Numerous prophetic traditions and reports have been transmitted concerning the virtue of the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ (10th Muḥarram). The Messenger of Allah ﷺ held this day in great esteem.
It was on this very day that Allah, the Exalted, granted Prophet Mūsā (peace and blessings be upon him) victory over Pharaoh. It has also been said that it was the ‘Day of Adornment’ on which the appointed encounter with the magicians of Pharaoh took place, that the sea was split for the Banū Isrāʾīl, that our master Ādam (peace and blessings be upon him) was granted repentance on this day, and that our master ʿĪsā (peace and blessings be upon him) was born on it. Reports have also been mentioned concerning birds and wild animals abstaining from food and drink on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, along with other matters cited by the authors of sīra and tafsīr works.
Likewise, a number of sunna acts and etiquettes have been transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning this day, including the following:
Firstly, on fasting ʿĀshūrāʾ, Tāsūʿāʾ (9th Muḥarram), and the Eleventh Day (of Muḥarram), Imām al-Ghazālī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The recommendation of fasting becomes emphasised on virtuous days. Such virtuous days include those that occur annually, those that occur monthly, and those that occur weekly.”
The ʿulamaʾ have recommended fasting the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ and Tāsūʿāʾ. If one does not fast Tāsūʿāʾ along with it, then one should fast the eleventh day. Some scholars, including Imām al-Shāfiʿī (may Allah be pleased with him), held that it is recommended to fast all three days.
The Shāfiʿī scholar, al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “And fasting ʿĀshūrāʾ, which is the tenth of Muḥarram—the ʿulamaʾ interpreted the reports commanding its fast as indicating emphatic recommendation [taʾakkud al-istiḥbāb]. And fasting Tāsūʿāʾ, which is the ninth of Muḥarram, together with ʿĀshūrāʾ is to exercise caution in case of error regarding the beginning of the month, to differ from the Jews for they fast the tenth, as well as to avoid singling it out for fasting, as is the case with Friday. If one does not fast Tāsūʿāʾ with it, then it is sunna to fast the eleventh with it. In fact, Imām al-Shāfiʿī stated explicitly in ‘al-Umm’ and ‘al-Imlāʾ’ that fasting all three days is recommended.”
The Mālikī scholar, al-ʿAllāma al-Dardīr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is recommended to fast ʿĀshūrāʾ and Tāsūʿāʾ. ʿĀshūrāʾ comes first because it is superior to Tāsūʿāʾ, as it expiates the preceding year. It is also recommended on this day to spend generously, in a customary and reasonable manner, upon one’s family, relatives, and orphans.”
The Ḥanbalī scholar, al-ʿAllāma al-Buhūtī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Generally, the best voluntary fast is that of Muḥarram, just as the best ṣalāh after the obligatory ṣalāh is the night prayer [qiyām al-layl]. The best day of Muḥarram is the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, which is the tenth day of Muḥarram according to the majority of scholars, followed by Tāsūʿāʾ, which is the ninth day of Muḥarram. It is recommended to combine the two, that is, to fast both Tāsūʿāʾ and ʿĀshūrāʾ.”
The Ḥanafī scholars held that singling out the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ for fasting, without fasting the ninth or the eleventh alongside it, is mildly disliked [karāha tanzīhiyya], because it resembles the practice of the Jews. Imām Kamāl ibn al-Humām (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The sunna is to fast ʿĀshūrāʾ together with the ninth. What is mildly disliked is to fast ʿĀshūrāʾ alone, apart from the ninth.” Commenting on the aforementioned statement of Ibn al-Humām, al-ʿAllāma Ibn ʿĀbidīn (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “His statement, ‘mildly disliked, such as ʿĀshūrāʾ alone,’ means fasting it separately from the ninth or the eleventh, because this entails resemblance to the Jews.”
The matter, as outlined in all Four Madhāhib, is summarised by what Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Accordingly, fasting ʿĀshūrāʾ has three levels:
- the lowest is to fast it alone;
- above that is to fast the ninth along with it; and,
- above that is to fast the ninth and the eleventh. And Allah knows best.”
Among the aḥādīth concerning it is the narration of our master ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: “When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Madīnah, he found the Jews fasting the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ. They were asked about that, and they said, ‘This is the day on which Allah granted Mūsā and the Banū Isrāʾīl victory over Pharaoh, so we fast it in veneration of it.’ The Prophet ﷺ said in response, ‘We have more right to Mūsā than you.’ He then commanded that it be fasted.” Narrated by al-Bukhārī §2004 and Muslim §1130.
Commenting on this ḥadīth, Imām al-Nawawī (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The summary of this is that he ﷺ used to fast it as Quraysh fasted it in Makkah. Then, when he came to Madīnah and found the Jews fasting it, he also fasted it—whether by revelation, by mass-transmitted knowledge, or by his own juristic reasoning, and not merely on the basis of their solitary reports.”
