10th Muharram - Ashura:

Day of Intense Grief:

"He for whom the day of Ashura is a day of grief, sorrow and crying, Allah Mighty and Exalted, will make the day of resurrection a day of joy and happiness for him." (Imam Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha a.s.)

• Refrain from seeking earthly needs:

"He who abandons efforts to obtain his needs on the day of Ashura, Allah will fulfil his needs in this world and the hereafter."

"Allah will provide for the needs of this world and the Hereafter of whoever does not try to provide for his needs on the Day of Ashura. The Honorable, Exalted Allah will make the Resurrection Day a day of pleasure and happiness for whoever makes the Day of Ashura his day of calamity, mourning, sorrow and crying. If one considers the Day of Ashura to be a blessed day for him and hoards things up in his house on that day, whatever he hoards up will not be blessed. He will be resurrected along with Yazid, Ubaydillah ibn Ziyad and Umar ibn Sa'd - may God damn them - on the Resurrection Day." (Imam Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha a.s.)

• Condoling on Ashura day :

Ahlul Bayt a.s. have advised us to condole muminin in the following words:

أَعظَمَ اللهُ أُجُورَنا و أُجُورَكُم بِمُصابِنا بِالحُسَين ع

A'adhamallahu ujurana wa ujurakum bi musaabina bil Husayn alayhis salaam (May Allah make great our reward and your reward, for our grief on Husayn a.s.)

• On the day of Ashura:

1. Recite Suratul Ikhlas 1000 times or as many times as possible. According to hadith, Allah SWT looks with mercy at a person who recites Suratul Ikhlas on the day of Ashura.
2. Recite Salawat in abundance
3. Perform A'mal of Ashura including recital of Ziyarat Ashura

Merits of Reciting Ziyarat Ashura:

1. "O Safwan! Allah has sworn that one who recites my grandfather's (Imam Husayn ) ziyarat from near or afar, and raises his hands to seek his desires; after reciting this ziyarat, shall find Allah fulfilling his desires. Allah, on account of this ziyarat, shall not let disappointment and dejection befall his servant. Allah will bestow him with nothing less than Paradise and immunise him from the Fire. His stature shall be elevated manifold, so that he will be bestowed with powers of intercession on the day of resurrection." Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir a.s.
2. "O Safwaan! Reciting Ziyarat of Imam Husayn (a.s) is equal to Ziyarat of Allah at the Arsh (throne)." Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir a.s.
3. "When you are confronted with some adversity, then seek redress of your grievances from Imam Al Husayn with this ziyarat and Allah never reneges on His word" Imam J'afar Al Sadiq a.s.

Let us remember each other in duas on the day of Ashura.

Fazle Abbas Datoo
residentalim@almahdi.org.uk
Resident Alim
Wessex Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat