Today is the first day of the
month of Muharram which is the first day of Islamic year 1436 Hijri.
I wish all my readers , friends, brothers and sisters a very happy and blessed
new Hijri year.
May Allah ( swt) bless this year with peace, blessings, prosperity , and
tranquility for the whole Muslim Ummah and the entire world.
May the warring factions every where return to a peaceful , civilized solutions.
Abida Rahmani
Muharram the first month of Islamic Calendar
By
Abida Rahmani
بسم اللہ ارحمٰن الرحیم
In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful.
Muharram the first month of Islamic Calendar:
Virtues of the Month of Muharram
Muharram is the first month of the Hijri calendar and is one of the four sacred
months concerning which Allah says, "Verily, the number of months with Allah is
twelve months (in a year), so it was ordained by Allah on the Day when He
created the heavens and the earth; of them, four are sacred. That is the right
religion, so wrong not yourselves therein" (At-Tawbah 9: 36)
Muharram is called so because it is a sacred (muharram) month.
It was reported that Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding
the above verse that these four months were singled out and made sacred. Sins in
these months are more serious and good deeds bring a greater reward.
. The Significance of Hijrah in Islam
During the reign of Umar bin al-Khattabرضی اللہ عنھ the companions ( RA )agreed
upon to start the Islamic calendar from the year when Messenger of Allah ﷺ made
Hijra (migration) to Madinah and established the first Islamic State. As we
enter the blessed month of Muharram and the year 1436, We have to realize that
this event not only marks the beginning of our calendar, but more importantly it
commemorates the establishment of the nucleus of the first Islamic state.
.The Day of 'Ashurah (10th Muharram)
Although Muharram is a sanctified month as a whole, yet, the 10th day of
Muharram is the most sacred among all its days. The day is named 'Ashurah'.
According to the Holy Companion Ibn 'Abbas, Radi-Allahu anhu. The Holy Prophet
saws, when migrated to Madinah, found that the Jews of Madinah used to fast on
the 10th day of Muharram. They said that it was the day on which the Holy
Prophet Musa (Moses), alayhis salam, and his followers crossed the Red Sea
miraculously and the Pharaoh was drowned in its waters. On hearing this from the
Jews, the Holy Prophet, saws said, "We are more closely related to Musa, alayhi
salam, than you," and directed the Muslims to fast on the day of 'Ashura'. (Abu
Dawood)
"When the Holy Prophet, saws came to Madinah, he fasted on the day of 'Ashura'
and directed the people to fast. But when the fasts of Ramadan were made
obligatory, the obligation of fasting was confined to Ramadan and the obligatory
nature of the fast of 'Ashura' was abandoned. Whoever desires should fast on
this day and any other who does not wish can avoid fasting on it."(Sunan Abu
Dawud)
However, the Holy Prophet, saws, used to fast on the day of 'Ashura' even after
the fasting in Ramadan was made obligatory. Abdullah ibn Musa, RA, reports that
the Holy Prophet, saws preferred the fast of 'Ashura' on the fasts of other days
and preferred the fasts of Ramadhaan on the fast of 'Ashura'. (Bukhari and
Muslim)
In short, it is established through a number of authentic ahadith that fasting
on the day of 'Ashura' is Sunnah of the Holy Prophet, saws, and makes one
entitled to a great reward.
According to another Hadith, it is more advisable that the fast of 'Ashura'
should either be preceded or followed by another fast. It means that one should
fast two days: the 9th and 10th of Muharram or the 10th and 11th. The reason of
this additional fast as mentioned by the Holy Prophet, saws, is that the Jews
used to fast on the day of'Ashura alone, and the Holy Prophet, saws, wanted to
distinguish the Muslim way of fasting from that of Jews. Therefore, he advised
the Muslims to add another fast to that of 'Ashura'.
Misconceptions and Baseless Traditions
However, there are some legends and misconceptions with regard to 'Ashura' that
have managed to find their way into the minds of the ignorant, but have no
support of authentic Islamic sources, some very common of them are these: This
is the day on which Adam, alayhi salam, was created. This is the day when
Ibrahim, alayhi salam, was born. This is the day when Allah accepted the
repentance of Sayyidina Adam, alayhi salam. This is the day when Qiyaamah
(doomsday) will take place. Whoever takes bath on the day of 'Ashura' will never
get sick.
All these and other similar whims and fancies are totally baseless and the
traditions referred to in this respect are not worthy of any credit.
Some people take it as Sunnah to prepare a particular type of meal on the day of
'Ashura'. This practice, too, has no basis in the authentic Islamic sources.
Some other people attribute the sanctity of 'Ashura' to the martyrdom of
Sayyidna Husain, RA during his battle with the Syrian army. No doubt, the
martyrdom of Hussain, Radi-Allahu anhu, is one of the most tragic episodes of
Islamic history. Yet, the sanctity of 'Ashura' cannot be ascribed to this event
for the simple reason that the sanctity of 'Ashura' was established during the
days of the Holy Prophet (saws) much earlier than the birth of Hussain RA.
On the contrary, it is one of the merits of Sayyidna HusainRA that his martyrdom
took place on the day of 'Ashura'.
Another misconception about the month of Muharram is that it is an evil or
unlucky month, for Hussain, RA the grandson of Holy Prophet SAWS was killed
mercilessly in it. It is for this misconception that people avoid holding
marriage ceremonies or other happy events in the month of Muharram. This is
again a baseless concept, which is contrary to the teachings of the Holy Quran
and the Sunnah. More over the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet( saws)
have liberated us from such superstitious beliefs.
Lamentations and Mourning
Another wrong practice related to this month is to hold the lamentation and
mourning ceremonies in the memory of martyrdom of Sayyidna Hussain, RA. As
mentioned earlier, the event of Karbala is one of the most tragic events of
Muslim history, but the Holy Prophet (saws) has forbidden us from holding the
mourning ceremonies on the death of any person. The people of jahiliyyah
(ignorance) used to mourn over their deceased through loud lamentations, by
tearing their clothes and by beating their cheeks and chests. The Holy Prophet
(saws) stopped the Muslims from doing all this and directed them to observe
patience by saying "Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon ". A number of
authentic Ahaadith are available on the subject. To quote only one of them:
"He is not from our group who slaps his checks, tears his clothes and cries in
the manner of the people of jahiliyyah." (Sahih Bukhari)
All the authentic jurists are unanimous on the point that the mourning of this
type is impermissible.
Let us greet the New Hijri year with optimism and prayers for the success, unity
and prosperity of Ummah. May the peace prevails in all the warring Muslim
factions and Ummah is guided with great leaders!