sins of the year before it." This is a great virtue that should not be neglected or taken lightly.

Fasting on the Day of Ashura was observed even during the time of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic era of ignorance). Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated, "The people of Quraysh used to observe fasting on the Day of Ashura during the time of Jahiliyyah, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ also used to observe fasting on this day. When he arrived in Madinah, he continued fasting on this day and commanded others to do so as well. However, when the fasting of Ramadan was prescribed, he left fasting on the Day of Ashura. Whoever wishes to observe fasting on this day may do so, and whoever wishes to leave it may do so".

Fasting on the Day of Ashura was initially obligatory during the early days of Hijrah before the obligation of fasting in Ramadan was prescribed. It was even observed by the Ansar (the residents of Madinah) and they would make their children fast on this day. Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidh (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ sent a message on the morning of Ashura to the villages of the Ansar, saying, "Whoever has already eaten should complete his fast for the rest of the day, and whoever has not eaten should continue fasting." She further mentioned, "So we used to fast on that day and make our children fast, and we would make toys for them out of wool. If one of them cried due to hunger, we would give them the toy to play with until it was time to break the fast.".

Then the obligation of fasting on the Day of Ashura was lifted with the obligation of fasting in Ramadan. The Prophet ﷺ said, 'Indeed, Ashura is a day among the days of Allah. Whoever wishes may fast it, and whoever wishes may leave it."

And the Day of Ashura is among the days of Allah that the believers should remember, for it is the day on which Allah saved Musa (Moses) and those who were with him from their enemy and drowned Pharaoh and those who were with him from the disbelievers! Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, 'When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, he saw the Jews fasting on the Day of Ashura and asked, 'What is this?' They said, 'This is a righteous day, the day on which Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy, so Musa fasted on this day.' The Prophet ﷺ said, 'I have more right to Musa than you do,' so he fasted on that day and commanded others to fast as well.'"

The Prophet ﷺ was particularly keen on fasting the Day of Ashura more than any other day. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, 'I never saw the Prophet ﷺ so eager to fast a day and give it preference over others except for the Day of Ashura.'"

The Jews used to consider the Day of Ashura as a festive day and fasted it. Upon seeing this, the Prophet ﷺ commanded his followers to differ from them by fasting the ninth day along with the Day of Ashura. He ﷺ said, 'If I remain alive till the next year, I will surely fast the ninth (day)'.

The best degrees and levels of fasting on the Day of Ashura are as follows:
Fasting both the ninth and tenth days of Muharram.
If one is unable to fast the ninth day, they can fast the eleventh day as a means of differentiation.
If one only fasts the tenth day, they will still attain the prescribed reward, but they will miss out on the virtue of distinguishing themselves from the People of the Book (Jews and Christians).

If someone observes the fast of Ashura while having pending fasts from Ramadan, their fast is valid. And if they intend to fast Ashura along with the intention of making up missed Ramadan fasts, and they make the intention the night before, it is permissible, and they will attain the rewards of both fasting on Ashura and making up the missed fasts.

It is not from the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) to observe specific rituals of mourning or celebration on the day of Ashura, because the principle for a Muslim is to follow and adhere to the established practices, not to introduce innovations. Allah says in the Quran, "Say, [O Muhammad], 'If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you'.

So fast on the day of Ashura, and also fast the ninth day alongside it, in adherence to the Sunnah, seeking reward, opposing the practices of the Jews, and expressing gratitude to Allah for the victory of the believers and the destruction of the disbelievers. Allah says in the Quran, "And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel because of what they had patiently endured. And We destroyed [all] that Pharaoh and his people were producing and what they had been building".

The day of Ashura has come to dispel despair from our hearts and instill hope in our souls. It has come to remind us of Allah's victory for His allies and their victory over their enemies when Allah saved Musa (Moses) and his people from the greatest tyrant in history. Allah says in the Quran, "And He has made the word of those who disbelieved - lowest. And the word of Allah - highest".

When Pharaoh became arrogant in the land of Allah and humiliated the servants of Allah, Allah seized him with the easiest of means and showed His utmost kindness to His creation. Allah says in the Quran, "And Pharaoh called out among his people; he said, 'O my people, does not the kingdom of Egypt belong to me, and these rivers flowing beneath me? Then do you not see? Or am I better than this one who is insignificant?'". Ibn 'Uthaymeen said, "So Allah drowned him with the water that he boasted about, and He made Musa inherit his land, which He described as being insignificant!"

From the destruction of Pharaoh, we can derive that no matter how tyrannical and arrogant souls become, their ultimate fate is perishing and destruction. Allah says in the Quran, "Rather, We dash the truth upon falsehood, and it destroys it"

Ref: