Muharram and the Day of Ashura

Muharram: The Sacred Month

Muharram (محرم) is the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar and one of the four sacred months (al-ashhur al-hurum) mentioned in the Quran: 'Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve lunar months in the register of Allah from the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred' (Quran 9:36). The other three sacred months are Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Rajab. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The best fasting after Ramadan is the month of Allah, Muharram' (Sahih Muslim 1163). This hadith establishes Muharram as the most virtuous month for voluntary fasting after Ramadan itself.

In the pre-Islamic Arabian tradition, fighting in the four sacred months was considered forbidden. Islam maintained and confirmed this reverence. Scholars note that the prohibition on initiating aggression in the sacred months was a divine mercy — an institution that allowed Arabia's warring tribes to lay down arms and travel safely for pilgrimage and trade. Sins committed in the sacred months carry greater weight, and acts of worship carry greater reward, due to the sanctity of the time.

The Day of Ashura

The 10th of Muharram is Ashura (عاشوراء), one of the most significant days in the Islamic calendar. When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, he observed the Jews of Madinah fasting on that day. Upon inquiry, they told him it was the day Allah saved Musa (Moses) and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh, and that Musa fasted it out of gratitude. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'We have more right to Musa than you,' and he fasted that day and commanded the Muslims to fast it (Sahih al-Bukhari 2004). This hadith establishes a profound connection between the Muslim ummah and the prophetic tradition of Musa — a continuity of divine guidance across the ages.

As for the virtue of the fast, the Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on Ashura and he said: 'It expiates the sins of the previous year' (Sahih Muslim 1162). This is a tremendous divine mercy — an entire year of minor sins forgiven through a single day of fasting.

How to Observe Ashura

The Sunnah is to fast on both the 9th and 10th of Muharram (Tasu'a and Ashura), or the 10th and 11th. This is based on the Prophet's ﷺ statement: 'If I live until next year, I will certainly fast the ninth along with it' (Sahih Muslim 1134), indicating his intention to distinguish the Muslim fast from the Jewish fast by adding a day. Scholars recommend fasting two consecutive days rather than the 10th alone, though fasting only the 10th is still rewarding. Some scholars allow fasting all three days (9th, 10th, and 11th) based on narrations of some Companions.

Shia Practices: A Scholarly Clarification

In Shia tradition, Ashura is observed as a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali at Karbala in 61 AH (680 CE). This observance involves lamentation, processions, and in some communities, rituals of self-flagellation, chest-beating, and other practices of public grief. From the perspective of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah, these mourning rituals have no basis in authentic Prophetic practice and are innovations (bid'ah). The Prophet ﷺ explicitly prohibited acts of self-harm in grief: 'He is not of us who slaps his cheeks, tears his garment, and calls with the calls of the Days of Ignorance' (Sahih al-Bukhari 1294). The martyrdom of Husayn was indeed a tragedy, and Sunni Muslims love and honor Husayn deeply — he is the grandson of the Prophet ﷺ and the leader of the youth of Paradise. However, the appropriate response to such a tragedy is patience, prayer, and the remembrance of Allah — not the lamentation rites that were adopted into some Muslim communities from pre-Islamic Persian mourning traditions.

Additional Recommended Acts

Beyond fasting, Muharram is a time for increased worship generally. Some scholars recommend increased voluntary prayer, dhikr, and generosity during this blessed month. The Prophet's ﷺ commendation of Muharram fasting in general applies to the whole month, not only to Ashura. A Muslim who cannot fast on Ashura specifically may still increase voluntary fasts throughout Muharram and benefit from its special virtue.