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Virtues of Ashura and How to Observe It | Khutbah
What are the virtues of the day of Ashura, and what are some of the deeds that we learn from the pious predecessors on this day?
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. To do something, as in fasting the day of Arafah, and now fasting the day of Ashura. The blessings that we learn from the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the blessings that are given to us through some of the authentic narrations of the pious predecessors, will not be able to encapsulate some of the things that perhaps we don't even know about these days, and some of the hidden blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would, bi'idhnillah, envelope us in, embrace us in, through His infinite mercy subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so when you talk about the day of Ashura, and what it is attributed to, first and foremost, there's a narration that we find in some of the books of Athar, the books where you have narrations of the previous prophets that mention that this was the day that the Safina of Nuh alayhi salam, the Ark of Noah, finally took its rest on Jabal al-Judi, on the mount. So after circulating for however long Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala caused it to circulate, that this would have coincided with the day that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala caused the Ark of Nuh alayhi salam, the Safina of Nuh alayhi salam, to finally settle. And obviously the significance of that would be that this was a time where you had those that rebelled and transgressed, that were drowned in their disbelief, including the son of Nuh alayhi salam, who was not spared due to his relationship to Nuh alayhi salam, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saving the people of belief in an extraordinary way. And so of course there's a connection of that to what is the authentically narrated hadith in multiple books that is the main cause of us fasting this day in Al-Bukhari and Muslim, when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam saw the people of the book, particularly the Jewish community in Medina, fasting this day, and when he asked why they were fasting this day,
they said this is the day that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved Musa alayhi salam and his army from the army of Firoun. When Allah saved Musa alayhi salam and Bani Israel from the army of Firoun that were behind him. So there's a connection there between Musa alayhi salam and the believers being saved as a community, to what could perhaps also be a day in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved humanity from the depths and the darkness of disbelief. And of course what comes after that day often becomes revived in historical debates and what that refers to, the istishad of Al-Husayn radiallahu ta'ala anhu, the martyrdom of the grandson of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, one of the two masters of the youth of paradise, and the sadness of his murder but the joy of his istishad, of his martyrdom. And what we take from that of course is what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us about Ashab al-Ukhdud, about the people of the ditch, that it was success, that even if Musa alayhi salam and his army and his people escaped in this dunya, that what Al-Husayn radiallahu ta'ala anhu encountered of a shahada of martyrdom is a form of the ultimate success, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saved him from this world and that just as in the time of Uhud when the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam and Abu Bakr and Umar radiallahu ta'ala anhuma are standing there on Uhud and our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hellfire. True victory belongs with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we connect it back to of course from a prescriptive perspective in terms of taking that day as a day of fasting, honoring Musa alayhi salam and thanking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for that victory. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam said, نحن أحق أو نحن أولى Both of them are authentic, we have greater right and we are closer to Musa alayhi salam than the people of the book.
We love Musa alayhi salam, we follow the way of Musa alayhi salam, we honor all of God's prophets, we honor their message by staying upon the creed of monotheism, the Abrahamic way, the way that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and most crystallized through the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam as we have it today. So we honor the prophets of Allah and we thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for that blessing and we take the lessons of that day that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grants success to those who maintain his way and in a day where subhanAllah we see tyranny all over the world, you really cannot keep up, you really cannot keep up. Then you once again ground yourself in that aqeedah, in that creed, that true belief in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala yields true victory, whether that victory manifests in this life or in the next. We base ourselves, ground ourselves in that creed, certainly. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam, however, on this day, contrary to what many people know, used to also fast this day in Mecca and this is authentically narrated that Quraysh used to also fast this day. So the Jews in Medina fasted this day, Quraysh fasted this day and the ulama mentioned some reasons for this that just as some of the remnants of the hajj, the way of Ibrahim alayhi wasalam remains amongst the people of Mecca and they had some traditions that they held on to that would have coincided with the truth, that this could possibly be one of those things. Just as, for example, when we talk about ashura, aligning with incidents in the past as well. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed for the 10 days of Moses, the 10 days of Musa alayhi wasalam, atmamnaahu ashra, that we completed, tamma miqatu rabbihi, completed the period with his Lord by adding 10 days, that that coincided with the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah, the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah.
