Tarteel Language & Cultural Center

The fasting on the Day of Ashura is on the 10th of Muharram.

Firstly: What is the reward of fasting 'Ashura?
Fasting the day of 'Ashura does expiate for the past year, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Fasting the day of ‘Arafah I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year before it and the year after it, and fasting the day of 'Ashura I hope Allah will expiate thereby for the year that came before it.” Narrated by Muslim, 1162. This is by the bounty that Allah bestows upon us, whereby fasting one day expiates for the sins of a whole year. And Allah is the Owner of great bounty.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to be very keen to make sure he fasted on the day of 'Ashura because of its great status. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I never saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so keen to make sure he fasted any day and preferring it over another except this day, the day of 'Ashura, and this month – meaning Ramadaan. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1867.

What is meant by being keen to make sure he fasted it is so as to earn its reward.

Secondly: Why did the Prophet fast the day of 'Ashura?
With regard to the reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fasted on the day of 'Ashura and urged the people to do likewise is mentioned in the hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari (1865) from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) came to Madeenah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of 'Ashura. He said, “What is this?” They said, “This is a good day, this is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy and Moosa fasted on this day.” He said, “We are closer to Moosa than you.” So he fasted on this day and told the people to fast.

It is recommended to fast on the 9th of 'Ashura with the 10th
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted on the day of ‘Ashoora and told the people to fast, they said, “O Messenger of Allaah, this is a day that is venerated by the Jews and Christians.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Next year, if Allaah wills, we will fast on the ninth day.” But by the time the following year came, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had passed away. Narrated by Muslim, 1916.

Al-Shaafa’i and his companions, Ahmad, Ishaaq and others said: It is mustahabb [recommended] to fast both the ninth and the tenth, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) fasted the tenth and intended to fast the ninth.

The wisdom of fasting the 9th of 'Ashura with the 10th
Based on this, there are different ways of fasting 'Ashura, the least of which is to fast the tenth only, but it is better to fast the ninth as well. The more one fasts in Muharram, the better.

If one were to ask, what is the wisdom behind fasting the ninth as well as the tenth? The answer is:

Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The scholars among our companions and others said that there are several reasons for recommending fasting on the ninth day (Tasoo’a’):

1 – The intention behind it is to be different from the Jews who limit their fasting to the tenth day. This was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas.

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