بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Muharram is a sacred month, and in the sacred months, good deeds are multiplied in reward and sins are more grievous in Allah’s sight. Fasting during this month is the best fasting after the month of Ramadan and the best day to fast in it is the Day of Aashoora.
Intentions for Fasting the Day of Aashoora
#1 - Fast hoping for the expiation of your sins.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
صِيَامُ يَوْمِ عَاشُورَاءَ إِنِّي أَحْتَسِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُكَفِّرَ السَّنَةَ الَّتِي قَبْلَهُ
"Fasting the day of ‘Ashura’, I hope from Allah, that He will expiate for the sins of the previous year.”
[Ibn Majah]
This refers to the minor sins. What is the gravity of the minor sins? If you know the gravity of the minor sins you will fear them and look at the fasting of the Day of Aashoora as a gift from Allah that He should be thanked for. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحَقَّرَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ فَإِنَّهُنَّ يَجْتَمِعْنَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ حَتَّى يُهْلِكْنَهُ
"Beware of minor sins. Verily, they gather upon a man until he is destroyed.”
[Musnad Ahmad]
And he ﷺ said:
إِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحَقَّرَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ كَقَوْمٍ نَزَلُوا فِي بَطْنِ وَادٍ فَجَاءَ ذَا بِعُودٍ وَجَاءَ ذَا بِعُودٍ حَتَّى أَنْضَجُوا خُبْزَتَهُمْ وَإِنَّ مُحَقَّرَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ مَتَى يُؤْخَذْ بِهَا صَاحِبُهَا تُهْلِكْهُ
"Beware of minor sins like a people who descend into the bottom of a valley, so one comes with a stick and another with a stick until they have fire to cook their bread. Verily, when a person is held accountable for these minor sins they will destroy him.”
[Musnad Ahmad]
- The minor sins will destroy a person. The Prophet ﷺ said:
تُعْرَضُ الْفِتَنُ عَلَى الْقُلُوبِ كَالْحَصِيرِ عُودًا عُودًا فَأَيُّ قَلْبٍ أُشْرِبَهَا نُكِتَ فِيهِ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ وَأَيُّ قَلْبٍ أَنْكَرَهَا نُكِتَ فِيهِ نُكْتَةٌ بَيْضَاءُ حَتَّى تَصِيرَ عَلَى قَلْبَيْنِ عَلَى أَبْيَضَ مِثْلِ الصَّفَا فَلَا تَضُرُّهُ فِتْنَةٌ مَا دَامَتْ السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ وَالْآخَرُ أَسْوَدُ مُرْبَادًّا كَالْكُوزِ مُجَخِّيًا لَا يَعْرِفُ مَعْرُوفًا وَلَا يُنْكِرُ مُنْكَرًا إِلَّا مَا أُشْرِبَ مِنْ هَوَاهُ
"Tribulation will be presented to the hearts of people like a reed mat woven stick by stick and any heart afflicted by them will have a black mark put into it, but any heart that rejects them will have a white mark put into it. Thus there will be two kinds of hearts: one is pure like a white gemstone and it will not be harmed by any tribulation as long as the heavens and earth endure, and the other is black and dusty like a worn-out vessel, neither recognizing good nor rejecting evil, but rather immersed in its desires"
[Muslim
This black heart doesn’t enjoin the good and forbid the evil. It sees the evil as good and the good as evil like the turned over cup where no good goes inside. That is the effect of minor sins.
- Another effect of the minor sins is that they gradually lead to major sins. If you look at people who commit Zina, how do they commit it? The Shaytan does not make them commit the sin at once, rather he takes them step by step. What are the steps of the Shaytan? The minor sins. Sins with the eyes, sins with the ears, sins with the thoughts. These are minor sins but step by step when the person commits them, he will reach a state where he may commit a major sin without even being aware of the gravity of the sin.
- Another effect of the minor sins is that they remove the joy of your worship from your heart. You recite the Quran and you don’t feel enjoyment. You pray and you just want to finish the prayer. You have heaviness in your heart. This is all due to minor sins. Allah, out of His grace, gives us the chance to fast on the Day of Aashora in order to get rid of these minor sins and experience joy in our worship.
Before you fast, repent from the major sins. Then, look at the fasting of Ashoora as a day of washing your heart from these black spots in order to cleanse yourself from the minor sins.
#2 - Fear your sins.
Do not think in a materialistic way when you fast the day of Aashora. A youth asked: I fasted 'Arafah and it expiates the sins of last year and the coming year, so does it mean I can commit sin the next year?
Another said: I fasted Arafah, so I don’t need to fast Aashora.
Answer: How do you know your fast on the day of Arafah has been accepted by Allah? Once, Ibn Umar رضي الله عنهما gave charity in the presence of his son. His son said, “May Allah accept your charity. He said, “If I knew that Allah had accepted one prostration or charity of a single dirham, death would be more beloved to me than any thing, but do you know from whom He accepts? He only accepts from the righteous ones."
#3 - Show Gratitude. Remember the favour of Allah upon you and thank Allah that He gave you a chance for the forgiveness of your sins.
Allah knows our weakness. He knows that our acts of worship are weak, our seeking forgiveness is weak, our prayer is defective. That is why He gives us chances for the forgiveness of our sins. Do not belittle fasting the Day of Ashoora.
#4 - Magnify the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, because who told us to fast this day? Fasting on this day is a chance for you to act upon the Sunnah, and whoever follows the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, Allah will love him, give him to drink from the tank of the Prophet ﷺ on the Day of Resurrection, he will enter Paradise and be saved from the Hellfire, he will be more deserving of the intercession of the Prophet ﷺ, etc.
#5 - Have the belief that Allah is the One who gives the support to His believing slaves. Allah rescued Musa عليه السلام on this day, and out of gratitude, we fast on it.
Alllah is Able to give victory to the Muslims nowadays against their disbelieving enemies, just as He supported and gave victory to Musa عليه السلام over Pharoah. He promised:
"And to Allah belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers."
The end result is for the believers. We have to show patience and hope that Allah will deal with us in the same way he dealt with Musa عليه السلام.
The more you are heedful of these meanings while you are fasting and the more you remember Allah, the greater your reward will be in comparison to the person who is fasting just for expiation of his sins.
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