Recommendation to fastTaasoo’a’ with ‘Ashoora’

I want to fast 'Ashoora' this year, but some people told me that the
Sunnah is to fast the day before as well (Taasoo'a'). Is there any
report that this was the teaching of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
'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 Allaahwills, 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: Itis
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.
Based on this, there are different ways of fasting'Ashoora', the least
of which is to fast the tenthonly, 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 answeris:
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 behindit is to be different from the Jews who limit
their fasting to the tenth day. This was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas.
2 – The intention was to join the fast of 'Ashoora' to another day,
just as it is not allowed to fast on a Friday on its own [but it is
allowed if one fasts the day before or the day after as well].
3 – The idea is to be on the safe side and make sure one is fasting on
the tenth, in case the moon sighting was not accurate and what people
think is the ninthis actually the tenth.
The strongest of these reasons is in order to be different from the
People of the Book. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade resembling the
People ofthe Book in many ahaadeeth. For example,he said concerning
'Ashoora': "If I live until next year I will certainly fast the
ninth." Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, part 6.
Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said,commenting on the
hadeeth "If I live until next year I will certainly fast the ninth":
His concern to fast the ninth may be understood as meaning that he
would not limit himself to that, rather that he would add it to the
tenth, either to be on the safe side, or to bedifferent from the Jews
and Christians, which is more likely to be correct;this is what may be
understood from some of the reports narrated by Muslim."

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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So fond of meeting hisLord

Someone asked Junaid Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him),"How was
it that Abu Sa'eed Khazzaz (he was a very pious man) was insuch a joy
at the point ofdeath?" Junaid replied,"He was so fond of meeting his
Lord that one could expect his soulto fly to heavens even before the
time of deathto meet his Lord." Source:"Fadhail-e-sadaqaa Part II",
translated by Prof. AbdulKarim.
My dear friends, today we are so involved with the worldly affairs
that meeting Allah is the last thing we consider.

No choice but to regret

Once, a group of people were travelling on rocks at night. A voice
came from the sky that whosoever picks up the rocks will regret and
whosoever doesn't pick up the rocks will regret. Now, the people were
confused. How can this be? Whether you pick upthe rocks or not, you
willregret! Anyway, some people picked up the rocks and some didn't.
Inthe morning when they reached their homes, they saw that the rocks
turned into diamonds. Now, those people who didn't pick up the rocks
started regretting saying"If only we had picked up some rocks." Those
people who did pick some rocks also started regretting saying "Why
didn't we pick up more rocks?" Both sides endedup regretting. Dear
Muslims, this same incident will take place with us on the Day of
Judgement. Those people who spent their time in useless things will
start regretting by looking at those who achieved a great position in
Paradise by spending their time in the way of Allah. Now, those who
did achieve a position in Paradise will start regretting by looking at
those who did more than them and are higher in status."Alas! If we had
only done more to please Allah."

Become like flexible water

The following incident took place last year when I was travelling with
an elderly Muslim brother. We call him"Brother Wali". We met aMuslim
family and the family told brother Wali to give them some advice. Here
is what brother Wali told them: A Muslim is like water. Water is so
flexible that where ever you place it, it takes the shape of
thatobject. For example, if you put some water in a glass, it takes
the shape of the glass. If you run the water through a tangled hose,
it will takethe shape of that also. The same way, a Muslim should be
flexible to the orders of Allah. He should fit into whatever Allah
wants. If we put aniron into the glass, then either the glass will
break or the iron will break. The same way, if we are not flexible to
the orders of Allah and become hard like iron, then either we will
break or we will break the orders of Allah.
A hadith states: The believers are very obedient (to Allah), gentle,
and kind, like an obedient camel which when led follows and when made
to sit, even though on a rock, does so obediently. (Tirmidhi).

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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