It could also be that there was a remnant of that, that there was something left over that guides people to the truth and so the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam used to fast that day even in Mecca which is authentically narrated. Now what do we take from this, from how we approach this day? How are we supposed to act on this day and how seriously should we take the fast? Ibn Abbas radiallahu ta'ala anhuma, he says, مَا رَعَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَمْ يَتَحَرَّ صِيَامَ يَوْمٍ فَضَّلَهُ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ إِلَّا هَذَا الْيَوْمِ I have not seen a day that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam singled out and took more seriously than this day, يوم عاشوراء, this day of ashura, وهذا الشهر and this month, meaning the best month after Ramadan for fasting is what? محرم. This is the best month after the month of Ramadan for fasting, voluntary fast. And subhanAllah, the day of ashura comes on the 10th, on Wednesday, it always comes on the 10th, it comes on Wednesday this year, and then you have Thursday which is also a day of sunnah fasting for those that would like to do so, بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. And then you get into, very quickly, ايام البيض, the white days, the middle days of the month, which also, inshAllah ta'ala, are days that we could take as days of fasting. So it is the most blessed month of fasting and this is the most blessed day to the point that Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala عنهما, some of the Tabi'een, they said to them, عَجَبًا لَكُمْ يَا أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ How strange are you, O companions of the Messenger of Allah salallahu alayhi wasalam, you fast this day even when you travel. You fast a day even when you travel. Why is that? Whereas Ramadan, which are obligatory fasts, you put them off and you make them up. And he responded and he said, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said about Ramadan, عِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرٍ that a person can make them up in days to come,
but that is not the case for Ashura. So a person could even fast it when they are traveling to take advantage of the blessed day. And of course, those who are prohibited due to circumstances out of their hands, بِإِنَّ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى the reward is written down for them as well. Of course, we also know from the sunnah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam that this was a day that was initially mandatory for the believers to fast. And then the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam made it voluntary with the obligation of Ramadan. قال عليه الصلاة والسلام هذا يوم من أيام الله This is one of the days of the days of Allah. فَمَنْ شَاءَ صَامَهُ وَمَنْ شَاءَ تَرَكَهُ Whoever wishes to fast it can do so and whoever wishes not to fast can do so. And we know lastly that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam of course in regards to Siyam he عليه الصلاة والسلام said that if he lived another year he would add the ninth day to the day of the tenth. He would fast both the ninth and the tenth. And one of the reasons that the ulama mentioned one of them of course to distinguish ourselves from people of the book, another one خَشْيَةَ نَقْصِ الْهِلَال Imam al-Nawwi rahimahullah says in case the hilal, the siding was off and we know that this year by the way some are fasting on Thursday, some are fasting on Wednesday. So perhaps it is an opportunity biddenillahi ta'ala to fast both Wednesday and Thursday to make sure that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala counts that day for you and that you reach that day. وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ إِنِّي أَحْتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَن يُكَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِي قَبْلَهُ I seek from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that this day will expiate all of the sins of the previous years. How beautiful is that. Now what I want to transition to insha'Allah ta'ala in conclusion to this. In general a day of fasting should be honored with good deeds. In general a day of fasting should be honored with sadaqah, should be honored with charity, should be honored if you can with praying janazah
if there is a janazah to pray and following the janazah. Should be honored with visiting the sick if there isn't the sick. This is a general day of fasting. It should be infused with good deeds and deprived of sins that would take away the blessings. So of course a day that is the most preferred day of the most preferred days to fast after Ramadan, how will you honor that fast? And so you find some of the narrations. One narration which is in Ibn Abd al-Barr al-Bayhaqi and it is disputed in its authenticity and I have no care to go into that dispute on the manbar. There have been entire books written about this. But just to say that some of the scholars considered it authentic others did not. That the Prophet ﷺ said مَنْ وَسَّعَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَأَهْلِهِ يَوْمَ عَشُرًا وَسَّعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ سَائِرَ سَنَتِهِ That whoever spends generously on their family, on themselves and on their family on that day in sadaqah, Allah will be generous to that person, will spend upon that person for the entire year. Which is very interesting. And again it's narrated in Shu'ab al-Iman Ibn Abd al-Barr. Many of the scholars of the sunnah, they spoke about this narration and one of the proofs that they mentioned were that the narrators of the hadith itself said جَرَّبْنَاهُ فَوَجَدْنَاهُ كَذَٰلِكَ That we have practiced this and we have found that reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Al-Hafid ibn Rajab rahimahullah ta'ala he narrates that Imam Ahmed rahimahullah said he heard Sufyan ibn Uyayna rahimahullah who is not a sahabi but who is one of the tabi'een say جَرَّبْنَاهُ مُنذُ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً أَوْ سَتِينَ سَنَةً فَمَا رَأَيْنَا إِلَّا خَيْرًا That we have practiced this for 50 or 60 years and we only found good from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That as we gave in sadaqah, spent in sadaqah, in charity and the best of charity to spend on is your family. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would increase that for you and that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would spend on you, would reciprocate that generosity
for the year as well. Again, whether or not it is specific as this or not, mark the day with ibadah. Mark the day with worship. Mark the day with charity. وَلَا إِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ It is a day of gratitude and if you are grateful I will increase you. It is not the day of arafah which is marked by a day of du'a but it is a day that is legislated in the spirit of gratitude to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. اِعْمَلُوا آلَ دَاوُودُ شُكْرًا So work, just like the family of Dawood a.s. was commanded to work. Work deeds of gratitude on that day. Give sadaqa on that day. Make du'a that day of course. Do the deeds that would infuse your fast with barakah, with blessing and pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And whether they are narrated or not, we know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, His mercy is greater than anything that we can comprehend. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to reach that day and may Allah azawajal accept it from us with all of our good deeds in Ramadan and in Sha'ban and in Shawwal and Muharram and Dhul Hijjah and beyond throughout the year. اللهم آمين أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم ورسالة المسلمين فاستغفروا إنه الغفور الرحيم الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين اللهم اغفر المؤمنين والمؤمنات والمسلمين والمسلمات الأحياء منهم والأموات اللهم انك سميع قريب المجيب الدعوات اللهم اغفر لنا وارحمنا واعفو عنا ولا تعدبنا ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكونن من الخاسرين اللهم انك عفو كريم تحب العفو فاعفو عنا اللهم اغفر لوالدين رب ارحمهما كما ربونا صغارا ربنا هبلنا من أزواجنا وذرياتنا قرة أعين وجعلنا للمتقين إماما اللهم انصر إخواننا المصطلعين في مشارق الأرض ومغاربها اللهم أعز الإسلام والمسلمين وأذل الشرك والكاذبين ودمر أعداء الدين اللهم أهلك الظالمين بالظالمين
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