10 essential facts about ‘Ashura’

The Meaning of ‘Ashura’:

‘Ashura’ is derived from the word, ‘Asharah, which means ten in Arabic. ‘Ashura’ signifies the 10^th of al-Muharram.

The Sacred month of Allah in which ‘Ashura’ appears:

 Al-Muharram is one of the sacred months alluded to in the following Qur’anic verse:

‘Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve [lunar] months in the register of Allah [from] the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them…’ (Qur’an, 9:36)

And named in the following hadith:

‘On the authority of Abu Bakrah (ra) that the Prophet (saw) said, “Time has come back to its original state which it had when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth; the year is twelve months, four of which are sacred. Three of them are in succession: Dhul-Qa‘dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Al-Muharram and Rajab of Mudar [named after the tribe of Mudar as they used to respect this month], which stands between Jumada (ath-Thani) and Sha‘ban”’. (Bukhari)

Giving charity on ‘Ashura’ is equal to an entire year’s worth of charity:

'On the authority of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that he said, “Whoever fasts ‘Ashura’ it is as if he has fasted the entire year. And whoever gives charity this day it is like the charity of an entire year”’. (Ibn Rajab’s Lata’if al-Ma‘arif)

The covering (Kiswah) of the Ka‘bah used to be changed on ‘Ashura’:

‘On the authority of ‘Aishah (ra) who said, “The people used to fast on 'Ashura before the fasting of Ramadan was made obligatory. And on that day the Ka‘bah used to be covered with a cover. When Allah made the fasting of the month of Ramadan compulsory, Allah’s Messenger (saw) said, ‘Whoever wishes to fast (on the day of ‘Ashura’) may do so; and whoever wishes to leave it can do so”’. (Bukhari)

Fasting on ‘Ashura’ wipes out the sins of the past year:

‘On the authority of Abu Qatadah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw), was asked about fasting on the day of ‘Ashura’, and he said, “It expiates [wipes out the minor sins of] the past year”’. (Muslim)

‘Ashura’ is an immense day of repentance:

‘The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “If you will fast after the month of Ramadan, then fast al-Muharram, for indeed it is Allah’s month in which there is a day that Allah accepted the repentance of a people, and in which He accepts the repentance of other people”’ (Tirmidhi).

Fast beyond the day of ‘Ashura’:

 ‘On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) who said that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “If I remain [alive] till the following year, I will most certainly fast the ninth [alongside the 10th al-Muharram]”’ (Muslim).

‘On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that the Prophet (saw) said, “Fast the Day of ‘Ashura’ and be different from the Jews by fasting a day before it or a day after it.” (Ahmad)

Be generous to your family on ‘Ashura’:

 ‘The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “One who generously spends on his family on the day of ‘Ashura’, Allah will be generous on him for the entire year”’ (Baihaqi).

Regarding this, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rh) quotes Sufyan ibn Uyayna (rh) as saying, ‘I have practiced this [spending on the family] for fifty or sixty years and have found nothing but good in it’. (Lata’if al-Ma‘arif)

Allah (swt) saved Musa (as) and the Children of Israel on ‘Ashura’:

‘On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said, “The Prophet (saw) came to Madinah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of ‘Ashura’. He said, ‘What is this?’ They said, ‘This is a righteous day, it is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemies, so Musa [as] fasted on this day’. He said, ‘We have more right to Musa [as] than you’, so he fasted on that day and commanded [the Muslims] to fast on that day”’. (Bukhari)

‘Then We inspired to Musa [as], “Strike with your staff the sea,” and it parted, and each portion was like a great towering mountain. ⁶⁴ And We advanced thereto the pursuers. ⁶⁵ And We saved Musa [as] and those with him, all together. ⁶⁶ Then We drowned the others. ⁶⁷ Indeed in that is a sign, but most of them were not to be believers. ⁶⁸ And indeed, your Lord - He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful’. (Qur’an, 26:63-68)

Nuh’s (as) ark landed on Mount Judiyy (modern day Turkey) on ‘Ashura’:

‘In a narration reported by Imam Ahmad (rh), it was on this day that the Ark of Nuh (as) came to rest on Mount Judiyy’. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

‘And it was said, “O earth, swallow your water, and O sky, withhold [your rain]”. And the water subsided, and the matter was accomplished, and the ship [the ark of Nuh (as)] came to rest on the [mountain of] Judiyy. And it was said, “Away with the wrongdoing people”’. (Qur’an, 11:44)