Ashura Day

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Happy Ashura Day! Ashura just means number 10. It's the tenth day of the first month (Muharram) of Islamic calendar. Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad in his khutbah said that, this is a time to contemplate on two great hijrah in the history of monotheism.

It is well-known that the Islamic calendar was started on the year when Prophet Muhammad (saw) and the believing muslims in Makkah emigrated to Madinah (back then Yathrib) after 13 years of preaching and suffering, and also persecution. It marks the starting of the calculation of Islamic year until today, we have entered year 1429H. Many miracles had been presented to the mushrikun (polytheists) but they didn't accept this faith, including the greatest miracle - the Holy Qur'an. Instead, the muslims were tortured, killed, boycotted and persecuted in their own land. Facing such oppression until the muslims asked the Prophet (saw) - when will ALLAH's help come? (recorded in Surah al-Baqarah verse 214); until the Angels offered to kill the oppressors, to crush the mountains around Makkah in order to destroy them, but our beloved Prophet (saw) never wished for anything bad to anyone, taught us to be patient and forgiving, until the command from ALLAH to emigrate to Madinah came. His (saw) quality of forgiving was shown when he conquered Makkah after 10 years of the hijrah, he (saw) forgave and freed those who used to oppressed him (saw) and the muslims.

Another great story of hijrah is recorded in the Qur'an when Prophet Musa (as) and the believing People of Israel emigrated from Egypt to Palestine, escaping the greatest oppressor of all time, the Pharaoh. Fallen into the same situation as Prophet Muhammad (saw), his (as) miracles (at least 9) were not accepted by the arrogant Pharaoh. They were forced to work as slaves while their boys were killed. Finally, Prophet Musa (as), Prophet Harun (as) and the believing People of Israel who all submitted themselves to ALLAH emigrated to Palestine by getting a longer route to the south and passed the Red Sea by ALLAH's help. They then began new life in another land as like how the muslims began theirs in Madinah.

Thus, the muslims and the jews share the same tradition, frustration, struggle and the need to move to a new place to escape from the oppressors. Violence is not a solution in such a situation. By having faith in ALLAH, believing in HIS help and protection, we will gain success in this World and the Hereafter. To thank ALLAH for this escape, the jews fasted on Yom Kippur which literally means the Tenth Day as in Arabic, Yaum Ashura. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that the muslims have more right upon Prophet Musa (as) than the jews thus commanded the muslims to make fasting obligatory on this day during the first year of Hijrah. Later, this was abrogated by the Qur'an (in Surah al-Baqarah, verse 185), hence fasting on Ashura Day becomes recommended fast for the muslims. To differentiate between the fast of the muslims and other traditions on this day, the Prophet Muhammad (saw) commanded the muslims to fast on the 9th of Muharram too. Sadly, this was an act of worship that he didn't have the opportunity to fulfill as he passed away a few months after he said this.

More about Muharram & Ashura can be read here.

May ALLAH accept all our deeds and let us not be the oppressors nor the oppressed.

ALLAHU'alam.

Wassalam.