Author: Sayyed Musleh Uddin
Fasting and Its Position in Islam (Part 8)
The Fast of Ashura
Imam Bukhari (MABH) narrated with his chain of narration from Abdullah bin Abbas (MABH) who said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Medina and saw the Jews fasting the Day of Ashura. He asked, ‘What is this day?’ They said, ‘This is a good day, a day on which Allah Almighty saved the Children of Israel from their enemy, so Moses (peace be upon him) fasted on this day.’ The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, ‘We are more deserving of Moses than you,’ so he fasted on that day and commanded that it be fasted.”
And in the narration of Imam Muslim (MABH), it is stated: “This is a day of servitude in which Allah Almighty saved Moses (peace be upon him) and his people and drowned Pharaoh and his people, and Moses (peace be upon him) fasted on this day.”
Imam Bukhari (MABH) added in “Chapter of Emigration” in the narration of “Abu Bishr” that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “And we fast on this day to commemorate it.”
Also, Imam Muslim (MABH) narrated from Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Medina and saw the Jews fasting the Day of Ashura. He asked them about it. They said: ‘This is the day on which Allah Almighty gave victory to Moses and the Children of Israel over Pharaoh, and we fast on this day out of respect.’ The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘We are more deserving of Moses than you,’ and he commanded that the day be fasted.”
Tabarani narrated in “Al-Mu’jam” that: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Medina and saw the Jews fasting on the Day of Ashura. He asked, ‘What day is this?’ They said, ‘It is the Day of Ashura, on which Moses (peace be upon him) was saved from Pharaoh.’ The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, ‘We are more deserving of Moses than you are.'”
However, the great mathematician Abu Rayhan Biruni (MABH) raised an objection to this. He questioned the authenticity of the hadiths reported in this regard, relying on his examination of the Jewish calendar compared to the Arab calendar. In his book “The Remaining Signs of Past Centuries,” he states: It is said that the word Ashura is a Hebrew word and is the Arabicized form of “Asor,” which is the tenth day (of Tishrei) of the Jewish months, and its fast is known as “Yom Kippur.” This day has been counted from the Arab months, and it has been placed on the tenth day of the first month of the Hijri year, just as it is the tenth day of the first month of the Jewish year. Its fast was made obligatory in the first year of Hijra; then the fast of Ramadan, which was revealed after that, abrogated it. It is narrated that when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Medina, he saw the Jews fasting on Ashura and asked them about it. They explained that it was the day on which Allah Almighty drowned Pharaoh and his family and saved Moses (peace be upon him) and his companions. The Prophet (PBUH) said, “We are more deserving of Moses than they are,” and he fasted that day and ordered his companions to fast. When the fast of Ramadan became obligatory, he neither ordered them to fast on Ashura nor forbade them from it. However, this narration has been deemed incorrect by some scholars, as experience and studies testify to the contrary. Biruni further states that the first of Muharram in the first year of Hijra was Friday, the sixteenth of Tammuz in the year 933 of Alexander. If we calculate it according to the beginning of the Jewish year, it coincides with Sunday, the twelfth of Elul and the twenty-ninth of Safar. The Day of Ashura, on the other hand, coincides with Tuesday, the ninth of Rabi’ al-Awwal, and the migration of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was in the first half of the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal. Therefore, the coincidence of the Day of Ashura with the migration of the Prophet (PBUH) is impossible in any case.”
He further says: “Regarding the Jews’ claim that Allah the Almighty drowned Pharaoh on this day, the Torah contradicts this. The drowning of Pharaoh occurred on the twenty-first of Nisan, which is the seventh day of the Passover holiday. The first Passover holiday of the Jews after the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) in Medina was on Tuesday, the twenty-second of Adhar, 933 Alexandrian, corresponding to the seventh of Ramadan. Therefore, what has been narrated in this regard has absolutely no justification.”
This statement of Allama Biruni, despite his vast knowledge of mathematics and his unparalleled intelligence, is based on several assumptions. His first assumption is that he inferred from the conversation of Hazrat Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) and others, that this conversation took place on the first day the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Medina; because Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) states: “When the Prophet (PBUH) came to Medina or entered Medina.” Therefore, Biruni contends that the Hijra (migration) of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was in the first half of Rabi’ al-Awwal, making its coincidence with the tenth of Muharram impossible. This misunderstanding stems from his unfamiliarity with the science of Hadith and the style of speech of the Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them). Such expressions were quite common among the Sahaba.
Abu Dawud (MABH) narrated from Anas Ibn Malik (MABH), who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) arrived in Medina, the people of Medina celebrated and rejoiced for two days, engaging in play. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) asked: ‘What are these days?’ They replied: ‘We used to celebrate on these two days during the time of ignorance.’ The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘Allah the Almighty has given you two better days in exchange for those two days, the day of Eid al-Adha and the day of Eid al-Fitr.'” From this hadith, it is understood that the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) coincided with their day of celebration and festival. But is it indeed possible that the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) coincided with those two days?
Allama Ibn Hajar Asqalani (MABH) pointed out this and stated: “The apparent meaning of this hadith is problematic as it suggests that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) observed the Jews fasting on the Day of Ashura upon his arrival in Medina, whereas he arrived in Medina in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal.”
The answer to this problem is that the hadith implies that the first time the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) became aware of this matter and inquired about it was during the aforementioned time; not that he was aware of it upon his arrival. Ultimately, the implied meaning is that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) came to Medina and stayed until the Day of Ashura, during which he saw the Jews fasting.
In this case, no contradiction remains between the hadith and what is established from the calendar.
Continues…
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