Virtues of Muharram and Fasting on 'Ashura', The

Important - Muharram 1434H (2012CE)
Muharram began on 15 November according to Saudi Arabia (please note
that local sightings may differ). Therefeore, Ashura will be 24
November 2012 in Saudi Arabia.
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be
upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and Chief of the
Messengers, and upon all his family and companions.
Allah's sacred month ofMuharramis a blessed and important month. It is
the first month of theHijricalendar and is one of the four sacred
months concerning which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year),
so it was ordained by Allah 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 … "[Al-Qur'an9:36]
Abu Bakarah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:"The year is twelve
months of which four are sacred, the three consecutive months of
Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram, and Rajab Mudar which comes
between Jumadah and Sha'ban."[Reported by al-Bukhari, 2958]
Muharramis so called because it is a sacred (muharram) month and to
confirm its sanctity. Allah'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 'Abbas said that this phrase
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.
Qatadah said concerning this phrase that wrongdoing during the sacred
months is more serious and more sinful that wrongdoing at any other
time. Wrongdoing at any time is a serious matter, but Allah gives more
weight to whichever of His commands He will. Allah 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 monthsRamadhanand the sacred months, from among the
days Friday and from among the nightsLaylatul-Qadr, so venerate that
which Allah has told us to venerate. People of understanding and
wisdom venerate the things that Allah has told us to venerate.
[Summarized from theTafsirof Ibn Kathir,may Allah have mercy on
him.TafsirofSurah at-Tawbah,ayah36]
The Virtue of Observing MoreNafilFasts During Muharram
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:'The best of
fasting after Ramadhan is fasting Allah's month of Muharram.'"
[Reported by Muslim, 1982]
The phrase"Allah's month", connecting the name of the month to the
name of Allah in a genitive grammatical structure, signifies the
importance of the month. Al-Qari said:"The apparent meaning is all of
the month ofMuharram."But it was proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) never fasted any whole month apart
fromRamadhan, so thishadithis probably meant to encourage increasing
one's fasting duringMuharram, without meaning that one should fast for
the entire month.
It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) used to fast more inSha'ban. It is likely that the virtue
ofMuharramwas not revealed to him until the end of his life, before he
was able to fast during this month. [Sharh an-Nawawi 'ala Sahih
Muslim]
Allah Chooses Whatever Times and Places He Wills
Al-'Izz ibn 'Abdus-Salam (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"Times and
places may be given preferred status in two ways, either temporal or
religious/spiritual. With regard to the latter, this is because Allah
bestows His generosity on His slaves at those times or in those
places, by giving a greater reward for deeds done, such as giving a
greater reward for fasting inRamadhanthan for fasting at all other
times, and also on the day of'Ashura', the virtue of which is due to
Allah's generosity and kindness towards His slaves on that day …
"[Qawa'id al-Ahkam, 1/38]
'Ashura'in History
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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 fasted on this day.' He said,'We
have more right to Musa than you,'so he fasted on that day and
commanded [the Muslims] to fast on that day." [Reported by al-Bukhari,
1865] "This is a righteous day" – in a report narrated by Muslim, [the
Jews said:] "This is a great day, on which Allah saved Musa and his
people, and drowned Pharaoh and his people." "Musa fasted on this day"
– a report narrated by Muslim adds: " … in thanksgiving to Allah, so
we fast on this day." According to a report narrated by al-Bukhari: "
… so we fast on this day to venerate it." A version narrated
byImamAhmad adds: "This is the day on which the Ark settled on Mount
Judi, so Nuh fasted this day in thanksgiving," and "commanded [the
Muslims] to fast on that day" – according to another report also
narrated by al-Bukhari: "He said to his Companions:'You have more
right to Musa than they do, so fast on that day.'"
The practice of fasting on'Ashura'was known even in the days
ofJahiliyyah, before the Prophet's mission. It was reported that
'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said:"The people
ofJahiliyyahused to fast on that day … "
Al-Qurtubi said:"PerhapsQurayshused to fast on that day on the basis
of some past law, such as that of Ibrahim,upon whom be peace."
