What is the significance of Muḥarram and the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ?
Muḥarram is one of the four sacred months of the Islamic calendar. ʿĀshūrāʾ, its tenth day, commemorates the salvation of Mūsā — a fast the Prophet ﷺ himself observed.
10 passages from 5 books in the library
Muḥarram is one of the four sacred months of the Islamic calendar — which al-Ghazali, in the Iḥyāʾ, lists as Dhū al-Qaʿdah, Dhū al-Ḥijjah, Muḥarram, and Rajab. He relates that the best fast after Ramadan is in "the month of Allah, Muḥarram," and that its first night and the night of ʿĀshūrāʾ are nights of special worth. ʿĀshūrāʾ, its tenth day, is when the Prophet ﷺ "arrived in Medina and found the Jews fasting," and Ibn Battuta records ʿĀshūrāʾ kept as a festive season of charity to the weak and infirm.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 5 books by Ibn Battuta, Imam al-Ghazali, and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
-
"at the dawn of the sacred month of Muharram, in the year 53, in the company of its leader."
-
"I entered Mali on the 14th of Jumadah al-Awwal in the 53rd year and left on the 22nd of Muharram in the 54th year."
-
"During the festive seasons, such as the Eids, the Nobel Mawlid, the Day of Ashura, and the"
-
"day of Ashura, and his charity for the infirm and weak by granting them agricultural pears"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"As for the other nine nights, the first night of Muharram, the night of Ashura, the first"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
-
"peace and blessings be upon him, arrived in Medina and found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
-
"The sacred months are Dhu al-Qidah, Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab, one stand-alone and three"
-
"Shawwal is a month of pilgrimage but not sacred, whereas Muharram and Rajab are not months"
-
"It is narrated that the best fast after Ramadan is in the month of Allah, Muharram, as it"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
· Provenance →
-
"the Thursday, the second of the sacred month of Rajab, in the year 725 of the Hijra, with"
Want a different angle?
Type your question below — JM Scholar will ground its answer in the same sources.