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The Day of Ashura'
Author : An Article by His Grace Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalayleh
Date Added : 19-09-2018

 

 

The tenth day of the Sacred Month is called Ashura' according the majority of Muslim scholars, such as Saeed Ibn Al-Mosaib, Al-Hassan Al-Basri, Malik, Ahmad, Isaac among others, since Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) narrated: "The Messenger of Allah enjoined fasting the tenth day for the  Day of Ashura." [At-Tirmithi]

 

Some narrations on fasting the aforementioned day:

 

1. Ibn Abbas narrated: "I never saw the Prophet (PBUH) seeking to fast on a day more (preferable to him) than this day, the day of 'Ashura', or this month, i.e. the month of Ramadan." [Agreed upon].

 

In his commentary on the aforementioned Hadith, Al-Hafez Ibn Hajar (May Allah have mercy on his soul) said: "In terms of reward, the day of Ashura' is the best day to be fasted after Ramadan. However, Ibn Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said: "according to what he heard:" Fasting the day of Ashura' atones the sins of the preceding year, and fasting the day of Arafah atones the preceding and the current year. Ibn Abbas is of the view that the reward for fasting the day of Arafah is greater than that of Ashura'. However, he combined them in his narration, although fasting the former is obligatory while fasting the latter is recommended, to indicate that a person will be rewarded for fasting both. This is because the meaning of (seek), as mentioned in the narration, is intending and desiring to fast the day of Ashura` to gain the whole reward.

 

Ibn Omar (May Allah be pleased with them) said: "In Jahiliyah' (Pre-Islamic period of ignorance), we used to observe fast on the day of Ashura`.But, when fasting at the month of Ramadan was prescribed, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "This is one of the days of Allah; he who wishes may fast on it." [Agreed upon].

 

2. Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her) narrated: "During the Pre-Islamic Period of ignorance the Quraish used to observe fasting on the day of 'Ashura', and the Prophet (PBUH) himself used to observe fasting on it too. However, when he came to Medina, he fasted on that day and ordered the Muslims to fast on it. When (the order of compulsory fasting in ) Ramadan was revealed, fasting in Ramadan became an obligation, and fasting on 'Ashura' was given up, and who ever wished to fast (on it) did so, and whoever did not wish to fast on it, did not fast. [Agreed upon]. In addition, Al-Imam An-Nawawi (May Allah have mercy on his soul) said (What means): "The majority of the Muslim scholars are of the view that fasting the day of Ashura' is a recommended deed, not an obligation."

 

3. Moreover, Abu Qatada reported that the Prophet (PBUH) said (What means): "fasting on the day of 'Arafa may atone for the sins of the preceding and the coming years, and I seek from Allah that fasting on the day of Ashura may atone for the sins of the preceding year." [Moslim].

 

 

The Wisdom behind fasting it:

 

The day of Ashura' is the day in which Allah, The Exalted, saved His Prophet Musa and his people from the Pharaoh and his army. As an act of thankfulness to Allah, Musa fasted that day. Our Prophet (PBUH) has fasted that day and commanded Muslims to do so where he (PBUH) said (What means): "We have more right to Musa than you do."

 

Actually, the Prophet (PBUH) along with all the members of the Muslim nation have more right to Musa and other Prophets and Messengers than non-Muslims, because they respect, adore and believe in all of them (Prophets and Messengers) without any sort of distinction or preference; constituting a patron to their religion (Islam), the religion of Allah, The Lord of The Worlds.

 

Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) recommended fasting this day since it reflects a great wisdom, among others, and that is: Allah's religion is one and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent to complete this message.

 

Is it reprehensible to fast only the day of Ashura'?

 

Ibn 'Abbas reported that when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) fasted on the day of 'Ashura and commanded that it should he 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 (PBUH) said: When the next year comes, God willing, we would observe fast on the 9th But the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) died before the advent of the next year." [Moslim].

 

 

Furthermore, Al-Hafeth Ibn Hajar (May Allah have mercy on his soul) said (What means): "When the Prophet(PBUH) intended to fast the 9th day: This implies fasting  it in addition to the 10th in order to free ones-self from the liability or, according to the closest interpretation, to do contrary to the Jews and Christians. This is according to many narrations by Moslim and Ahmad who reported the following traceable Hadith that Ibn Abbas narrated, The Prophet (PBUH) said (What means): "Fast the day of Ashura' contrary to the Jews; by fasting a day before or after it." And this was the last narration in this regard. And Allah Knows Best.

