3. The Fast of Ashura

Bukhaari and Muslim narrate from Abdullah ibn Abbas that when the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam arrived in Madinah

‘He found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura so he enquired about it from them. They replied ‘This is the day in which Allah received Musa and the Bani Israil upon Firawn and we fast in its honour’  (Bukhaari & Muslim)

To this the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam replied;

‘We are closer to Musa than you and ordered the fast’ (Bukhaari)

In a second narration of Bukhaari the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said to the companions

‘You have more right to Musa than them so fast on it’

When the Imam ul Muhaditheen Hafiz Ibn Hajar was asked about the gathering of Milaad, in its permissibity, he referred to this hadith and said;

‘The narration of the Sahihain (Bukaari and Muslim) has the rank of Sanad (proof) in the permissibility of the gathering of Milaad’ (Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 31)

It is true! If it is permissible to commemorate the day when Allah favoured Musa and his Ummah, how can it be bid’ah and deviation to show gratitude at that time when Allah blessed this Ummah with the greatest favour, about which even Musa said ‘Oh Allah, make me one of his Ummah’ And because the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam is the greatest blessing it is more important and right for this Ummah to show gratitude. This is what Hafiz Ibn Hajar explained in his own words.

‘This act of the Prophet upon him be Allah’s blessing and Salutation reveals that Allah should be thanked on the day in which His blessing is received or a catastrophe is lifted and He should also be thanked when that day returns. There are many ways of thanking Allah such as worship, prostration, fasting, charity and recitation’ (Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 31)

After this prelude he turns the readers attention to the fact that all blessings have their respective places but;

‘The greatest blessing of all is the arrival on that day of the honourable Prophet upon him be Allah’s blessing and Salutation’ (Al Mawid Ar Rawaa 31)



An oft quoted objection is;

“The celebration of Milaad is similar to (or an imitation of) the acts of the Jews and Christians who celebrate the day of the birth of Isa as an Eid”

To this we respond in the following way:

The above mentioned hadith should have destroyed such an objection because no one knows the Shariah better than the legislator himself! And according to (the reasoning of) these critics the Prophet upon him be Allah’s blessing and Salutation should have prohibited fasting on the day of Ashura because the Jews fasted on it. But he did not forbid such similarity in good acts! Instead he ordered a show of greater love and directed the companions to fast! So what room is there for such an objection?

Note that the similarity which Islam forbade is in those beliefs and acts which negate Islam. It is mandatory to refrain from such matters for Allah shall be displeased with anyone who undertakes such similarity.

Further, those aware of the inner secrets of Islam have actually claimed that if the Christians celebrate the day of their Prophets birth then the Muslims should celebrate the day of their Prophets birth with greater fervour! And that this would not be an imitation of the disbelievers but would instead be the living death of satanic forces. Listen to what Imam ul Quraa Hafiz ul Hadith Shaykh Ibn Jazari writes

‘In it (Milaad) is death for satanic forces and life for the believers. And if the Christians take the day of the birth of their Prophet as their greatest Eid then the Muslims have a greater right in honouring the Milaad day of their Prophet’ (Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 29-30)

Another typical objection:

“The birth of the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam happened once and that day has passed. This event does not happen each year so what is the need to commemorate it (each year)?”

The response:

The Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam action described in the above hadith bears witness to the fact that when the day, in which a specific bounty of Allah occurred, returns it is commemorated in gratitude. This is based on the fact that when the Jews revealed that this was the day in which Allah gave salvation to Musa and the Bani Israeel and destroyed Firawn and his nation the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam replied that in future he would also fast and ordered the companions to do so. If it was bid’ah to commemorate this day each year would anyone have been more aware of this than the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam? Rather than forbidding it he established the principle that the day in which a blessing of Allah occurs should be remembered through a show of happiness.

In using this hadith as a basis Shaykh Muhammad Alawi Maliki states

‘The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam took account of past times in which religious events took place and when those times returned he would honour them by showing happiness in remembrance of the religious event. (This is) for the day became the ‘arena’ for those religious events. The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam blessed us this principle himself through his actions and words, for example the Sahih hadith in which he saw the Jews in Madeenah fasting on Ashura and ordered the companions to also fast.’ (Muqaddima Al Mawrid Ar Rawaa 10)

All the days that are celebrated in Islam are in reality the remembrance (of something). Take for example the celebration of the Quran’s revelation, it is celebrated each year but the Quran is not revealed each year. Similarly day of Jumaah is in remembrance of Syeduna Adam, other days include the fast of Ashura, Night of Qadr and Night of Baraa’h! When each of these days return they bring back with them all their blessings, so how blessed is the day of the Prophet’s SallAllahu alaihi wasallam birth ?