Why Ashura is So Important

Why Ashura Is So Important

I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

We begin by praising Allah and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for Him. And we bear witness that Muhammad is His final Messenger. We ask Allah to send His peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him, and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.

The Sacred Occasion of Ashura

Dear brothers and sisters, as we come to the sacred occasion of Ashura, there are many different things to decipher and to talk about, but I wanted to focus on one thing that ties together the incidents both of the Hijri calendar and the incidents of Ashura specifically.

And subhanAllah, there are many different things to take from this occasion that we could speak about in regards to the virtues of the day as it exists now, which is obviously that first and foremost an opportunity to have your sins forgiven. Another mercy from Allah that He has sent to us — one of His nafahat, one of His seasons of mercy — that the Prophet ﷺ spoke about, that if a person fasts this one day, then Allah expiates an entire year's worth of sins. May Allah forgive all of our sins. Allahumma ameen.

The Prophet's Arrival in Al-Madinah

But specifically, when the Prophet ﷺ enters into Al-Madinah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finds that the Jewish community of Al-Madinah is fasting this day in gratitude to Allah for the victory of Musa alayhi wa sallam over Fir'aun. And the Prophet ﷺ says:

"We have more right to Musa. We are closer to Musa than you. We love Musa and we celebrate as well." And he ordered it to be a day of fasting.

What Ties All of Ashura Together

But there's a quality here. And subhanAllah, we come into the Hijrah — which is of course what we mark our years by — and we come specifically into this 10th day. And there was something that stood out to me about this. It ties what Ashura is attributed to in the Athar, in the narrations before this incident of Musa alayhi wa sallam, and what we know of what happened historically on this day.

All the way from whether the narrations of this being the day in which Allah saved Nuh alayhi wa sallam and his people, to the Prophet ﷺ making the Hijrah, to Musa alayhi wa sallam being given victory, to Al-Husayn radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and his martyrdom on this day — on a day of Friday, on the day of Ashura. There is something that ties all of it together. And that is: with whom is Allah's favor, support, and aid? And what qualities bring about Allah's support?

The Two Occasions of Allah's Ma'iyya in the Quran

There is something striking in the Quran about that. There are only two occasions in the Quran where Allah speaks about His ma'iyya — His being present with a people or with a person — on the tongue of a Prophet. Only two occasions. And they both specifically tie into this span of two weeks that we are speaking about: the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ and Musa alayhi wa sallam.

Typically we find Allah's ma'iyya tied to qualities in the Quran:

Allah is with the believers.

Allah is with the patient.

Allah is with people who have taqwa — who have piety — and those who excel in good deeds. Allah is with these categories of people. But to specific incidents, there are only two.

First Occasion: The Prophet ﷺ in the Cave

The first is when the Prophet ﷺ is in the cave with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. In the Hijrah, as they are on their way to Al-Madinah, and they hear the footsteps — they see the feet of those that are trying to kill them. Effectively, this is the end of the journey. And the Prophet ﷺ says to his companion:

"Do not grieve. Allah is with us." So this is one occasion where we find Allah's being with someone on the tongue of a Prophet being established — with our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ — in those moments where he and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq radiAllahu ta'ala anhu can see the feet of the enemy, and danger is imminent. It's a matter of moments. It's a matter of them looking down, seeing them in the cave, and ending them. There was no secret about what their intentions were when they found the Prophet ﷺ. The intention was to kill him.

Second Occasion: Musa at the Red Sea

And the other incident happens to be Musa alayhi wa sallam — the only other incident. The Prophet Moses, peace be upon him. When he is at the final moment of being pursued by the army of Fir'aun. Danger is imminent once again. He is about to be killed and his people are saying:

"We've been caught." Imagine hearing the army of Fir'aun behind you. They make no secret of their intentions. They will mutilate you. They will cut you into pieces. And in that moment, Musa alayhi wa sallam says:

"No, no. Allah is with me and He will guide me." SubhanAllah. The two incidents both tied to the moment that we are in right now — of Ashura in the beginning of the Hijri year.

Both of those moments involve Musa alayhi wa sallam and Muhammad ﷺ. And both of them speak to the most vulnerable, dangerous, and desperate moments when both of those prophets were able to say: Allah is with us. It's okay. Allah is with us. And when they say that, Allah brings about the victory. He brings about that goodness.

SubhanAllah — that courage, that certainty that they had in those moments. It is something that once again ties together all of the historical incidents that take place, whether before the day in which Ashura becomes legislated or after. That when believers face their most desperate moments, they are able to lean on the fact that Allah is with them, so long as they exhibit the qualities that bring about Allah's favor upon them.

It's what ties the Hijrah. It's what ties Musa alayhi wa sallam. It's what ties Al-Husayn radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. And all of these incidents into one: Is Allah with us or not? Because if Allah is with you, you are victorious.

Victory Is Not Measured by Material Outcomes

Whether that victory has a material consequence in this life or not is irrelevant to the discussion. Allah being with someone does not always mean imminent victory in the material worldly sense. But sometimes it is — and it happens to be so with Musa alayhi wa sallam and with Muhammad ﷺ. But if Allah is with you, you don't lose. You actually attain victory.

And subhanAllah, you then go into all of the qualities where Allah mentions He is with a people. And as Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala anhuma says, commenting on the ayah when Allah says to Musa alayhi wa sallam: "Go — you and Harun — to Fir'aun."

