Importance of Month of Muharram and Fasting on Day of Ashura

The new Islamic year 1442 has since commenced with the dawn of the 1st of Muharram " ٱلْمُحَرَّم ". This month is considered sacred for many reasons, specially the fasting of the 10th of Muharram.

The 10th of Muharram, known as Ashura, has special significance in the Jewish religion for Ashura marks the day that Prophet Musa (Moses, peace be upon him)  and the Israelites were saved from Pharaoh by God creating a path in the Sea, and is the Islamic equivalent to Yom Kippur. In Islam, Ashura follows the traditions of Judaism as Jewish people with a day day of fasting - commemorating the parting of the Red Sea for Moses and his followers to escape Pharaoh. In fact when Prophet of Islam, Muhammad (ﷺ) migrated to Medina from Makkah, and saw Jews fasting on 10th of Muharram for it was dedicated to the one of the earliest prophets of Allah, he also asked his companions to follow the suit to carry on the tradition of Jews, considered brothers following the same Divine religion as do the Muslims. However it must be understood that unlike obligatory fasting during the month of Ramadan, the fast of Ashura was made non-compulsory.

The month of Muharram, specially the Day of Ashura is of special significance to Shia Muslims in particular and rest of the Muslims in general for it was the day when Imam Hussain Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and the third Imam of the Shia community, was killed in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD.

In order to understand the importance of the month of Muharram and fasting on the day of Ashura, please watch an enlightening video below on the subject by Zakir Abdul Karim Naik, an Islamic televangelist and Islamic preacher. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation. He is also the founder of the Peace TV:

For more Q &A about understanding Islam, please refer to our reference page: Understanding Islam: Frequently Asked Q & A.

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

May Allah show us the right path so that we do not go astray due to what man has interpreted verses of religious scriptures to suit their own religions and faith. Aameen.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 

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