It was also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) used to fast on'Ashura'in Makkah, before he migrated to
Madinah. When he migrated to Madinah, he found the Jews celebrating
this day, so he asked them why, and they replied as described in
thehadithquoted above. He commanded the Muslims to be different from
the Jews, who took it as a festival, as was reported in thehadithof
Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:"The Jews used to
take the day of'Ashura'as a festival[according to a report narrated by
Muslim: the day of'Ashura'was venerated by the Jews, who took it as a
festival. According to another report also narrated by Muslim: 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 Allah be upon him) said:'So you [Muslims]
should fast on that day.'"[Reported by al-Bukhari] 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 ofal-HafidhIbn Hajar –may Allah have mercy
on him– inFath al-Bari Sharh 'ala Sahih al-Bukhari]
Fasting on'Ashura'was a gradual step in the process of introducing
fasting as a prescribed obligation in Islam. Fasting appeared in three
forms. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) came to Madinah, he told the Muslims to fast on three days
of every month and on the day of'Ashura', then Allah made fasting
obligatory when He said (interpretation of the meaning):" … observing
the fasting is prescribed for you … "[Al-Qur'an2:183] [Ahkam
al-Qur'anby al-Jassas, part 1]
The obligation was transferred from the fast of'Ashura'to the fast
ofRamadhan, and this one of the proofs in the field ofUsul al-Fiqhthat
it is possible to abrogate a lighter duty in favour of a heavier duty.
Before the obligation of fasting'Ashura'was abrogated, fasting on this
day was obligatory, as can be seen from the clear command to observe
this fast. Then it was further confirmed later on, then reaffirmed by
making it a general command addressed to everybody, and once again by
instructing mothers not to breastfeed their infants during this fast.
It was reported from Ibn Mas'ud that when fastingRamadhanwas made
obligatory, the obligation to fast'Ashura'was lifted, i.e., it was no
longer obligatory to fast on this day, but it is still desirable
(mustahabb).
The Virtues of Fasting'Ashura'
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:"I never saw the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) so keen
to fast any day and give it priority over any other than this day, the
day of'Ashura', and this month, meaningRamadhan."[Reported by
al-Bukhari, 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 Allah be upon him) said:"For fasting the day of 'Ashura',
I hope that Allah will accept it as expiation for the year that went
before."[Reported by Muslim, 1976] This is from the bounty of Allah
towards us: for fasting one day He gives us expiation for the sins of
a whole year.And Allah is the Owner of Great Bounty.
Which Day is'Ashura'?
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"'Ashura'andTasu'a'are
two elongated names [the vowels are elongated] as is stated in books
on the Arabic language. Our companions said:'Ashura'is the tenth day
ofMuharramandTasu'a'is the ninth day. This is our opinion, and that of
the majority of scholars. This is the apparent meaning of
theahadithand is what we understand from the general wording. It is
also what is usually understood by scholars of the
language."[Al-Majmu'])
'Ashura'is an Islamic name that was not known at the time
ofJahiliyyah. [Kashshaf al-Qina', part 2,Sawm Muharram]
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"'Ashura'is the tenth
day ofMuharram. This is the opinion of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib and
al-Hasan. It was what was reported by Ibn 'Abbas, who said: 'The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
commanded us to fast'Ashura', the tenth day ofMuharram.'[Reported by
at-Tirmidhi, who said, asahih hasan hadith]It was reported that Ibn
'Abbas said: 'The ninth,' and reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) used to fast the ninth. [Reported by
Muslim] 'Ata' reported that he said, 'Fast the ninth and the tenth,
and do not be like the Jews.' If this is understood, we can say on
this basis that it ismustahabb(encouraged) to fast on the ninth and
the tenth, for that reason. This is what Ahmad said, and it is the
opinion of Ishaq."
It isMustahabb(Encouraged) to FastTasu'a'with'Ashura'
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:"When
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
fasted on'Ashura'and commanded the Muslims to fast as well, they said,
'O Messenger of Allah, it is a day that is venerated by the Jews and
Christians.' The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said,'If I live to see the next year, in sha Allah, we will
fast on the ninth day too.'But it so happened that the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed away before
the next year came."[Reported by Muslim, 1916]
Ash-Shafi'i and his companions, Ahmad, Ishaq and others said:"It
ismustahabbto fast on both the ninth and tenth days, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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'Ashura', 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
inMuharram, the better it is.
