Study AL Quran
Muharram
Voluntary Fasting
Prophet Musa
On the tenth day of Muharram, a sea split open and an entire people walked out of slavery. Thousands of years later, Muslims across the world still fast that same day. The Day of Ashura carries one of the largest rewards in Islam for one of the smallest efforts — and most people who fast it have never been told the full story behind it.
In This Article
Key Takeaways
- Ashura is the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year.
- Fasting it expiates the sins of the previous year.
- The Sunnah is to fast the 9th and 10th together — or the 10th and 11th.
- Muharram is the best month for voluntary fasting after Ramadan.
- It is a day of gratitude and fasting — not a festival, and not a day of ritual grief.
1. The Day a Sea Split — and Why Muslims Still Fast For It
When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, he found the Jewish community fasting on the tenth of Muharram. He asked them why. They told him it was the day Allah saved Musa (peace be upon him) and his people from Pharaoh, and that Musa fasted it in gratitude.
His answer redrew the whole picture:
نَحْنُ أَحَقُّ بِمُوسَى مِنْكُمْ“We have more right to Musa than you.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2004 · Sahih Muslim 1130
Then he fasted it, and told his Companions to fast it. Notice what he did not say. He did not dismiss the day because others were observing it. He claimed it — because every Prophet before him carried the same message, and the rescue of Musa belongs to every believer in that message.
2. A Whole Year of Sins, Erased in One Day
This is the reward that makes Ashura unlike almost any other voluntary act in Islam:
صِيَامُ يَوْمِ عَاشُورَاءَ أَحْتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِي قَبْلَهُ“Fasting the day of Ashura — I hope that Allah will expiate by it the year that came before it.”
Sahih Muslim 1162
One important qualification: scholars explain that this expiation covers minor sins. Major sins require sincere repentance, and wrongs done to other people require putting them right. Ashura is a gift, not a loophole.
3. Why He ﷺ Wanted to Fast the Ninth Too
Near the end of his life, the Prophet ﷺ was told that the tenth was a day the People of the Book honoured. He replied:
لَئِنْ بَقِيتُ إِلَى قَابِلٍ لَأَصُومَنَّ التَّاسِعَ“If I live to the next year, I will certainly fast the ninth.”
Sahih Muslim 1134
He passed away before that year came. But the intention became a Sunnah: pair the tenth with a second day — the ninth before it, or the eleventh after it — so the fast is distinctly ours.
4. The Fast That Was Once Obligatory
Here is a detail most Muslims do not know. Before the fast of Ramadan was revealed, fasting Ashura was obligatory. When Ramadan was made a pillar, the ruling on Ashura softened: whoever wished to fast it did, and whoever wished to leave it could (Sahih al-Bukhari 2001).
That history tells you how heavy this day once weighed. It is voluntary now — but it was serious enough to be a duty before Ramadan existed.
5. The Best Fasting After Ramadan
Ashura sits inside a month that carries its own distinction:
أَفْضَلُ الصِّيَامِ بَعْدَ رَمَضَانَ شَهْرُ اللَّهِ الْمُحَرَّمُ“The best fasting after Ramadan is Allah’s month, Muharram.”
Sahih Muslim 1163
Muharram is also one of the four sacred months of the Islamic year, alongside Rajab, Dhul Qa‘dah and Dhul Hijjah. If you find Ashura easy, extra fasting anywhere in Muharram carries this same distinction. The same logic applies to the month of Rajab, which opens the road toward Ramadan.
6. What Ashura Is Not
Over the centuries a number of customs have attached themselves to this day that have no basis in the Sunnah. It is worth knowing what the Prophet ﷺ actually established, and what he did not:
The safest position is always the simplest one: fast the day, thank Allah, and add whatever ordinary good deeds you can.
Which Days Should You Actually Fast?
Best: fast the 9th and 10th of Muharram together. This is the form the Prophet ﷺ intended for himself.
Also good: the 10th and 11th, if you missed the ninth or only realised on the day itself.
Still rewarded: the 10th alone. The expiation narrated for Ashura is tied to this day — pairing it is a recommendation, not a condition.
Check your local date. Muharram moves roughly eleven days earlier each solar year, and the start of the month depends on the moon sighting where you live. Confirm with your local masjid rather than assuming.
Test Your Understanding
- Which Prophet’s rescue is commemorated by fasting Ashura?
- Why did the Prophet ﷺ intend to add the ninth of Muharram?
- What changed about the ruling on Ashura once Ramadan was revealed?
Answers: Musa (peace be upon him) · so the Muslim fast would be distinct from that of the People of the Book · it moved from obligatory to voluntary.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Day of Ashura?
It falls on the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic year is lunar, the Gregorian date moves back around eleven days each year — confirm the exact date locally.
How many days should I fast for Ashura?
Two is best — the ninth and tenth, or the tenth and eleventh. Fasting the tenth on its own is still valid and still carries the narrated reward.
Does fasting Ashura really erase a year of sins?
The hadith expresses the Prophet’s hope that Allah expiates the previous year by it. Scholars understand this as covering minor sins; major sins need sincere repentance, and rights owed to people must be returned.
Can I fast Ashura if I still owe missed Ramadan days?
Making up obligatory Ramadan fasts takes priority. Many scholars permit fasting Ashura before completing them, but the safer and better path is to clear what is owed first.
Is Ashura a day of celebration or of mourning?
Neither. What the Sunnah establishes is fasting and gratitude for Allah’s rescue of Musa. Treating it as a festival, or marking it with rituals of grief, has no basis in the practice of the Prophet ﷺ.
Ashura is one of several moments in the Islamic year that reward a small, deliberate effort out of all proportion. If you want to make more of them, start with the month of Rajab and with the days of Hajj. And if you want the Quran itself to become part of your week rather than your calendar, these lessons from Surah Al-Baqarah and the benefits of learning the Quran are the right next step.
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