Question:
- What is the ruling on the fast of the day of Ashura?
Answer:
- When the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Medina, he found the jews fasting the tenth day of the month of Muharram. So He (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I have more right to Moosa then you all, so he fasted it and told the others to fast it” (narrated by al Bukhari and Muslim). In the hadeeth of Ibn Abaas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessing be upon him) fasted A’shoorah and commanded that it be fasted, and the authenticity of this hadeeth is agreed upon by both al Bukhari and Muslim. Also, he was asked about the virtues of fasting it and he said, “Seek your reward from Allah to forgive your sins for the previous year” (narrated by Muslim). After that he commanded that the Muslims should do differently that that which was done by the jews, by fasting the tenth and the ninth or the eleventh.
- So what an individual should do is to fast the tenth and adds to it the day before it or the day after it. It is better that the person fasts the ninth along with the tenth, than fasting the tenth and adding to it the eleventh.
- It is recommended for you my brother to fast the day of Ashura, and also the day before it (being the ninth).
[Taken from Fatawah Arkan al Islam by Sheikh Uthaimeen]
[Translated by Abu Abdillah Abdul Lateef]
