The Virtues of Allah’s sacred month of Muharram and Fasting on ‘Aashooraa´ What if I am not sure which day is Ashoura? Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad Allah’s sacred month of Muharram is a blessed and important month. It is the first month of the Hijri calendar and is one of the four sacred months concerning which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, the number of months with Allaah is twelve months (in a year), so it was ordained by Allaah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein…” [Surah al-Tawbah 9:36] Abu Bakrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The year is twelve months of which four are sacred, the three consecutive months of Dhu’l-Qa’dah, Dhu’l-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab which comes between Jumaada and Sha’baan.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 2958) Muharram is so called because it is a sacred (muharram) month and to confirm its sanctity. Allaah’s words (interpretation of the meaning): “…so wrong not yourselves therein…” mean do not wrong yourselves in these sacred months, because sin in these months is worse than in other months. It was reported that Ibn ‘Abbaas said that this phrase “…so wrong not yourselves therein…” referred to all the months, then these four were singled out and made sacred, so that sin in these months is more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward. Qataadah said concerning this phrase “…so wrong not yourselves therein…” that wrong doing during the sacred months is more serious and more sinful than wrong doing at any other time. Wrongdoing at any time is a serious matter, but Allaah gives more weight to whichever of His commands He will. Allaah has chosen certain ones of His creation. He has chosen from among the angels Messengers and from among mankind Messengers. He chose from among speech the remembrance of Him (dhikr). He chose from among the earth the mosques, from among the months Ramadaan and the sacred months, from among the days Friday and from among the nights Laylat-ul-Qadr, so venerate that which Allaah has told us to venerate. People of understanding and wisdom venerate the things that Allaah has told us to venerate. (Summarized from the Tafseer of Ibn Katheer, may Allaah have mercy on him. Tafseer of Surat al-Tawbah, aayah 36). The Virtue of Observing more Naafil Fasts during Muharram Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The best of fasting after Ramadaan is fasting Allaah’s month of Muharram.’ ” (Reported by Muslim, 1982) ‘Aashooraa´ in History Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of Aashooraa. He said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘This is a righteous day, it is the day when Allaah saved the Children of Israel from their enemies, so Moosa fasted on this day.’ He said, ‘We have more right to Moosa than you,’ so he fasted on that day and commanded [the Muslims] to fast on that day.” (Reported byal-Bukhaari, 1865). It was reported by Muslim that: the people of Khaybar (the Jews) used to take it as a festival and their women would wear their jewellery and symbols on that day]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘So you [Muslims] should fast on that day.’ ” (Reported by al-Bukhaari) Apparently the motive for commanding the Muslims to fast on this day was the desire to be different from the Jews, so that the Muslims would fast when the Jews did not, because people do not fast on a day of celebration. (Summarized from the words of al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar – may Allaah have mercy on him – in Fath al-Baari Sharh ‘ala Saheeh al-Bukhaari). The Virtues of Fasting ‘Aashooraa´ Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “I never saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) so keen to fast any day and give it priority over any other than this day, the day of Aashooraa, and this month, meaning Ramadaan.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 1867). The meaning of his being ‘keen’ was that he intended to fast on that day in the hope of earning the reward for doing so. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “For fasting the day of ‘Aashooraa´, I hope that Allaah will accept it as expiation for the year that went before.” (Reported by Muslim,1976). This is from the bounty of Allaah towards us: for fasting one day He gives us expiation for the sins of a whole year. And Allaah is the Owner of Great Bounty. Which day is ‘Aashooraa´? An-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “‘Aashooraa´ and Taasoo‘aa´ are two elongated names [the vowels are elongated] as is stated in books on the Arabic language. Our companions said: ‘Aashooraa´ is the tenth day of Muharram and Taasoo‘aa´ is the ninth day. This is our opinion, and that of the majority of scholars. This is the apparent meaning of the ahaadeeth and is what we understand from the general wording. It is also what is usually understood by scholars of the language.” (al-Majmoo’) Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “‘Aashooraa´ is the tenth day of Muharram. This is the opinion of Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib and al-Hasan. It was what was reported by Ibn ‘Abbaas, who said: ‘The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to fast Aashooraa´, the tenth day of Muharram.’ (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said, a saheeh hasan hadeeth). It is Mustahabb (encouraged) to fast Taasooaa with Aashooraa Abd-Allaah ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted on ‘Aashooraa´ and commanded the Muslims to fast as well, they said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, it is a day that is venerated by the Jews and Christians.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘If I live to see the next year, in shaa Allaah, we will fast on the ninth day too.’ But it so happened that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed away before the next year came.” (Reported by Muslim,1916). Al-Shaafi‘i and his companions, Ahmad, Ishaaq and others said: “It is mustahabb to fast on both the ninth and tenth days, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted on the tenth, and intended to fast on the ninth.” On this basis it may be said that there are varying degrees of fasting ‘Aashooraa´, the least of which is to fast only on the tenth and the best of which is to fast the ninth as well. The more one fasts in Muharram, the better it is. The Reason Why it is Mustahabb to Fast on Taasoo‘aa´ An-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The scholars – our companions and others – mentioned several reasons why it is mustahabb to fast on Taasoo‘aa´: 1) The intention behind it is to be different from the Jews, who only venerate the tenth day. This opinion was reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas… 2) The intention is to add another day’s fast to ‘Aashooraa´. This is akin to the prohibition on fasting a Friday by itself, as was mentioned by al-Khattaabi and others. 3) To be on the safe side and make sure that one fasts on the tenth, in case there is some error in sighting the crescent moon at the beginning of Muharram and the ninth is in fact the tenth.” 4) The strongest of these reasons is being different from the Jews and the Christians Ruling on Fasting Only on the Day of ‘Aashooraa´ Shaykh al-Islam said: “Fasting on the day of ‘Aashooraa´ is an expiation for a year, and it is not makrooh to fast only that day…” (al-Fataawa al-Kubra, part 5). In Tuhfat al-Muhtaaj by Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, it says: “There is nothing wrong with fasting only on ‘Aashooraa´.” (part 3, Baab Sawm al-Tatawwu’). What should be done if there is Confusion about the Beginning of the Month? Ahmad said: “If there is confusion about the beginning of the month, one should fast for three days, to be sure of fasting on the ninth and tenth days.” (al-Mughni by Ibn Qudaamah, part 3 – al-Siyaam – Siyaam Aashooraa). If a person does not know when Muharram began, and he wants to be sure of fasting on the tenth, he should assume that Dhu’l-Hijjah was thirty days – as is the usual rule – and should fast on the ninth and tenth. Whoever wants to be sure of fasting the ninth as well should fast the eight, ninth and tenth (then if Dhu’l-Hijjah was twenty-nine days, he can be sure of having fasted Taasoo‘aa´ and ‘Aashooraa´). But given that fasting on ‘Aashooraa´ is mustahabb rather than waajib, people are not commanded to look for the crescent of the new moon of Muharram as they are to do in the case of Ramadaan and Shawwaal. Fasting Aashooraa when one still has Days to make up from Ramadaan The fuqahaa´ differed concerning the ruling on observing voluntary fasts before a person has made up days that he or she did not fast in Ramadaan. The Hanafis said that it is permissible to observe voluntary fasts before making up days from Ramadaan, and it is not makrooh to do so, because the missed days do not have to be made up straight away. The Maalikis and Shaafi‘is said that it is permissible but is makrooh, because it means that one is delaying something obligatory. The Hanbalis said that it is haraam to observe a voluntary fast before making up any fasts missed in Ramadaan, and that a voluntary fast in such cases does not count, even if there is plenty of time to make up the obligatory fast. So a person must give priority to the obligatory fasts until he has made them up. (al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, part 28, Sawm al-Tatawwu’). Muslims must hasten to make up any missed fasts after Ramadaan, so that they will be able to fast ‘Arafaah and ‘Aashooraa´ without any problem. If a person fasts ‘Arafaah and ‘Aashooraa´ with the intention from the night before of making up for a missed fast, this will be good enough to make up whathe has missed, for the bounty of Allaah is great.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 14:32:08 +0000
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