The Ruling on Increasing Food and Preparing Specific Dishes on ʿĀshūrāʼSource: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, p. 143
Question by: Your brother, Ismāʿīl
❖ Question:
Is it Islamically permissible to prepare special dishes (like porridge) or increase food and spending specifically on the day of ʿĀshūrāʼ (10th Muḥarram)? What is the correct ruling in this regard?
❖ Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā baʿd...
❖ What Is Established Regarding the Month of Muḥarram
There are only two authentic points confirmed about Muḥarram:
① It is a sacred and honored month, contrary to Shīʿa belief that considers it inauspicious.
② Fasting during this month, especially on the day of ʿĀshūrāʼ, is legislated and praiseworthy.
(See detailed rulings under the chapter of fasting — Kitāb al-Ṣawm).
All other rituals, customs, or special practices are innovations (bidʿah) and have no basis in authentic Islamic teachings.
1. Ruling on Increasing Food and Spending on ʿĀshūrāʼ
There are some narrations that state:“Whoever expands his spending on his family on the day of ʿĀshūrāʼ, Allah will expand sustenance for him throughout the year.”
(Narrated in al-Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īmān — from Abū Hurayrah, Abū Saʿīd, and Jābir RA)
However, these narrations are weak (ḍaʿīf).
✔ Imām Ibn al-Jawzī and Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (RA) declared them fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
(Al-Manār al-Munīf, p. 111–112; Mishkāt: 1/170, Ḥadīth 1926)
✔ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (RA) said:
“This ḥadīth is not authentic.”
✔ Shaykh al-Albānī (RA) also graded this narration as weak and remarked:
“All its chains are weak, and Ibn Taymiyyah’s claim that it is fabricated is not far-fetched.”
Conclusion:
Expanding food or spending specifically on the day of ʿĀshūrāʼ is not proven in Sharīʿah. Acting upon this with the belief that it is a religiously encouraged practice makes it an innovation (bidʿah).2. Preparing Specific Foods on ʿĀshūrāʼ (e.g., Porridge, Slaughtering Chicken)
There is no Sharʿī basis for:
◈ Cooking porridge (dalīyah),
◈ Slaughtering animals,
◈ Or preparing any other specific dish on ʿĀshūrāʼ.
Even recommended (mustaḥabb) acts, when emphasized in a manner that they appear obligatory or part of religion, are classified as innovations.✔ Therefore, insisting on a specific meal or viewing it as a religious tradition on ʿĀshūrāʼ is incorrect and falls under bidʿah.
3. Common Innovations Associated with ʿĀshūrāʼ
The following un-Islamic innovations and misconceptions are commonly observed during Muḥarram and especially on ʿĀshūrāʼ:
Considering Muḥarram an inauspicious month (contrary to its status as a sacred month). Believing that the martyrdom of Ḥusayn (RA) is the reason for Muḥarram’s sanctity — whereas the month was sacred long before this event. Wearing mourning clothes or practicing Shīʿa rituals of grief. Declaring Ḥusayn’s martyrdom as the greatest tragedy, ignoring the martyrdoms of ʿUthmān, ʿUmar, and most importantly, the death of the Prophet ﷺ, which was the greatest loss to the Ummah. Closing markets or businesses specifically on ʿĀshūrāʼ — an imitation of Shīʿa customs. Practices like grave worship, sprinkling water on graves, or their repair on this day — all are innovations with no basis in Islam. These are ignorant rituals, alien to authentic Islamic teachings.❖ Summary of the Ruling
✔ Respecting the month of Muḥarram and fasting on the day of ʿĀshūrāʼ is Sharʿī-approved.
Spending lavishly or cooking specific foods (like porridge) with religious motivation is not proven — the narrations are weak or fabricated. Treating such practices as part of religion turns them into bidʿah.✔ Islam encourages us to avoid innovations and follow only what is confirmed in authentic ḥadīth.
For Further Reference:
◈ Fatāwā al-Lajnah al-Dāʾimah (3/52–53)
◈ Aḥsan al-Fatāwā (1/388)
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَاب
