The Historical Place of the Day of Aashura in Islam

8/8/2019 The Historical Place of the Day of Aashura in Islam

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The Historical Place of the Day ofAashura in Islam

By: Mufti Mohammad Shuaibullah KhanTranslated by Mufti Mohammad Anwar Khan

The Day of Aashura is considered to be as a sacred day in the month ofMuharram al-Haram whose sacredness has been recognized in Islam, for anumber of happenings and events have taken place on this day on the faceof the earth. In the first place, we shall highlight some of the mostimportant events that happened on this Day, and then we shall clarify theIslamic viewpoint on this day.

ADAMS REPENTANCE IS ACCEPTED

Adam (as) had committed a sin in Paradise, for which Allah (swt) expelledhim from Paradise, and sent him to the Earth, along with his wife andcompanion Hawwa, the mother of all Humanity. Adam (as) was extremelyremorseful for his sin that he had committed, while in Paradise, and hecontinuously repented for his sin, and sought forgiveness from Allah, until

Allah accepted his repentance. This particular day on which Allah (swt)accepted the Repentance of Adam (as) happened on the Day of Aashura.(Qurtubi, 1: 324)

THE BOAT OF NOOH (AS) WAS MOORED TO MOUNT JUDI ON THISDAY:

It is related by the Holy Quran that Nuh (as) spent about one thousand years in calling his people towards the worship of One God, Allah, as theLord of all Creation. He exhorted them to shun their deities and idols,

which they worshipped as gods, instead of Allah (swt). However, only a fewamong them heeded his call, and most of his people remained adamant insticking fast to their age-old beliefs and superstitions. They totally refusedto abandon worshiping the idols of their ancestors whom they had taken asgods. They inflicted on Nuh (as) all kinds of torture devised by them. And,at last, when Prophet Nuh (as) failed to make his people see reason, and


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shun their disbelief in Allah (swt), he prayed against them, upon which Allah decided to send His Punishment on them. Allah (swt) commandedNuh (as) to make for himself, and for a few of his followers, a large boat.

When the Day of Punishment approached, the few Believers who hadheeded the call of Nuh (as) boarded the large boat built by Nuh (as) takingalong with them pairs of different kinds of animals on this boat, as Allah(swt) had ordered him to do.

The Divine Punishment that was promised by Allah (swt) descended on thePeople of Nuh (as) who had refused to heed his call. The whole world wasengulfed by a violent cyclone of heavy rains and flood in which all theDisbelievers and the polytheists among the people of Nuh (as) were killed.

And, even all the animals that were known to them in their world were also

destroyed. There was nothing in the world that was left, which had not beenengulfed by water. The boat of Nuh (as) sailed on this water for many daysprotected by Allah (swt) from the violent rains and thunderstorms. Whenthe water level decreased, the boat landed on the top of a Mount calledJudi, which is found in the present day Turkey. The Day, when the boat ofNuh (as) came to rest on the top of Mount Judi was the Day of Aashura.(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 2: 448, Tabri, 12: 47, Qurtubi, 9: 36 41)

THE PUNISHMENT THAT WAS DESTINED FOR THE PEOPLE

OF YUNUS (AS) WAS REMOVED ON THIS DAY

Yunus (as) was sent to the people of Nineveh, as a Prophet and a Messengerof Allah (swt), to preach to them the Message of Monotheism, from Allah(swt). Yunus (as) did as Allah had ordered him, and kept calling to thepeople of Nineveh to heed the Message of Allah, and accept the Unity ofGod, and take for worship no other gods besides Allah. However, he soonfound, to his dismay, the more he invited them to the path of Monotheism,and the True Belief in Allah, the people of Nineveh became all the more

adamant in following their way of life, and forms of worship. Theyobstinately plunged themselves more and more into acts of infidelity toAllah (swt), and pursued vigorously their beliefs and rituals in the worshipof false gods that glorified polytheism as true belief. Yunus (as) soonrealized that it was impossible to preach to these people and he waspursuing a hopeless task in trying to guide them into the Worship of Allah,the One God of all Mankind. Yunus (as) invoked the curse of Allah (swt)


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against his people. Allah (swt) decided on the Punishment, which He wasgoing to send on the people of Nineveh for their acts of disobedience to His

words. However, Yunus (as) was not commanded by Allah (swt) to leave thetown of Nineveh and its people. Since, he had given up all hopes ofreforming them, he left Nineveh on his own accord, frustrated at his task,and without waiting for the Divine Order from Allah (swt) to come to himto this effect. As a result, Allah (swt) had Yunus (as) swallowed by a hugefish in the sea, as a Punishment for this act of negligence. Alternatively, thesigns of the Divine Punishment that were promised by Yunus (as) from

Allah (swt) gradually became more visible to the people of Nineveh. Theyrealized that Prophet Yunus (as) has spoken the Truth to them about nottaking for themselves the worship of false gods besides Allah (swt). Thepeople of Nineveh realized their folly in disbelieving in Yunus (as) andstarted busying themselves in seeking Repentance and asking for Divine

