Reward and Correct Date of Fasting on Yawm ʿĀshūrāʾ
Reference: Ahkam wa Masail, Fasting Issues, Vol. 1, Page 280
❖ Question:
What is the reward of fasting on Yawm ʿĀshūrāʾ, i.e., the 10th of Muḥarram?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said regarding the virtue of fasting on Yawm ʿĀshūrāʾ (10th Muḥarram):
«اِنِّیْ اَحْتَسِبُ عَلَی اﷲِ اَنْ يُکَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِیْ قَبْلَه»
“I hope from Allah that fasting on this day will expiate the sins of the previous year.”
(Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, Abwāb aṣ-Ṣawm, Bāb fī al-Ḥath ʿalā Ṣawm Yawm ʿĀshūrāʾ)
Another narration in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“If I live until the next year, I will fast on the 9th of Muḥarram as well.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb aṣ-Ṣiyām, Bāb Yawm ʿĀshūrāʾ)
◈ Scholarly Opinion Based on These Aḥādīth
✔ If one wishes to fast alone, it is better to fast on the 9th of Muḥarram, rather than only the 10th.
✔ This is because the Prophet ﷺ expressed the desire to fast on the 9th in order to differ from the practice of others, while still recognizing the virtue of the 10th.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