The Reason Why it isMustahabbto Fast onTasu'a'
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"The scholars – our
companions and others – mentioned several reasons why it ismustahabbto
fast onTasu'a':
"The intention behind it is to be different from the Jews, who only
venerate the tenth day. This opinion was reported from Ibn 'Abbas …
"The intention is to add another day's fast to'Ashura'. This is akin
to the prohibition on fasting a Friday by itself, as was mentioned by
al-Khattabi and others.
"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 ofMuharramand the ninth is in fact the tenth."
The strongest of these reasons is being different from the People of
the Book.Shaykh ul-Islamibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:"The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade
imitating the People of the Book in manyahadith, for example, his
words concerning'Ashura':'If I live until the next year, I will
certainly fast on the ninth day.'"[Al-Fatawa al-Kubra, part 6,Sadd
adh-Dhara'i' al-Mufdiyyah ila'l-Maharim]
Ibn Hajar (may Allah be pleased with him) said in his commentary on
thehadith"If I live until the next year, I will certainly fast on the
ninth day"and"What he meant by fasting on the ninth day was probably
not that he would limit himself to that day, but would add it to the
tenth, either to be on the safe side or to be different from the Jews
and Christians, which is more likely. This is also what we can
understand from some of the reports narrated by Muslim."[Fath, 4/245]
Ruling on Fasting Only on the Day of'Ashura'
Shaykh ul-Islamsaid:"Fasting on the day of'Ashura'is an expiation for
a year, and it is notmakruhto fast only that day … "[Al-Fatawa
al-Kubra, part 5] InTuhfat al-Muhtajby Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, it
says:"There is nothing wrong with fasting only on'Ashura'."[Part 3,Bab
Sawm at-Tatawwu']
Fasting on'Ashura'even if it is a Saturday or a Friday
At-Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) allowed us to fast
on'Ashura'and urged us to do so. He did not say that if it falls on a
Saturday we should not fast. This is evidence that all days of the
week are included in this. In our view –and Allah knows best– it could
be the case that even if this is true (that it is not allowed to fast
on Saturdays), it is so that we do not venerate this day and refrain
from food, drink and intercourse, as the Jews do. As for the one who
fasts on a Saturday without intending to venerate it, and does not do
so because the Jews regard it as blessed, then this is notmakruh…
"[Mushkil al-Athar, part 2,Bab Sawm Yawm as-Sabt]
The author ofAl-Minhajsaid:"It is disliked (makruh) to fast on a
Friday alone … But it is no longermakruhif you add another day to it,
as mentioned in thesahihreport to that effect. A person may fast on a
Friday if it coincides with his habitual fast, or he is fasting in
fulfilment of a vow, or he is making up an obligatory fast that he has
missed, as was stated in asahihreport."
Ash-Sharih said inTuhfat al-Muhtaj:"If it coincides with his habitual
fast – i.e., such as if he fasts alternate days, and a day that he
fasts happens to be a Friday, if he is fasting in fulfilment of a vow,
etc."– this also applies to fasting on days prescribed inShari'ah,
such as'Ashura'or 'Arafah. [Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, part 3,Bab Sawm
al-Tatawwu']
Al-Bahuti (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"It ismakruhto
deliberately single out a Saturday for fasting, because of thehadithof
'Abdullah ibn Bishr, who reported from his sister: 'Do not fast on
Saturdays except in the case of obligatory fasts' [reported by Ahmad
with ajayyid isnadand by al-Hakim, who said: according to the
conditions of al-Bukhari], and because it is a day that is venerated
by the Jews, so singling it out for fasting means being like them …
except when a Friday or Saturday coincides with a day when Muslims
habitually fast, such as when it coincides with the day of 'Arafah or
the day of'Ashura', and a person has the habit of fasting on these
days, in which case it is notmakruh, because a person's habit carries
some weight."[Kashshaf al-Qina', part 2,Bab 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-Mughniby Ibn Qudamah, part 3 –as-Siyam–Siyam 'Ashur']
If a person does not know whenMuharrambegan, and he wants to be sure
of fasting on the tenth, he should assume thatDhul-Hijjahwas 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 ifDhul-Hijjahwas twenty-nine days, he can
be sure of having fastedTasu'a'and'Ashura').
But given that fasting on'Ashura'ismustahabbrather thanwajib, people
are not commanded to look for the crescent of the new moon
ofMuharramas they are to do in the case ofRamadhanandShawwal.
Fasting'Ashura'– For What Does it Offer Expiation?