Forgiveness to ward off from themselves, the forthcoming Punishment of Allah (swt). However, Allah (swt) took pity on Yunus (as) and his peopleand accepted their repentance, and protected them from His punishment.This incident also took place on the Day of Aashura. (Qurtubi, 8: 395)

MUSA AND THE YAUM AZ-ZEENAH:

Musa (as) was sent to the people of the Pharaoh, and the people of Israel, as

a Messenger and a Prophet of Allah (swt). Musa (as) was commanded by Allah (swt) to invite the Pharaoh, and his people to the True Message of Allah. Musa (as) obeyed the Divine Order, and proceeded to the Court ofPharaoh and proclaimed that he was a Messenger, and a Prophet sent by

Allah (swt), the Lord of the Worlds, who was his Lord, and the God ofPharaoh and his people. However, the Pharaoh refused to heed the call ofMusa (as) and failed to understand the grave Punishment that was waitingin store for him, and he persisted in his denial of Allah, as God, andpersisted in his disobedience to Him. The Pharaoh became proud andarrogant on hearing the Divine Message from Musa (as). He denied thatMusa (as) was a Prophet and Messenger sent by Allah. He called all thesigns of his Divine Powers (Mujizaat) - granted to Musa (as) by Allah (swt)to prove to Pharaoh that he was indeed, the Divine Messenger from Allah -as the effects of spells and charms of magic. He decided to hold a contest

between Musa (as) and the magicians in the land of Egypt. A particular day was fixed for defining the truth between the Right and the Wrong, which


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has been mentioned in the Holy Quran under the name of Yaum-az-Zeenah. The contest was held on the appointed day and thousands ofpeople gathered at the scene as spectators to witness the competition

between the Truth and Falsehood. The magicians of the Pharaohdemonstrated their powers of magic in front of the audience. They threwthe ropes, which they carried with them on the ground that turned intosnakes, and appeared to the onlookers, as crawling and hissing, whilemoving around on the ground. Musa (as) was commanded by Allah (swt)to throw the staff that he carried with him on the ground, whichtransformed itself into a huge terrifying serpent, which was huger than allthe other snakes produced by the magicians. It proceeded to devour all thesnakes in front of the Pharaoh and his people. In this way, the Righttriumphed over the Wrong on this Day. This great incident took place onthe Day of Aashura. (Ibn Katheer, 3: 151, Qurtubi, 11: 213, Abu Yala, 5: 21)

THE ESCAPE OF MUSA (AS) AND THE DROWNING OF THE PHARAOH

Musa (as), in response to the Divine Command of Allah (swt), started out ofEgypt with the People of Israel, leading them out from Egypt. The Pharaohstarted chasing them along with his army. Allah (swt) parted the sea andmade a way through it to help Musa (as) to cross the sea safely, and reachthe other side with the People of Israel. The Pharaoh noticed the parting of

the sea, and the People of Israel crossing through the path created bythe Divine Miracle of Allah (swt). The Pharaoh was determined to teachMusa (as) and the People of Israel a lesson. He decided to pursue themalong with his troops on the path, which had been created for them in thesea. However, when he reached the middle of the sea on the Path that wascreated by Allah for Musa (as) and his people, he noticed that Allah (swt)had combined the walls of sea together. As it began to get merged together,the Pharaoh sank into the depths of the sea water along with his troops,causing a lot of destruction and ruin to his army crushing their strength andtheir might forever. This incident, too, took place on the Day of Aashura.(Bukhari, 2: 704, Muslim 2: 795, Ibn Hibban, 8: 389, Hakim, 3: 211,Darimi, 2: 36, Baihaqi, 4: 286)

THE BIRTH OF ISA (AS)


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Khalid ibn Zaid al-Ammi says that Isa (as) was born on the Day of Aashura.(Mustadrak Hakim, 2: 648)

PROPHET MUHAMMAD WAS IN THE WOMB OF HIS MOTHER

Some of the Muslim scholars have stated that the mother of the Prophet of

Islam became pregnant with him on the Day of Aashura. (Qurtubi, 20: 194)

SOME MORE INCIDENTS

Allama Abu Bakr Ibn Muhammad Ali Qurashi says in his book, Anees al-Waizeen that Allah created on this day ten things: the Throne and theChair (Arsh and Kursi), Loh and Qalam, Paradise, Adam and Hawwa, theSouls, the Earth, and the Heavens.

