Virtues of Fasting on the 10th of Muharram (Ashura)
Question:
It is said that before the Fasts of Ramadaan were made Fard, the Fast of Aashurah was the Fard Fast?
Answer:
Yes, this is correct.
Question:
Does this mean that even though this fast is now Nafil after the Fasts of Ramadaan were ordained as Fard, we should try to keep it?
Answer:
Yes indeed. To keep the fast of Aashurah is indeed beneficial. However, it has been advised by the scholars when intending to fast on the 10th of Muharram, it is better to fast on the 9th of Muharram as well.
Question:
Did our Beloved Nabi ﷺ personally keep the fasts of Aashurah?
Answer:
RasūlAllāh ﷺ would fast on the day of Aashurah. It is in Bukhari and Muslim from Ibn Ab’bas radiyAllāhu Anhu that RasūlAllāh ﷺ personally kept the fast of Aashurah, and commanded that it should be kept.
Question:
What is the merit of the fast of Aashurah?
Answer:
It is reported from Hazrat Abu Hurairah ﷺ that Sayyiduna RasūlAllāh ﷺ, ‘After the fasts of Ramadaan, the most exalted is the Fast of Aashurah, and most exalted Namaaz after the Fard Namaaz is Salaat ul Layl (i.e. Tahaj’jud).’ [Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmizi and Nasa’i]
Question:
What are the blessings of Fasting the Fasts of Aashurah?
Answer:
It is reported in Sahih Muslim from Hazrat Abu Qatadah radiyAllāhu Anhu that Sayyiduna RasūlAllāh ﷺ said, ‘I have faith from Allah that the fasts of Aashurah will erase the sins of the preceding year.’
References:
Bukhari 1892, Muslim, Tirmizi, Abu Dawood, Nasai
Merits of Nafil Fasts, Mufti Afthab Cassim al-Qadri Ridawi Noori, published by Imam Mustafa Raza Reaserch Center.