← Back to Videos
This content has been automatically translated. View original in Arabic
Peace be upon you, dear brothers and sisters. Tomorrow, Thursday, is the Day of Ashura. Our Prophet peace be upon him said: "Fasting on the Day of Ashura, I hope to God that it will expiate the sins of the previous year." This means the sins of the past year.
It is recommended for those who fast to also fast the day before or after, but there is no dislike in fasting Ashura alone. Do not miss out on this great reward for something trivial like a habit such as smoking or for an occasion. Postpone your engagements and meetings if they conflict with fasting, and inform others that you are doing so for the sake of Ashura. You will gain the reward of honoring it in the eyes of people, in addition to the reward of fasting itself.
Sisters who are excused from fasting due to a valid reason can still earn the reward of fasting by encouraging others to do so. Whoever guides to good is like the one who does it.
Do not skip fasting Ashura by saying, "I fasted on Arafah, and Arafah expiates two years' sins, so I am still covered within the two-year period." First, how do you know that God has accepted your fast? The acceptance of fasting on these virtuous days is conditional upon fulfilling the conditions of acceptance and avoiding its obstacles. God the Almighty says:
Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him]. (Quran 5:27)
Part of God-consciousness is to honor these days and strive for their reward. Feeling that you are guaranteed acceptance is not a good sign, while fearing that it may not be accepted is one of the most important signs of acceptance. Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha may God be pleased with her said:
She asked the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him about this verse: And [also] those who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will return to their Lord. (Quran 23:60)
She asked, "Are they those who drink alcohol and steal?" He peace be upon him replied, "No, O daughter of al-Siddiq. Rather, they are those who fast, pray, and give charity while fearing that it will not be accepted from them. These are the ones who hasten to good deeds, and they are the foremost in them."
Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "The believer combines excellence and fear, while the hypocrite combines evil and security."
A number of scholars stated that committing major sins prevents the expiation of sins on the Day of Ashura or Arafah. This is supported by hadiths such as the saying of the Prophet peace be upon him:
"The five daily prayers, Friday to Friday, and Ramadan to Ramadan are expiations for what is between them, as long as one avoids major sins."
If you combine the Day of Ashura with the Day of Arafah, it is more likely that the effect of major sins will be reduced and your sins will be forgiven. You might say, "I do not commit major sins," but there may be major sins you have grown accustomed to and become desensitized to, such as consuming unlawful wealth, backbiting, or severing family ties. Among the major sins that many overlook are sins of the heart, especially the worst of them: having bad assumptions about God's decrees, especially during times of increased trials, assuming that this world is a place of reward rather than a place of testing.
One of the major sins we forget is the negligence in supporting Muslims. You might ask, "How can I support them?" By struggling against your desires through fasting. God the Almighty says:
And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. (Quran 29:69)
Your fasting is a means for God to guide you to ways of supporting your brothers and sisters, and to help you avoid major sins of the limbs and the heart.
Fast on Ashura out of reverence and love for Allah the Almighty. This in itself is a great meaning. Remember the hadith Qudsi in which the Lord of Glory says:
"My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts of worship until I love him."
We fast on Ashura in emulation of the Sunnah of the Prophet peace be upon him. God the Almighty says:
Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins." (Quran 3:31)
We fast so that we do not regret on the Day of Judgment. Apart from the expiation of sins, there are differences in the levels of good deeds and the ranks of Paradise. Our Lord the Almighty named the Day of Judgment "the Day of Loss," where everyone realizes that they were at a loss, even the righteous believer realizes that they could have attained a higher rank if they had better utilized their breaths and lives.
We fast to expiate old sins that we committed and forgot about, thinking that simply abandoning them was enough and that we did not seek forgiveness for them as we should have. God the Almighty says:
On the Day when Allah will resurrect them all and inform them of what they did. Allah had enumerated it, while they forgot it; and Allah is, over all things, Witness. (Quran 58:6)
So hasten to purify yourself from these sins through fasting, rather than waiting for God to purify you through distress, grief, or calamities.
We fast to attain Allah’s proximity, which makes you recognize the truth and steadies you upon it in times of trials. Fasting is a means to increase God-consciousness:
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may become righteous. (Quran 2:183)
And God-consciousness is a means to His proximity: And know that Allah is with the righteous. (Quran 2:186), and it is a means to discernment:
O you who have believed, if you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion and will remove from you your misdeeds and forgive you. And Allah is the Owner of the great bounty. (Quran 8:29)
We fast on Ashura to protect ourselves from falling into future sins. The Prophet peace be upon him said:
"Fasting is a shield."
That is, protection from sins in this world and from the Fire in the Hereafter.
We express that we are more entitled to Moses, peace be upon him, than the Jews. In the hadith, the Prophet peace be upon him, when he arrived in Medina, found the Jews fasting on Ashura because it was the day Moses appeared over Pharaoh. He said:
"You have more right to Moses than they do, so fast."
We are the true followers of all the prophets because we follow Islam, the religion of all the prophets.
We fast on Ashura to honor the right of Allah in a time when some people do not see value in rituals except for material benefit. We fast as an expression of the centrality of seeking Allah’s pleasure in our lives. This is part of the meaning of the hadith Qudsi:
"Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting. It is for Me, and I will reward it."
For all these reasons, fast on Ashura and encourage others to do so. We ask Allah to accept it from us and from you.
Race towards forgiveness from your Lord and Paradise as wide as the heavens and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers. That is the bounty of Allah, which He gives to whom He wills. And Allah is the Owner of the great bounty. (Quran 57:21)
Peace be upon you.