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on wudu (ablution) when there is an adhesive substance on the hand that is difficult to remove?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The general principle is: if what is applied to the limbs of wudu' (ablution) does not form a barrier substance preventing water from reaching the skin, then the wudu' is valid despite its presence. However, if these substances prevent water from reaching the skin, the wudu' is not valid with their presence, and they must be removed so that water reaches the hair or skin without any barrier.
Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "If there is wax, dough, henna, or similar substances on some of his limbs [of wudu'], and this prevents water from reaching any part of the limb, then his purification (tahara) is not valid — regardless of whether the amount is much or little. But if there remains on the hand or elsewhere only the trace and color of the henna, without its substance [i.e., the physical residue itself], or the trace of a liquid oil such that the water touches the skin of the limb and flows over it, though it does not remain [as a barrier] — then his purification is valid." [Al-Majmu' , Vol.1/P.529]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law regarding one who purchases a sacrificial animal (uḍḥiyah) and it then develops a defect before slaughter?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a defect that invalidates the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) arises after its purchase — for example, if one purchased a sound, defect-free animal, and it then developed a limp, blindness in one eye, or a similar defect before slaughter — it does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah, according to the Shāfi'ī school.
It is stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib (Vol.1/P.535): "Even if the limp develops [in the animal] while the knife is upon it, it still does not fulfill the requirement, because it is lame at the moment of slaughter — this is analogous to a case where a sheep's leg breaks and one hastens to slaughter it [in that condition]."
The Ḥanbalī school, however, held that if the one offering the sacrifice purchased the animal while it was sound and defect-free, and a defect then befell it afterward, the sacrifice remains valid and there is no obligation to replace it.
It is stated in Masā'il al-Imām Aḥmad, one of the Ḥanbalī reference works (Vol.8/P.4021): "I said: If a person purchases the sacrificial animal while it is sound, and it is then afflicted with illness, blindness in one eye, or a broken limb [before slaughter]? He [Imam Aḥmad] said: It is said that it still fulfills the requirement. Isḥāq said likewise, because he purchased it while sound, and the defect befell it only afterward, so it remains sufficient on his behalf." [End of quote]
Accordingly, a sheep afflicted with a defect that invalidates the sacrifice does not fulfill the requirement of a valid uḍḥiyah — whether the defect arose after purchase or during the slaughter itself — according to the Shāfi'ī school. However, there is no objection to following the Ḥanbalī position on this matter [as a valid alternative]. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.

What is the ruling on the ablution of one who cuts his nails, and is it permissible to cut them before the ritual bath for major impurity (janabah)?

Cutting nails does not invalidate ablution, and it is permissible to cut them before the ritual bath for major impurity. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the prayer of zawal?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended (sunnah) to pray four rakʿāt — either with a single tasleem or as two separate sets of two rakʿāt — immediately following the sun's decline from its zenith (zawāl). This prayer is distinct from the regular Sunnah prayer of Ẓuhr (sunnat al-ẓuhr al-rātibah), as explicitly stated by the Shāfiʿī jurists.
It is mentioned in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj: "The prayer of zawāl is offered after the sun's decline — so were one to perform it before that, it would not count. It consists of two or four rakʿāt and is distinct from the Sunnah of Ẓuhr, as is evident from the fact that it is mentioned separately after the regular Sunnah prayers, and it becomes a make-up prayer (qaḍāʾ) if a long period of time passes by customary reckoning... Al-ʿAlqamī stated: 'Scholars refer to this as the Sunnah of Zawāl, and it is distinct from the four rakʿāt that constitute the Sunnah of Ẓuhr.' Our shaykh said: Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī stated that among those who explicitly affirmed its recommendation was al-Ghazālī in al-Iḥyāʾ, in the chapter on devotional litanies, noting that there is no tasleem between them — meaning there is no break between each pair of rakʿāt."
The time of the sun's decline (zawāl) marks the very beginning of the time for the Ẓuhr prayer.
And Allah the Almighty knows best.

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