Fasting the day of Ashura

Sayyiduna Muhammad bin Sayfi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: On the day of Ashura the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "Is there anyone among you who has eaten today?" We said: "Some of us have eaten and some of us have not eaten." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Complete the rest of your day, both those who have eaten and those who have not eaten. And send word to the people living on the outskirts of Madinah too, that they should complete the rest of their day."

Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Jews used to venerate the day of Ashura; they had taken it as a day of Eid. At this, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You fast on this day."

Sayyiduna Zahir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered fasting on the day of Ashura.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The prophets used to fast on the day of Ashura, so you too should fast it."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The people of the Jahiliyyah used to fast on the day of Ashura. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims fasted on the day of Ashura before the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory. When the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The day of Ashura is one of the days of Allah; whoever wishes may fast it, and whoever wishes may leave it."

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Quraysh used to fast on the day of Ashura in the time of Jahiliyyah. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, he fasted on Ashura and ordered the Muslims too to fast on that day. When the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, Ramadan became the obligation and the fast of Ashura was left. So whoever wished fasted it, and whoever wished left it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to order us to fast on Ashura, urge us to it and see to it that we observed it. When the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, he neither ordered it, nor forbade it, nor saw to it that we observed it.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Madinah, the Jews used to fast on the day of Ashura. He asked them about the reason for it, and they said that this was the day on which Allah gave Musa victory over Pharaoh. At this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You are more entitled to Musa than they are, so fast on this day."

Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid said: Once Sayyiduna al-Ash'ath bin Qays (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abdullah was eating, and he invited al-Ash'ath bin Qays to eat too. He said: "Is today not the day of Ashura?" Sayyiduna Abdullah asked: "Do you know what the day of Ashura is?" He asked: "What is it?" Sayyiduna Abdullah said: "It is the day on which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast before Ramadan was made obligatory; when the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, he stopped fasting on this day."

Al-Aswad said: I did not see anyone who ordered the fast of Ashura more than Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him).

Al-Aswad said: I did not see anyone who ordered the fast of Ashura more than Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him).

Al-Harith said: Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to order fasting on the day of Ashura.

Abu Bakr bin Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith said: On the evening of the night of Ashura, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a message to Abd al-Rahman bin al-Harith, saying: "Eat suhur and begin the morning fasting." So Abd al-Rahman began the morning fasting.

Al-Qasim used to fast on the day of Ashura.

Sayyiduna Qays bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered us to fast on the day of Ashura.

Al-Qasim reported: When the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory, he (peace and blessings be upon him) neither ordered us to fast Ashura nor forbade it, and we used to keep this fast.

Muhammad said: On the day of Ashura, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man from the tribe of Aslam: "Go to your people and order them to fast this day." The man said: "I think that by the time I reach them they will have had their morning meal." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell whoever has had his morning meal not to eat for the rest of the day, and tell whoever has not had his morning meal to fast."

Sa'id bin Jubayr said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the people to fast on Ashura.

Al-Hasan liked fasting on the day of Ashura.

Qays bin al-Sakan said: Sayyiduna al-Ash'ath (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Ashura. Sayyiduna Abdullah was eating, and he invited Sayyiduna al-Ash'ath to eat. He said: "I am fasting." Sayyiduna Abdullah said: "This fast was only kept before the fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory."

Abd al-Rahman bin al-Qasim said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) did not use to fast on Ashura.

The above narration of Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) is also reported through another chain.

Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), delivering a sermon on the pulpit, said: "The day of Ashura is a day of Eid. Whoever wishes may fast on it, for it used to be fasted; and whoever wishes may leave it, there is no harm in that."

Ikrimah was asked about fasting on the day of Ashura and the day of Arafah. He said: "It is not right to regard the fast of any day as obligatory except Ramadan."

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to order fasting on Ashura.

On the day of Ashura, Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whoever has eaten something should not eat anything more now, and whoever has not eaten anything should fast."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The fast of Ashura is an expiation for the sins of one year, and the fast of Arafah is an expiation for the sins of two years: one past year and one coming year."

Ubaydullah bin Abi Yazid said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) was asked about the fast of Ashura. He said: "I do not know that I ever saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fast any day seeking its virtue over other days except this day (Ashura), nor any month except this one, meaning Ramadan."

Tawus used to fast one day before the day of Ashura and one day after it too, so that the day of Ashura would not be missed.