It is narrated on the authority of our master ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fasted the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ and commanded that it be fasted, they said, “O Messenger of Allah, it is a day venerated by the Jews and Christians.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If the coming year arrives, Allah willing, we shall fast the ninth day.” The narrator, Ibn ʿAbbās said: “But the coming year did not arrive before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away.”
In another narration, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “If I remain until the coming year, I shall certainly fast the ninth.” Narrated by Muslim §1134.
It is narrated on the authority of our master Abū Mūsā (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “The Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ was regarded by the Jews as a festival. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘So fast it yourselves.’” Narrated by al-Bukhārī §2005 and Muslim §1131.
It is narrated on the authority of our master Abū Qatāda al-Anṣārī (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Fasting the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ—I hope from Allah that it will expiate the year that came before it.” Narrated by Muslim §1162 and al-Tirmidhī §752.
Commenting on this, Imām al-Tirmidhī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “On this topic there are also narrations from ʿAlī, Muḥammad b. Ṣayfī, Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ, Hind b. Asmāʾ, Ibn ʿAbbās, al-Rubayyiʿ b. Muʿawwidh b. ʿAfrāʾ, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Salama al-Khuzāʿī from his uncle, and ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr. They mentioned from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he encouraged fasting the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ.”
Secondly, spending generously upon one’s dependants is amongst the unique aspects of this virtuous day.
Al-ʿAllāma al-Ḥaṣkafī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The ḥadīth concerning spending generously upon one’s dependants on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ is authentic [ṣaḥīḥ]. As for the ḥadīth concerning applying kohl on that day, it is weak [ḍaʿīf], not fabricated [mawḍūʿ], contrary to what Ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz claimed.”
Al-ʿAllāma Ibn ʿĀbidīn, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “As for the ḥadīth of spending generously, it has been narrated by reliable transmitters, and Ibn al-Qarrāfī devoted an independent treatise to it in which he cited its transmissions.”
Al-ʿAllāma al-Dardīr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is recommended on this day to spend generously, in a customary and reasonable manner, upon one’s family, relatives, and orphans.”
Al-ʿAllāma Sulaymān al-Jamal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is recommended on this day to spend generously upon one’s dependants and relatives, and to give charity to the poor and needy, without excess or affectation. If one finds nothing to give, then let him broaden his character and refrain from wronging others.”
Al-ʿAllāma al-Buhūtī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is appropriate on this day to spend generously upon one’s dependants. Ibn Manṣūr asked Aḥmad about it, and he said: ‘Yes.’ Sufyān b. ʿUyayna narrated it from Jaʿfar, from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. al-Muntashir, who was among the best people of his time, that it had reached him.”
Al-Ṭabarānī narrated in ‘al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr’ on the authority of our master Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever spends generously upon his family on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, Allah will grant him abundance throughout his entire year.” He also transmitted it from our master Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording: “Whoever spends generously upon his dependants on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ will remain in abundance for the rest of his year.”
Imām al-Bayhaqī also transmitted it in ‘Faḍl al-Shuhūr wa al-Ayyām’ on the authority of our master Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording: “Whoever spends generously upon his dependants and family on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, Allah will grant him abundance for the rest of his year.”
After narrating it through various routes and from a number of Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), Imām al-Bayhaqī commented: “These chains of transmission [asānīd], although weak [ḍaʿīf], when taken together impart strength.”
Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his ‘Amālī’ concerning the ḥadīth of our master Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him): “Ibn Nāṣir authenticated some of its routes. He said: It also has routes from Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) according to the condition of Muslim, some of which were cited by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr in ‘al-Istidhkār’. He and al-Dāraquṭnī also narrated, with a sound chain, a mawqūf report from ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Bayhaqī narrated in ‘al-Shuʿab’ from Muḥammad b. al-Muntashir that he said: ‘It used to be said…’ and he then mentioned it.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī gathered the various routes of this ḥadīth in a separate treatise, and they amounted to sixteen routes.
It was also authenticated by al-Ghumārī (may Allah have mercy on him) in ‘Hidaya al-Ṣugharāʾ bi-Taṣḥīḥ Ḥadīth Tawsīʿa Yawm ʿĀshūrāʾ’, and by al-Amīr al-Ṣaghīr (may Allah have mercy on him) in a separate treatise.
Our master Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I tried it (i.e., spending generously on 10th Muḥarram) for forty years, and it never failed.”
Sufyān b. ʿUyayna (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “We tried it for fifty or sixty years, and we saw nothing but good.”
Yaḥyā b. Saʿīd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “We tried it and found it to be true.”