Imaman-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:"It expiates for all
minor sins, i.e., it brings forgiveness of all sins except major
sins."Then he said (may Allah have mercy on him):"Fasting the day of
'Arafah expiates for two years, and the day of'Ashura'expiates for one
year. If when a person says 'Amin' it coincides with the 'Amin' of the
angels, he will be forgiven all his previous sins … Each one of the
things that we have mentioned will bring expiation. If there are minor
sins for which expiation is needed, expiation for them will be
accepted; if there are no minor sins or major sins, good deeds will be
added to his account and he will be raised in status … If he had
committed major sins but no minor sins, we hope that his major sins
will be reduced."[Al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, part 6,Sawm Yawm
'Arafah]
Shaykh ul-IslamIbn Taymiyyah (ay Allah have mercy on himmay Allah have
mercy on him) said:"Taharah,salah, and fasting inRamadhan, on the day
of 'Arafah and on'Ashura'expiate for minor sins only."[Al-Fatawa
al-Kubra, part 5]
Not Relying Too Much on the Reward for Fasting
Some people who are deceived rely too much on things like fasting
on'Ashura'or the day of 'Arafah, to the extent that some of them say,
"Fasting on'Ashura'will expiate for the sins of the whole year, and
fasting on the day of 'Arafah will bring extra rewards." Ibn al-Qayyim
said:"This misguided person does not know that fasting inRamadhanand
praying five times a day are much more important than fasting on the
day of 'Arafah and'Ashura', and that they expiate for the sins between
oneRamadhanand the next, or between one Friday and the next, so long
as one avoids major sins. But they cannot expiate for minor sins
unless one also avoids major sins; when the two things are put
together, they have the strength to expiate for minor sins. Among
those deceived people may be one who thinks that his good deeds are
more than his sins, because he does not pay attention to his bad deeds
or check on his sins, but if he does a good deed he remembers it and
relies on it. This is like the one who seeks Allah's forgiveness with
his tongue (i.e., by words only), and glorifies Allah by
saying"Subhanallah"one hundred times a day, then he backbites about
the Muslims and slanders their honour, and speaks all day long about
things that are not pleasing to Allah. This person is always thinking
about the virtues of histasbihat(saying "Subhanallah")
andtahlilat(saying "La ilaha illallah") but he pays no attention to
what has been reported concerning those who backbite, tell lies and
slander others, or commit other sins of the tongue. They are
completely deceived."[Al-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, part 31,Ghurur]
Fasting'Ashura'When One Still has Days to Make Up From Ramadhan
Thefuqaha'differed concerning the ruling on observing voluntary fasts
before a person has made up days that he or she did not fast
inRamadhan. The Hanafis said that it is permissible to observe
voluntary fasts before making up days fromRamadhan, and it is
notmakruhto do so, because the missed days do not have to be made up
straight away. The Malikis and Shafi'is said that it is permissible
but ismakruh, because it means that one is delaying something
obligatory. Ad-Dusuqi said:"It ismakruhto observe a voluntary fast
when one still has to make up an obligatory fast, such as a fast in
fulfilment of a vow, or a missed obligatory fast, or a fast done as an
act of expiation (kafarah), whether the voluntary fast which is being
given priority over an obligatory fast is something confirmed
inShari'ahor not, such as'Ashura'and the ninth ofDhul-Hijjah,
according to the most correct opinion."The Hanbalis said that it
isharamto observe a voluntary fast before making up any fasts missed
inRamadhan, 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-Mawsu'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, part 28,Sawm at-Tatawwu']
Muslims must hasten to make up any missed fasts afterRamadhan, so that
they will be able to fast 'Arafah and'Ashura'without any problem. If a
person fasts 'Arafah and'Ashura'with the intention from the night
before of making up for a missed fast, this will be good enough to
make up what he has missed, for the bounty of Allah is great.
Innovations Common on'Ashura'
Shaykh ul-IslamIbn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked
about the things that people deople do on'Ashura', such as
wearingkohl, taking a bath (ghusl), wearinghenna, shaking hands with
one another, cooking grains (hubub), showing happiness and so on. Was
any of this reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) in asahih hadith, or not? If nothing to that effect was
reported in asahih hadith, is doing these thingsbid'ah, or not? Is
there any basis for what the other group do, such as grieving and
mourning, going without anything to drink, eulogizing and wailing,
reciting in a crazy manner, and rending their garments?rments?
