Fasting on Ashoora
Doing this means bagging a lot of blessings
MUHARRAM BY DR. FAIZ FAZILI
The best kind of joy for a human being is to be always in the state of Dhikr (remembering Allah) and does not get tired of it, remembers the blessings of Allah and throughout the night and day is after attracting Allah's (ST) pleasure for seeking His forgiveness and mercy. And the most lasting kind of life is when a person is ever-vigilant of himself, prefers Allah's (ST) desire over his own until the world becomes insignificant and valueless, and the Hereafter great and valuable for him. When the Day of judgment comes, we will without doubt all desire to steer clear from our sins and wish that we had done more good deeds that would be cause for removal of our bad deeds. The true Muslim always takes the advantage of the blessed occasions and days of Islam. He spares no efforts in drawing himself nearer to Allah. In doing so, he concerns himself with knowing the virtuous days and occasions in Islam so as to follow his Prophet's suit in all spheres of life.The blessed month of Muharram has begun..Besides being the first month of the Islamic calendar and one of the four sacred months during which good deeds bring a greater reward,the month of Muharram is an occasion to commemorate the great sacrifice of Imam Hussain (AS ), the other significance's of the day of Aashoora , Al-Bukhaari has the words ;Ibn ‘Abbaas (RA said: “The Prophet (saw) came to Madina and saw the Jews fasting on the day of ‘Aashoora’. He said, ‘What is this,” The people replied, "This is a good day; this is the day that Allah(ST) saved the Children of Israel from their enemies,".; A report narrated by Muslim says: "This is a great day, when Allah saved Moosa (AS) and his people, and drowned Pharaoh and his people." Where Al-Bukhaari has the words ,"so Moosa (AS) fasted on this day," Prophet (saw)said ,”‘We have more right to Moosa than you,” so he fasted on that day and commanded [the Muslims] to fast on that day.Al-Muslim adds: "in gratitude to Allah(AS), so we fast on this day." Imam Ahmad also reported this, with the addition: "This is the day on which the Ark came to rest on (Mount) Joodi, so Hadrat Nooh(AS) fasted this day in gratitude." It is mustahabb (encouraged) to fast on the ninth of Muharram (Taasooa) with ‘10th Muharram (Aashoora). Ibn `Abbas (RA) said: “I never saw Allah’s Messenger (saw ) so keen to fast any day and give it priority over any other than this day, the day of `Aashoora', and this month, meaning Ramadan.” (Al-Bukhari -Hadih 1867). Fasting is pure worship: The fact that a person is abstaining from food and drink both in public and in secret shows his/her honest faith and strong love of Allah, and his/her knowledge and feeling that Allah is all-knowing of everything. For this reason Allah has made the reward for fasting greater than for any other type of worship. Allah (ST) said in the hadith Qudsi: “Every deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied [in rewards], the good deed by ten of its like, up to seven hundreds, up to whatever Allah wills, except fasting, it is for Me and I will reward it. He abandons his desire and his food for My sake..” ( Muslim) The Prophet (saw) said about the voluntary fasting on the day of Aashoora ,”it expiates the sins of the preceding year .”(Muslim). Our Prophet(SAW) performed fasting outside Ramadan, too. They are generally nafila (supererogatory) fasting. That is, they are not compulsory. The Prophet (saw ) performed supererogatory fasting in certain months and on certain days and advised fasting on those days mentioning their virtue and reward. Essentially, supererogatory acts of worshipping are those that make servants of Allah (ST) to gain reward when they are performed but there is no punishment when they are skipped. Many scholars opine it is mustahabb (encouraged) to fast on the ninth of Muharram(Taasooa) with ‘10th muharram (Aashoora). This is the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) regarding to 'Aashoora. The Companions of the Prophet performed fasting on those days as they saw the Prophet)saw) perform They have not distinguished this day by any practice except fasting. Some scholars suggested that perhaps the reason for fasting both the ninth and tenth days was so as not to resemble the Jews by fasting only the tenth day. Imam Muslim narrated from Ibn Abbas, he said: "When the Messenger of Allah (saw) fasted on the day of Aashoora- and commanded that it should be observed as a fast, they (his Companions) said to him: Messenger of Allah, it is a day which the Jews and Christians hold in high esteem. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: When the next year comes, God willing, we would observe fast on the 9th . But the Messenger of Allah (saw) passed away from this earthly world before the advent of the next year".The practice of fasting on ‘Aashoora’ was known even in the days of Jaahiliyyah, before the Mission of the Prophet (saw). It is reported in the Sahih of Imam Al-Bukhari and other authentic collections of hadith that the Prophet (saw) and his Companions used to fast on the 10th day of Muharram while they were in Makkah (before the hijrah). It was a day on which people of Makkah used to change the covering (kiswah) of the Ka`bah. Quraysh also used to fast on this day. (Al-Bukhari, hadith 1489 and 1760)
