BY EJAZ NAQVI, MD

Yesterday’s Jumah khutba (sermon) was once again a reminder of how some of the inventions have crept into Muslim minds. The Imam quoted a hadith from Prophet Muhammad, spending nearly all of the khutba on the importance of fasting on Ashura- the 10th of Muharram, and didn’t mention the tragic events of Karbala in 61 AH, when the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussain, was brutally butchered, and marks a turning point in Islamic history. (OK, he actually spent a few seconds at the end that he will speak more about Ashura next week).

I posted three years ago why the hadith (that this and so many other Imams have quoted) that calls for fasting on Ashura is forged.

Once again, I apologize to anyone whose feelings may get hurt. But one of the lessons learned from Karbala is to uphold the truth and the truth must be spoken as this hadith is being propagated like a forest fire.

Growing up some 5 decades ago, we never saw anyone fasting on Ashura in the country (Pakistan) I grew up. Even when I migrated to USA about 39 years ago, I don’t recall Imams talking about it, or people fasting on Ashura. This hadith has taken hold in the last 15-20 years.

There are a number of reasons why I know this hadith is forged as it has more holes than Swiss cheese.

Look at the chain of narration: The Hadith is typically narrated by four people. These four were either not present in Medina at the time of Hijra or were very young (Ibn Abbas was 4 years old, Abu Musa Al Ashri was in Yemen at the orders of Prophet Muhammad, Abu Herrera didn’t enter Medina until Hijra 7-8 at the time of the battle of Khyber, and Ma’awiyah bin Abu Safyan(the father of Yazid) who did not convert until 8th of Hijra or after the conquer of Mecca some 8 years after Hijra). If they were not present at the time of the Hijra, how were they able to quote what they heard Prophet Muhammad say at the time?

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/askamuslim/2023/07/fact-check-on-hadith-about-fasting-on-ashura/