His reply was:"Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Nothing to
that effect has been reported in anysahih hadithfrom the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or from his Companions.
None of the Imams of the Muslims encouraged or recommended such
things, neither the four Imams, nor any others. No reliable scholars
have narrated anything like this, neither from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him), nor from theSahabah, nor from
theTabi'in; neither in anysahihreport or in ada'if(weak) report;
neither in the books ofSahih, nor inas-Sunan, nor in the Musnads.
Nohadithof this nature was known during the best centuries, but some
of the later narrators reportedahadithlike the one which says,
'Whoever putskohlin his eyes on the day of'Ashura'will not suffer from
eye disease in that year, and whoever takes a bath (doesghusl) on the
day of'Ashura'will not get sick in that year,' and so on. They also
reported a fabricatedhadiththat is falsely attributed to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), which says, 'Whoever is
generous to his family on the day of'Ashura', Allah will be generous
to him for the rest of the year.' Reporting all of this from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is tantamount to
lying."
Then he [Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)] discussed in
brief the tribulations that had occurred in the early days of
thisUmmahand the killing of al-Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him),
and what the various sects had done because of this. Then he said:
"An ignorant, wrongful group – who were either heretics and
hypocrites, or misguided and misled – made a show of allegiance to him
and the members of his household, so they took the day of'Ashura'as a
day of mourning and wailing, in which they openly displayed the
rituals ofjahiliyyahsuch as slapping their cheeks and rending their
garments, grieving in the manner of thejahiliyyah...…
"The Shaytan made this attractive to those who are misled, so they
took the day of'Ashura'as an occasion of mourning, when they grieve
and wail, recite poems of grief and tell stories filled with lies.
Whatever truth there may be in these stories serves no purpose other
than the renewal of their grief and sectarian feeling, and the
stirring up of hatred and hostility among the Muslims, which they do
by cursing those who came before them …
"The evil and harm that they do to the Muslims cannot be enumerated by
any man, no matter how eloquent he is. Some others – either Nasibis
who oppose and have enmity towards al-Husayn and his family or
ignorant people who try to fight evil with evil, corruption with
corruption, lies with lies andbid'ahwithbid'ah– opposed them by
fabricating reports in favour of making the day of'Ashura'a day of
celebration, by wearingkohlandhenna, spending money on one's children,
cooking special dishes and other things that are done on'Eidand
special occasions. These people took the day of'Ashura'as a festival
like'Eid, whereas the others took it as a day of mourning. Both are
wrong, and both go against theSunnah, even though the other group
(those who take it as a day of mourning) are worse in intention and
more ignorant and more plainly wrong …
"Neither the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) nor
his successors (thekhulafa' ar-rashidun) did any of these things on
the day of'Ashura',they neither made it a day of mourning nor a day of
celebration …
"As for the other things, such as cooking special dishes with or
without grains, or wearing new clothes, or spending money on one's
family, or buying the year's supplies on that day, or doing special
acts of worship such as special prayers or deliberately slaughtering
an animal on that day, or saving some of the meat of the sacrifice to
cook with grains, or wearingkohlandhenna, or taking a bath (ghusl), or
shaking hands with one another, or visiting one another, or visiting
the mosques and shrines and so on … all of this is
reprehensiblebid'ahand is wrong. None of it has anything to do with
theSunnahof the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) or the way of theKhulafa' ar-Rashidun. It was not approved
of by any of the Imams of the Muslims, not Malik, not ath-Thawri, not
al-Layth ibn Sa'ad, not Abu Hanifah, not al-Awza'i, not al-Shafi'i,
not Ahmad ibn Hanbal, not Ishaq ibn Rahwayh, not any of the Imams and
scholars of the Muslims."[Al-Fatawa al-Kubraby Ibn Taymiyyah]
Ibn al-Hajj (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that one of
thebid'ahon'Ashura'was deliberately payingzakaton this day, late or
early, or slaughtering a chicken just for this occasion, or – in the
case of women – usinghenna. [Al-Madkhal, part 1,Yawm 'Ashura']
We ask Allah to make us followers of the Sunnah of His Noble Prophet,
to make us live in Islam and die in a state of faith. May He help us
to do that which He loves and which pleases Him. We ask Him to help us
to remember Him and be thankful to Him, to worship Him properly and to
accept our good deeds. May He make us of those who are pious and fear
Him. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and all his family and
companions.