It is also reported from Khālid b. Maʿdān (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: “There are five nights in the year: whoever consistently observes them, hoping for their reward and believing in what has been promised concerning them, Allah will admit him into Paradise. They are: the first night of Rajab, during which one stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day; the night of Fiṭr, during which one stands in prayer at night and does not fast during the day; the night of Aḍḥā, during which one stands in prayer at night and does not fast during the day; and the night of ʿĀshūrāʾ, during which one stands in prayer at night and fasts during the day.”
As for taking the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ as a day of mourning for our master al-Ḥusayn (may Allah be pleased with him) this is the practice of the people of bidʿa; one must therefore beware of resembling them in this regard.
Some scholars also recommended certain supplications on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, including the following:
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، سُبْحَانَ اللهِ مِلْءَ الْمِيزَانِ وَمُنْتَهَى الْعِلْمِ وَمَبْلَغَ الرِّضَا وَعَدَدَ النِّعَمِ وَزِنَةَ الْعَرْشِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلهِ مِلْءَ الْمِيزَانِ وَمُنْتَهَى الْعِلْمِ وَمَبْلَغَ الرِّضَا وَعَدَدَ النِّعَمِ وَزِنَةَ الْعَرْشِ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مِلْءَ الْمِيزَانِ وَمُنْتَهَى الْعِلْمِ وَمَبْلَغَ الرِّضَا وَعَدَدَ النِّعَمِ وَزِنَةَ الْعَرْشِ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ مِلْءَ الْمِيزَانِ وَمُنْتَهَى الْعِلْمِ وَمَبْلَغَ الرِّضَا وَعَدَدَ النِّعَمِ وَزِنَةَ الْعَرْشِ، لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ مِلْءَ الْمِيزَانِ وَمُنْتَهَى الْعِلْمِ وَمَبْلَغَ الرِّضَا وَعَدَدَ النِّعَمِ وَزِنَةَ الْعَرْشِ، لَا مَلْجَأَ وَلَا مَنْجَى مِنَ اللَّهِ إِلَّا إِلَيْهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللهِ عَدَدَ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَعَدَدَ كَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ، الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ عَدَدَ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَعَدَدَ كَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ عَدَدَ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَعَدَدَ كَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ عَدَدَ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَعَدَدَ كَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ، لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ عَدَدَ الشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَعَدَدَ كَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ، حَسْبُنَا اللهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ، نِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ، وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا كَثِيراً.
“In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Glory be to Allah to the fullness of the scale, to the utmost extent of knowledge, to the attainment of divine pleasure, to the number of blessings, and to the weight of the Throne. Praise be to Allah to the fullness of the scale, to the utmost extent of knowledge, to the attainment of divine pleasure, to the number of blessings, and to the weight of the Throne. There is no deity except Allah to the fullness of the scale, to the utmost extent of knowledge, to the attainment of divine pleasure, to the number of blessings, and to the weight of the Throne. Allah is the Greatest to the fullness of the scale, to the utmost extent of knowledge, to the attainment of divine pleasure, to the number of blessings, and to the weight of the Throne. There is no power nor strength except through Allah to the fullness of the scale, to the utmost extent of knowledge, to the attainment of divine pleasure, to the number of blessings, and to the weight of the Throne. There is no refuge and no deliverance from Allah except unto Him. Glory be to Allah by the number of the even and the odd, and by the number of the perfect words of Allah. Praise be to Allah by the number of the even and the odd, and by the number of the perfect words of Allah. There is no deity except Allah by the number of the even and the odd, and by the number of the perfect words of Allah. Allah is the Greatest by the number of the even and the odd, and by the number of the perfect words of Allah. There is no power nor strength except through Allah by the number of the even and the odd, and by the number of the perfect words of Allah. Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs, the best Protector and the best Helper. May Allah send abundant blessings and peace upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and Companions.”
Etiquette:
A Muslim should not allow any opportunity to pass by when it presents itself for following the Sunna of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in all of his states and actions, such as the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ and what has been transmitted concerning it. He should not say, “This is not farḍ, so I will not do it,” for such an attitude closes upon him a great door of goodness.
It has been narrated: “Indeed, your Lord has, throughout the days of your lifetime, spiritual gifts and openings; so expose yourselves to them, for perhaps one of you may receive such a gift and never be wretched thereafter.” Narrated by al-Ṭabarānī in ‘al-Awsaṭ’ and ‘al-Kabīr’.
Imām al-Ghazālī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “When Allah, Glorified is He, loves a servant, He employs him during virtuous times in virtuous deeds. And when He detests him, He employs him during virtuous times in evil deeds, so that this may be more painful in his punishment and more severe in His detestation of him, due to his being deprived of the blessing of the time and his violating the sanctity of the time.”
