’ASHÛRA NIGHT

The tenth night of Muharram. Muharram is one of the four months esteemed in the Qur’ân. ’Ashûra is the most valuable night of the month. Allâhu ta’âlâ has accepted many prayers on the ’Ashûra Day. Acceptance of Hadrat Adam’s repentance; Hadrat Nûh’s (Noah’s) ship’s being rescued from the Flood, Hadrat Yûnus’ getting out of the fish’s stomach; Hadrat Ibrâhîm’s not burning in Nimrod’s fire; Hadrat Idrîs’ being made to ascend to heavens; Hadrat Ya’qûb’s finding his son Yûsuf and healing of the cataract on his eyes; Hadrat Yûsuf’s getting out of the well; Hadrat Ayyûb’s recovering health; Hadrat Mûsâ’s (Moses) passing over the Nile and Pharaoh’s being drowned; Hadrat Îsâ’s birth and his escaping from being killed by Jews and his ascent to heaven alive; all these happened on the ’Ashûra Day. It is not an act of worship for Muslims to cook (the sweet desert called) ’ashûra on the tenth of Muharram because Hadrat Nûh (Noah) cooked a sweet called ’ashûra on board the ship. Hadrat Muhammad ‘’alaihis-salâm’ and the Sahâba ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anhum ajma’în’ did not do so. It is a bid’at, a sin to think that it is an act of worship to cook ’ashûra on that day. It is worship to do what Hadrat Muhammad did and commanded. It will not bring thawâb to do things that are not written in Islamic books or taught by Islamic savants. It is sinful. It is sunnat, and worship, to prepare any sweet or to give feasts to acquaintances and alms to the poor on that day. Ibni ’Âbidîn writes on the two hundred and seventy-sixth page of the fifth volume: “It is an act of sunnat to put kohl on the eyelashes. But it is harâm to do this only on ’Ashûra Day.”

It is bid’at to mourn and lament because Hadrat Husain ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ was martyred on that day. It is sinful. Mourning on ’Ashûra Day is a custom of the Shi’îs. They mourn for Hadrat Husain. Because Hadrat Husayn was Hadrat ’Alî’s son, they praise him adoringly. But we the Ahl as-sunnat love him very much because he was Rasûlullah’s ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam’ grandson. There is no mourning in Islam. Muslims do not mourn only on ’Ashûra Day. But they always become sad whenever they remember the tragedy of Kerbelâ. They grieve deeply. They weep bitterly. If there were mourning in Islam, we would have done it not on the ’Ashûra Day but on the day when Rasûlullah’s blessed feet bled all over in Tâif, or when his blessed tooth was broken and his blessed face bled at Uhûd, or when he passed away.