"I am with you both." Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala anhuma said: Ay inni mu'inukuma — "I am your supporter. أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَى — I hear and I see. I am there with you — with my knowledge and with my support. You have my support as you go forward."

The Three Qualities That Bring Allah's Support

Why do you have the support of Allah? And how is this relevant to us? It is very easy for us to look at these historical incidents and say: all we take from it is alhamdulillah for Allah giving victory to Musa alayhi wa sallam. Nahnu awla bi Musa — we are closer to Musa than anybody else. We love Musa. We have a great right to Musa. Therefore when Allah gives victory to Musa, that is our victory. Alhamdulillah for that.

And indeed, as for the Prophet ﷺ, huwa awla bil mu'mineen — he is closer to the believers than their own selves. So surely when Allah gives victory to the Prophet ﷺ, that is something that we celebrate and we are happy about and we are proud of. But then you ask yourself: Do I have the qualities that establish Allah being with me?

You know, if you watch a football game or a basketball game, when the winner comes out on top and says, "If God is for you, who can be against you?" — everyone claims God is with them, because they won a game. When two people face off, when two groups face off, when two armies face off, it's very easy for the one who is victorious to say, "God was with me, therefore I won."

For the believer, you don't measure whether or not Allah is with you by the outcome of victory or defeat. You measure it by the qualities that Allah mentions in the Quran about whether or not He is with a person in their situation. When you're going through a hardship or a struggle, when you're being oppressed, when you're being wronged, when you're facing a difficult long tribulation and you start to ask yourself, "Is Allah with me or not?" — that's when you go back to the qualities.

SubhanAllah, they boil down to three qualities that are repeated over and over and over again in the Quran:

1. Taqwa — Piety

Allah is with people of piety. What is taqwa? To leave off sin. No person can be engaging in disobedience — in a dispute with someone else or in their own personal battle with the Shaytan — and claim that Allah is with them, no matter what the material outcome is in those moments.

Is Allah with those who murdered Al-Husayn radiAllahu ta'ala anhu? No, absolutely not. Is Allah with those who won the Battle of Uhud on the other side? Absolutely not. Was Allah with the Crusaders in the Battle of Al-Ma'arra? Absolutely not. Is Allah with the Zionist aggressors killing the children of Gaza today? Absolutely not. We don't measure these things by outcome. Is Allah with the person who is able to overcome someone by resorting to sinful tactics — whether it's a dispute between believers or not? Absolutely not.

Allah is with the one who leaves off sin. Therefore Allah is with the one who is seeking to overcome the Shaytan — their enemy — even in a very personal battle, so long as they don't engage in sin.

2. Ihsan — Excellence in Good Deeds

Allah is with the good-doers, those who do good. So those who leave off sin, and those who do good.

3. Sabr — Patience

And more often than any other phrase, Allah repeats in the Quran in regards to His being present: Allah is with the patient.

And subhanAllah, there's a very beautiful way that Imam al-Qurtubi rahimahullah ta'ala ties this together. Allah is with those who are patient with their leaving off sin and doing good. What does that mean? That no matter what the circumstances are as they're evolving in our lives — happening to us collectively or as individuals — when we don't resort to what contradicts taqwa or leave off doing good, and we are patient with that methodology of life — patient with the leaving off of sin and the performance of good deeds, patient with the adversity that comes with that — Allah is with us.

How do I know if Allah is with me? If I have the quality of taqwa and ihsan, and I am patient — I have sabr with those two qualities — not by the outcome as it pertains to material success.

Responding to All Outcomes with Gratitude and Patience

However, I'll end with this. When Allah does give those outcomes that are pleasing to us, we respond to those outcomes with gratitude. And subhanAllah, there is something very beautiful for you to take from this, insha'Allah ta'ala, and for me to take from this as well.

If you saw the Prophet ﷺ in a moment of sajda — in a moment of prostration — I want you to imagine walking into Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, walking into the Masjid of the Prophet ﷺ, and seeing the Prophet ﷺ in a state of prostration, and crying. Would you be able to tell if something really bad had happened to him, or if something really good had happened to him? Would you be able to tell if he just got the news of having a baby, or if he just lost a child? Would you be able to tell the difference if this was after Badr or after Uhud? The answer is absolutely not.

Because the Prophet ﷺ — in both of those outcomes, whether great tribulation had come to him or great joy had come to him — was always in sujood. It would lead him to a place of prostration, and shedding tears, and showing either gratitude to Allah for something great that came to him, or patience with something hard that had happened to him. But the outcome with the Prophet ﷺ was the same every time: you would see him in sujood, bawling his eyes out, and remembering his Lord.

So the Prophet ﷺ exemplifies this hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 55, Hadith 2999)

"What an amazing state the believer is always in — and only the believer has this gift. When something good happens to him, he thanks Allah, and that is better for him. When something bad happens to him, he has patience, and that is better for him. What an amazing state of affairs the believer is always in."

The Lesson of Ashura

And so what's the lesson that underlies Ashura for us, dear brothers and sisters? When you hear the question, "Is Allah with me in the moment that I'm going through?" — you don't have to sit there and measure the outcome and say, "It's been this many years," or "This is happening," or "That's happening." You measure your taqwa, you measure your ihsan, you measure your sabr.

May Allah make us people of all of those qualities that He loves — people of all of those qualities that establish His presence, His support, and His aid. Allahumma ameen.