Virtues of the Month of Muharram

bemuslim

Junior Member
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, thanks for your interesting question, and we earnestly implore Allah to guide us to the best way through which we can please Him.

A Muslim is to be keen to get closer to Allah and draw nearer to Him all the time. Such keenness gains more weight and significance during blessed occasions and times. One of these occasions in which a Muslim should exert more effort and show more keenness is the month of Muharram.

To shed more light on the significance of worship in this blessed month we would like to cite for you the following:


Indeed, the sacred month of Muharram is a blessed and important month. It is the first month of the Hijri calendar and is one of the four sacred months concerning which Allah says,(Verily, the number of months with Allah is twelve months (in a year), so it was ordained by Allah on the Day when He created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right religion, so wrong not yourselves therein) (At-Tawbah 9: 36)

Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Time has come back to its original state which it had when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth; the year is twelve months, four of which are sacred. Three of them are in succession: Dhul-Qa`da, Dhul-Hijja and Al-Muharram, and (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar (named after the tribe of Mudar as they used to respect this month) which stands between Jumad (ath-Thani) and Sha`ban."

Muharram is called so because it is a sacred (muharram) month and to confirm its sanctity. Allah Almighty says, (so wrong not yourselves therein), which means do not wrong yourselves in these sacred months, because sin in these months is worse than in other months.

It was reported that Ibn `Abbas said regarding the above verse that these four months were singled out and made sacred. Sins in these months are more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.

Qatadah said concerning this phrase (so wrong not yourselves therein) that wrongdoing during the sacred months is more serious and more sinful than wrongdoing at any other time. Wrongdoing at any time is a serious matter, but Allah gives more weight to whichever of His commands He will. Allah has chosen certain ones of His Creation. He has chosen from among the angels Messengers and from among mankind Messengers. He chose from among speech His remembrance or dhikr. He chose from among the earth the mosques, from among the months Ramadan and the sacred months, from among the days Friday and from among the nights laylat al-qadr, so venerate that which Allah has told us to venerate. People of understanding and wisdom venerate the things that Allah has told us to venerate. (Summarized from the Tafseer of Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him. Tafseer of Surat at-Tawbah, verse 36).

The Virtue of Observing More Voluntary Fasting during Muharram:

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The best of fasting after Ramadan is fasting Allah' month of Muharram." (Reported by Muslim).

The phrase "Allah's month", connecting the name of the month to the name of Allah in a genitive grammatical structure, signifies the importance of the month. Al-Qari said:

The apparent meaning of the above Hadith is to fast all of the month of Muharram. But it was proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never fasted any whole month apart from Ramadan, so this Hadith is probably meant to encourage increasing one's fasting during Muharram, without meaning that one should fast for the entire month.
It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to fast more in Sha`ban because he may have not learnt of the virtue of Muharram until the end of his life, before he was able to fast during this month, or because certain circumstances may happened during this month hindering him from fasting such as sickness, travel, etc. (Sharh al-Nawawi `ala Saheeh Muslim)."

Excerpted with modifications from www.islam-qa.com

Thus, a true Muslim has to seize the opportunity of these blessed days and tries his best to get as much reward in them as possible.



You can also read:



The Significance of Fasting the Day of `Ashura'



Fasting the 9th & 10th of Muharram: Virtues & Rules



Days of Muharram: Ethics and Significance

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bemuslim

Junior Member
FASTING ON ASHURA

Fasting on Muharram 10, known as the Day of `Ashura’, expiates for the sins of the past year. This year it corresponds with March 1, 2004.

When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Madinah in 622 CE, he found that the Jews there fasted on Muharram 10 and asked them the reason for their fasting on this day. They said, “This is a blessed day. On this day Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy (in Egypt) and so Prophet Musa [Moses] fasted on this day giving thanks to Allah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “We are closer to Musa than you are.” He fasted on that day and commanded Muslims to fast on this day. (Al-Bukhari)

The following year, Allah commanded the Muslims to fast the month of Ramadan, and the fasting of `Ashura’ became optional.

It is also reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to fast on the ninth and tenth. Ibn `Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah fasted on the day of `Ashura’ and ordered the people to fast on it. The people said, "O Messenger of Allah, it is a day that the Jews and Christians honor." The Prophet said, "When the following year comes, Allah willing, we shall fast on the ninth." The death of the Prophet came before the following year. (Muslim and Abu Dawud)

For more on `Ashura’ and Muharram, please read:

The Significance of Fasting the Day of `Ashura'

Virtues of the Month of Muharram & Fasting during It

Thus, according to scholars, you may choose to fast `Ashura’ on three days (ninth, tenth, and eleventh); two days (ninth and tenth); or one day only (the tenth).

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Fasting the day of `Ashura’ (is of great merits), I hope that Allah will accept it as an expiation for (the sins committed in) the previous year.” (Muslim)

But this expiation of minor sins comes only if you avoid major sins. It is a big mistake to rely on fasting a single day to “wipe your slate clean.” If you neglect your daily Prayers or the fast of Ramadan, or if you backbite, lie, commit adultery or other major sins, fasting on `Ashura’ alone will not atone for your sins. The great scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyya (b. 691 AH/1292 CE) wrote:

This misguided person does not know that fasting in Ramadan and praying five times a day are much more important than fasting on the Day of Arafah and the Day of `Ashura’, and that they expiate for the sins between one Ramadan and the next, or between one Friday and the next, so long as one avoids major sins. But they cannot expiate for minor sins unless one also avoids major sins; when the two things are put together, they have the strength to expiate for minor sins. Among those deceived people may be one who thinks that his good deeds are more than his sins, because he does not pay attention to his bad deeds or check on his sins, but if he does a good deed he remembers it and relies on it. This is like the one who seeks Allah’s forgiveness with his tongue (that is, by words only), and glorifies Allah by saying “subhan Allah” one hundred times a day, then he backbites about the Muslims and slanders their honor, and speaks all day long about things that are not pleasing to Allah. This person is always thinking about the virtues of his saying “subhan Allah” and saying “la ilaha illa Allah” but he pays no attention to what has been reported concerning those who backbite, tell lies, and slander others, or commit other sins of the tongue. They are completely deceived.

(Al-Mawsu`ah Al-Fiqhiyyah, part 31, Ghuroor)

You may hear of some customs associated with `Ashura’ such as cooking and eating certain foods on that day, wearing kohl or henna, or even merrymaking. Others consider this a day of mourning and wailing in honor of the Prophet’s grandson Al-Husayn, who was killed in battle on that day. The scholar Ibn Taymiyah (b. 661 AH/1263 CE) stated that all of these are bid`ahs (reprehensible innovations) that should be avoided.

Take advantage of this opportunity to bring yourself closer to Allah on `Ashura’ by fasting and praying for forgiveness.
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bemuslim

Junior Member
reminder

[ASHURA IN America , Europe, Middle East and Most countries in Africa will be On Monday 5 december 2012
 

hana*

Junior Member
:salam2:

I thought that rajab was Allah's month and that the best days to fast after ramadan were the first 10 days of Dhul Hajj??
 
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