AASHURA AND ISLAM

The day of Aashura is regarded to be a sacred day in Islam and is credited

with a lot of merits. Ayesha (ra) says that the Prophet of Allah (saws) hadordered the Muslims to fast on the Day of Aashura. But, when the fasts inthe Month of Ramadan were prescribed by Allah (swt) and madecompulsory upon the Believers, then whosoever wished to fast on this day,he did it voluntarily, and whoever did not wish to fast, he did not fast onthis Day i.e. the obligation of fasting on the Day of Aashura was abrogated.(Bukhari, Muslim)

Ibn Abbas narrates that I had never seen the Prophet of Allah (saws)attaching more importance to any fasts than the fasts on the Days of

Aashura and Ramadan. (Bukhari and Muslim)A hadith states that the Prophet (saws) saw the Jews in Madinah fasting onthe Day of Aashura. He asked them about it. They said it is a very good day.On this day, Allah (swt) had saved the Bani Israil from their enemy - thePharaoh. Musa (as) had fasted on this day, as an act of gratefulness to Allah(swt), and they (the Jews) were keeping fast on this Day following theexample that had been set for them by Prophet Musa (as). He said, I ammore in need to follow the example of Musa than you. So, he fasted, andordered other Muslims to fast on this day after the Tradition of ProphetMusa (as) as he was more close to the Muslims in following the teachings of

Allah (swt) than the Jews in the time of Prophet Muhammad (saws).(Bukhari and Muslim)

THE ACTS OF AASHURA


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What is the status of Aashura in the Religion of Islam? What are the actsprescribed on this day? The only thing that is proven from thenumerous Traditions is that one should fast on this day, as it has becomeclearly obvious from the traditions that are mentioned above. There are afew more narrations that prove the merits of fasting on this day. AbuQatadah narrated that Prophet of Allah (saws) was inquired about the fastof the Day of Aashura. He said: It becomes a cause for forgiveness for onecomplete year. (Muslim: 1977, Abu Dawood: 2071, Musnad Ahmad: 21572,Ibn Majah: 1728)

But, it should be noted that when one intends to fast on this Day, oneshould add one more day of fasting before or after the Day of Aashura. It isrecorded in a hadith, when the Prophet saw the Jews fasting on this day, hesaid, Insha Allah we shall fast the next year but we shall fast on the ninth

day as well. But, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saws) departed from thisworld before the ninth day of the next year approached. (Muslim: 1916, AbuDawood: 2089, Ahmad: 2002)

If someone is unable to fast on the ninth day for some reason, then he canatone for missing this fast on the eleventh day of Muharram. (MaarifulHadith, 4: 166)

Note: It is forbidden from fasting only for one day i.e. on the Day of Aashura, and this ruling is to be applied along with the days of fastsprescribed before or after the Day of Aashura. As far as the other Nafl(supererogatory) fasts are concerned, they can be fasted only for a singleday in the Month of Muharram.

ONE SHOULD LAVISH IN FOOD ETC. ON THE DAY OF AASHURA TOHIS FAMILY

It is desirable that a Muslim should spend generously on food and

clothes etc. on the Day of Aashura. Ibn Masood, Abu Saeed Khudri, Jabir,and Abu Hurairah have narrated that the one who increases conveniencei.e. spends generously on his children on the Day of Aashura, Allah(swt) will give him abundantly for the whole year. (Shuab Al-Iman, 3: 366-337, Mujam Kabeer Tabrani, 10: 77, Musnad al-Firdaus, 3: 14)


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Imam Baihaqi has remarked about this hadith that the chain of itsnarration is weak, but when they are compared to other Traditions on thesubject, it becomes strengthened. (Shuab al-Iman, 3: 366)

Allama Sakhawi has elaborated on this hadith in his bookAl-Maqasid al-

Hasanah. The gist of his discussion is that some of the scholars like Ibn al-Jauzi have declared this hadith as unfounded but Allama Iraqi has said thatsome of the chains of this hadith are sound. (Al-Maqasid al-Hasanah: 504)

In the same way, Allama Ajlooni has regarded this hadith as sound and worth practicing according to the numerous chains of this hadith. So, without the hope of thawab, if one spends abundantly on his children, itwould be right but it is not necessary that one should prepare some kind ofspecial food on this Day, as some people do, and cook some special meals

like Khichri or prepare a Sharbat (drink). And, some other unfoundedbeliefs are also added to this Day, which are totally acts of innovation, andpracticing them is completely forbidden from the Islamic point of view.

SOME IGNORANT ACTS

The above-mentioned details clearly show that the Day of Aashura is ablessed day and is an auspicious day. But, it is very distressing to note that

some people regard the month of Muharram-al- Haram, and the Day of Aashura, as unfortunate day and, therefore, inauspicious. Some otherpeople think that it is not good to hold marriages in this month. Someothers think that it causes misfortunes to fall on them if they begin any

venture or act on this month and is considered by them as an ill omen. Amore strange fact that has come to light is that some people go as far as toseparate the married couples on this day, from mating with one another,especially on the First day of Muharram and say that their mating wouldlead them to bad luck if a female becomes pregnant with a child during thismonth.

All these things are acts of the Days of Ignorance, which must be avoidedfrom being followed at all costs. The Month of Muharram is like othermonths, but it is considered as a blessed and a sacred month for such thingsto take place on days of this month and the Day of Aashura if followed withfasting, results in many merits to the Believing Muslims.

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The Historical Place of the Day of Aashura in Islam