Spending on One’s Family on the Day of ‘Āshūra

By Mawlana Mohammed Haroon Abasoomer

Question:

What is the virtue of spending on one’s family on the day of ‘Ashura [the 10th of Muharram] and what is the authenticity of the hadith that encourages this sort of spending?

Answer:

The Messenger of Allah (upon him blessings and peace) is reported to have said: “Whoever expands his expenditure on his family on the day of ‘Ashura, Allah will expand his sustenance for the rest of that year.”

This hadith has been reported by several Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), among them are the following:

1) Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him). (al-Istidhkar of Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, 10:140)

Hafiz “Iraqi (may Allah be pleased with him) declared the chain of this hadith to be on par in authenticity with the standards of Imam Muslim (may Allah be pleased with him) (al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, no.1193)

2) Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him). (Shu‘ab al-Iman, no. 3515, al-Targhib, 2:15-116). This hadith was classified as sahih (sound) by Hafiz Ibn Nasir (may Allah be pleased with him). (al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, no.1193)

3) Sayyiduna Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him). (Shu‘ab al-Iman, no.3514)

4) Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him). (Shu‘ab al-Iman, no.3513)

After recording the above hadiths, Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) comments: “When all the chains of these narrations are gathered, they assume (sufficient) strength”.

5) Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). (al-Afrad of Daraqutni, Tanzih al-Shari‘ah, 2:158)

This has also been reported with a fair chain like the statement of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) (al-Afrad of Daraqutni, al-Maqasid al-Hasanah, no.1193, Tanzih al-Shari‘ah, 2:158)

Furthermore, several narrators of the hadith have been reported to have echoed the following testimony, “We have tried this out and have found it to be accurate”. (al-Istidhkar, 10:140). This further strengthens the credibility of the narration.

‘Allamah ‘Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) has authored a detailed treatise on this hadith in which he has proven its acceptability beyond a shadow of doubt. He has also vehemently rebutted the assumption of Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) that the hadith has no basis. ‘Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) – like many others – expressed his amazement at such an irrational assertion! (see Tanzih al-Shari‘ah, 2:158)

Lastly, this hadith provides an ideal solution during these times of global financial constraint. The extent of expansion in expenditure will naturally differ from one individual to another.

And Allah Ta’ala knows best.

Note: The hadith in question only encourages spending on one’s family. The Arabic word used is: عياله which translates as: “one’s dependents”.

Note: Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) has written that the practice of applying kuhl (antimony, or surma) on ‘Ashura (for specific reasons…) has been reported by an extremely weak narration. (Shu‘ab al-Iman, 5:334) and should therefore be avoided.

[Mawlana] Mohammed Haroon Abasoomer
Camperdown
South Africa