Salat Ashura
Designating the tenth of Muharram specifically for worship is an innovation. There is no authentic evidence proving the legitimacy of Salat Ashura; rather, fabricated (man-made) and very weak narrations exist.
Evidence Number: 1
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
من أحيا ليلة عاشوراء فكأنما عبد الله تعالى بمثل عبادة أهل السماوات، ومن صلى أربع ركعات، يقرأ فى كل ركعة الحمد مرة، وخمسة مرة قل هو الله أحد، غفر الله له ذنوب خمسين عاما ماضيا، وخمسين عاما مستقبلا، وبنى له فى المثل الأعلى ألف ألف منبر من نور
Whoever worships on the night of Ashura, it is as if he worshipped like the angels. Whoever prays four rak’ahs, reciting Surah Al-Fatiha once and Surah Al-Ikhlas five times in each rak’ah, Allah will forgive his sins of the past fifty years and the coming fifty years and will prepare for him ten thousand pulpits of light in the highest place (a place in Paradise).
The chain of narration status:
It is a false tradition. In the narrations of Muhammad bin Ali Al-Ashari, some fabricated traditions were included, which he did not convey.
❀ Hafiz Zahbi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
محمد بن على بن الفتح، أبو طالب العشاري شيخ صدوق معروف، لكن أدخلوا عليه أشياء فحدث بها بسلامة باطن، منها حديث موضوع فى فضل ليلة عاشوراء
Muhammad bin Ali bin Al-Fath Abu Talib Al-Ashari is a famous truthful narrator, but some weak and fabricated traditions have been included in his narrations. Despite being trustworthy, he has narrated these traditions. Among his narrations, there is also a fabricated tradition regarding the virtue of the night of Ashura.
❀ He also says:
قد أدخل فى سماعه ما لم يتفطن له
Things have been included in his hearing which he himself was not aware of.
Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
هذا حديث لا يصح عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقد أدخل على بعض المتأخرين من أهل الغفلة
This hadith is not established from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Due to some heedless later narrators, it was included in the hadith collections.
He also called it fabricated.
Evidence Number: 2
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
من صلى يوم عاشوراء ما بين الظهر والعصر أربعين ركعة، يقرأ فى كل ركعة بفاتحة الكتاب مرة، وآية الكرسي عشر مرات، وقل هو الله أحد إحدى عشرة مرة، والمعوذتين خمس مرات، فإذا سلم استغفر سبعين مرة، أعطاه الله فى الفردوس قبة بيضاء فيها بيت من زمردة خضراء، سعة ذلك البيت مثل الدنيا ثلاث مرات، وفي ذلك البيت سرير من نور، قوائم السرير من العنبر الأشهب، على ذلك السرير ألفا فراش
Whoever prays forty rak’ahs between Zuhr and Asr on the day of Ashura, reciting Surah Al-Fatiha once, Ayat al-Kursi ten times, Surah Al-Ikhlas eleven times, and the two Mu’awwidhatayn five times in each rak’ah, and after completing the salutations (salam) seeks forgiveness seventy times, then Allah, the Lord of Glory, will grant him a white cloak in Jannat al-Firdaws. In it will be a house with a green stone, whose width will be three times that of the world. Then in this house will be a luminous throne, whose legs will be made of amber ashab (red), and on this throne will be two thousand (saffron-colored) beds.
The chain of narration status:
It is a false narration. There are many unknown narrators in its chain.
❀ Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
هذا حديث موضوع وكلمات الرسول عليه السلام منزهة عن مثل هذا التخليط والرواة مجاهيل
This is a fabricated hadith; the blessed words of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, are free from such fabrications, and its narrators are unknown.
Hafiz Zahabi, may Allah have mercy on him
and Hafiz Suyuti, may Allah have mercy on him
have upheld the ruling of Hafiz Ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him.
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
ليس فى عاشوراء حديث صحيح غير الصوم، وكذلك ما يروى فى فضل صلوات معينة فيه فهذا كله كذب موضوع باتفاق أهل المعرفة، ولم ينقل هذه الأحاديث أحد من أئمة أهل العلم فى كتبهم
Apart from fasting, no hadith regarding Ashura is authentic; similarly, the narrated reports about the specific prayers of this month are unanimously considered false and fabricated by hadith scholars who possess knowledge of hadith. None of the leading hadith scholars have transmitted them in their books.
