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Muslims fast on Ashura because the Prophet ﷺ fasted it and commanded it, and because it was the day Allah saved Musa and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh. When he ﷺ came to Madinah and found the Jews fasting it, he said, "I have more right to Musa than you," and made it a confirmed sunnah — a fast that wipes out the sins of the past year.
The day and its name
Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram. Al-San'ani notes in al-Tahbir that the name is Islamic, and that Tasu'a — the ninth — was formed alongside it. Ibn Abbas held that Ashura is the ninth, reading the name from the watering of camels, but the majority of the early scholars — Muhammad ibn Sirin, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, al-Hasan and Ikrimah — held it is the tenth. The tenth is the position the scholars act on.
The reason the Prophet ﷺ gave
The story is reported by Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما. When the Prophet ﷺ reached Madinah, he found the Jews fasting Ashura and asked them about it. They said it was a righteous day on which Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy, and that Musa had fasted it. He ﷺ replied:
"I have more right to Musa than you."— Sahih al-Bukhari, from Ibn Abbas
So he fasted it and ordered that it be fasted. In the Muslim narration they added that Musa fasted it out of gratitude to Allah. The scholars explain "I have more right to Musa" as meaning the Prophet ﷺ and his followers are closer to Musa, because they affirm his message and his Book, while the Jews altered and changed it.
Why the Muslims fast it and not the Jews
The command was not a borrowing from the Jews. Al-Kankuhi, in al-Kawkab al-Durri, is explicit: the Prophet ﷺ had already been fasting Ashura before this, and he ordered it not to imitate the Jews but because it had been commanded before. The Jews' practice merely confirmed what he already knew. Ibn Uthaymin makes the same point in his commentary on Riyad al-Salihin: we fast it because Allah saved His prophet Musa, and we differ from the Jews by adding a day.
It was once obligatory, then became voluntary
The scholars differ over whether Ashura was ever fard. The Hanafis held it was obligatory in the first period of Islam and was then abrogated; the Shafi'i position, which al-Shawkani and Ibn Hajar preferred, is that it was never obligatory but always a strongly confirmed sunnah. The evidence for the second view is Mu'awiyah's رضي الله عنه sermon in Madinah:
"This is the day of Ashura; Allah has not made fasting it obligatory upon you. So whoever wishes may fast, and whoever wishes may not."— Sahih al-Bukhari 2003
The command to fast it was given in the first year after the Hijrah, and Ramadan was made obligatory in the second, after which the obligation of Ashura was lifted and it remained a recommended fast. The choice offered in the narrations — "whoever wishes may fast, whoever wishes may leave it" — removes the obligation, not the virtue.
What the fast is worth
The Prophet ﷺ said of it:
"Fasting the day of Ashura, I hope from Allah that it expiates the year before it."— Sahih Muslim 1162, from Abu Qatadah
Ibn Uthaymin notes this is less in reward than the fast of Arafah, which expiates two years, and explains the difference: Arafah is connected to the Prophet ﷺ, while Ashura is connected to Musa عليه السلام.
Fasting the ninth with it
The Prophet ﷺ intended to fast the ninth as well, to differ from the Jews. Ibn Abbas reported:
"When the next year comes, we shall fast the ninth."— Sahih Muslim 1134, from Ibn Abbas
He ﷺ died before that year came. Ibn Uthaymin sets out three ways of fasting it, following Ibn al-Qayyim:
| Practice | Ruling |
|---|---|
| The ninth and the tenth | The most complete and most virtuous |
| The tenth and the eleventh | Also valid, below the first |
| The tenth alone | Disliked by some scholars, permitted by others |
Ibn Uthaymin adds that if a person can only fast the tenth alone, the dislike is lifted by the need. Ibn Abbas himself used to fast the ninth, tenth and eleventh, and would fast Ashura even while travelling, joining days together for fear of missing it.
Key takeaways
- The fast of Ashura is a confirmed sunnah, not an obligation — the obligation was lifted when Ramadan was prescribed.
- Its virtue is the expiation of the previous year's sins, as the Prophet ﷺ stated.
- The reason for it is gratitude to Allah for saving Musa and his people and drowning Pharaoh and his people.
- Fasting the ninth with the tenth is best, because the Prophet ﷺ intended it in order to differ from the Jews.
- Fasting the tenth alone is valid, though some scholars disliked it and others permitted it.
Further reading
- Ibn Uthaymin, Sharh Riyad al-Salihin
- Al-San'ani, al-Tahbir li-Idah Ma'ani al-Taysir
- Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari
And Allah knows best.
Sources1
This is a guide to what the scholars have said, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar who can hear the details.