Assalmu Alaykum wa Rahmah Allah everyone, welcome back to the virtues of Dhul-Hijjah
What if I told you you could fast three years in two days? This is the
blessing of Allah (swt) and the mercy of Allah upon us in giving us
these two days to fast in which we get three years. Now what two days am I
talking about? This is the benefit of knowing the
Islamic calendar. The Prophet (pbuh) said that when a
person fasts Arafah, the day of Arafah, that Allah expiates the sins of the year
before and the year after. Then the Prophet (pbuh) said that
whoever fast the Day of Ashura, Allah expiates the year before of sin. So I'm
gonna say that again - the blessing of fasting Arafah is that Allah (swt)
expiates the sins of the year before and the year after. The benefit of fasting
the day of Ashura is that Allah removes the sins or expiates the sins of the
year before. What does that mean and how is that three years? Dhul-Hijjah is the
last month of the Islamic year- Dhul Hijjah is the last month of the Islamic
year, so if Allah expiates the year before and the year after, then that is
within the last month. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic year, and
Ashura is the tenth day of the first month of the Islamic year. So that means
if Allah expiates the year before in the first month of the Islamic year, that
that includes the current year that you are in right now in Dhul-Hijjah. So let
me explain it in inshallah in this way- if it's the year 1440, then when you fast
the day of Arafah Allah expiates 1439 and 144. Once you
move into Muharram, the first month of 1441 and you have the day of Ashura,
Allah expiates 1440 because it's the year before. So it's the blessing of
Allah (swt) that these two months come right next to each other,
and Arafah and Ashura are only one month apart, and that Allah (swt)
expiates three years as a result of that. Now when
did the fasting of Arafah and Ashura come? The Prophet (pbuh) recieved
this very early on in Medina. This is what Allah refers to when He says
"Kutiba 3alaykum alsiyam kama kutiba 3ala alatheena min qablikum la3alakum tataqun
ayaman ma3dudat." That Allah has prescribed fasting upon you as he
prescribed it on those who came before you- Ayaman ma3dudat- a few days, there were
a few days, and the idea here of a few days (selected dates) was referring to
these two days. This was the first legislation before Ramadan, and when
these days were legislated people were given a choice in the Quran whether to
fast these days or to give Fidya to feed a poor person instead. So you actually
had the option if you wanted to fast Ashura or fast Arafah, you could fast them but
you were obligated to either fast or give a fidya to feed a poor
person for the day that you would not fast.
Then came Ramadan and of course with the legislation of Ramadan, you are not
allowed to purposefully miss a day of Ramadan and to give fidya instead unless
you cannot fast permanently, then you give Fidya to make up for that day that
you cannot fast permanently. So the rules changed a little bit with Ramadan,
as well as Arafah and Ashura now being voluntary days to fast instead of
obligatory days to fast. So once the month of Ramadan came, Arafah
and Ashura are voluntary days to fast, they're no longer obligatory days to
fast. Ibn Abbas (R) had an incident that happened with
him where someone from someone from the tabi3in- from the second generation of
Muslims said to Ibn Abbas, "3ajaban lakum as7aba Rasul Allah." How strange a
thing that we witnessed from you, O companions of The Messenger of Allah
(pbuh). We noticed that when you travel or you are sick in the
days Ramdan, that you skip those days, that you break your fast, but we
noticed that you fast these days of Arafah and Ashura even as you are
traveling. So you don't miss the days of Arafah and Ashura even as you're traveling.
So Ibn Abbas (R) responded and he said, "Allah says
about the days of Ramadan that whoever is traveling or unable to, "fa3idatun
min ayamin ukhar," they can simply make them up on other days and they
would not be deprived of the reward, but there is no
like expiation or making up for the days of Arafah and Ashura, so they are
days that are limited and they are timings that are specific, and so if a
person - even if a person is fasting - if they can fast those days inshallah ta3ala
as they're traveling, they can fast those days of Arafah and Ashura then they
should. What then about, you know sisters
particularly for example who cannot fast those days or someone who is permanently
ill and cannot fast those days. The Prophet (pbuh)
said, 'Whoever misses a good deed that they would have done but they missed it
(due to sickness or travel or something out of their hands), that Allah (swt)
would give them the reward for its fully without taking anything away
from it.' so if a person would have fasted those days, had they not been restrained
due to a circumstance, Allah knows that and Allah will give you the full reward
so you do the other good deeds that you're not restricted from, and count on
Allah (Swt) to give you the good deed of fasting because Allah knows that
you would have fasted had you been able to and Allah (Swt)
is Merciful and Allah is Just, and Allah (Swt) will not remove any of the
blessings of that so don't worry too much about that inshallah, put that in
Allah's scale. Don't be sad and don't think that you're being
punished because you're unable to fast this day. No- Allah (Swt) has given you a gift
it's okay, the reward is assured, do the other things inshallah ta3ala that can be done
for those days. We ask Allah (Swt) to allow us to witness these days
of fasting and we ask Allah (Swt) to forgive us for any
shortcomings and we ask Allah (Swt) to grant us expiation not just
for three years, but for our entire lifetimes. Allahuma Ameen. Jazakum Allah
Khayran, Wassalamu Alaykum wa Rahmah Allah Wabarakatuh