What is Ashura?

ما عاشوراء؟

Ashura is the tenth of Muharram. The Prophet fasted it in thanks for the deliverance of Musa and prescribed it as a sunna. Al-Husayn ibn Ali (may God be pleased with him) was martyred on that day, which made it a day of particular importance for the Shia.

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At a glance

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Worship and the pillars

Overview

Ashura is the tenth day of Muharram. The Prophet fasted it in thanks for the deliverance of Moses, and Husayn ibn Ali was killed on it, so it became an especially important day for the Shia. 1

People and things also explored

The ruling on one who abandons prayer· Ada' (performance of an obligation within its time)· Adhan (the call to prayer: its ruling, wording, conditions, recommended features and the muezzin)· Bone (adhm): purity, use and retaliation· The adornment of desires and the goods of this world· The people of the bench (ahl al-suffa)· The earth made a place of prayer and purity· Spending in the way of God (infaq)

Sources

  1. Wikidata
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islam.museum contributors. “What is Ashura?”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/questions/what-is-ashura/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Related

The ruling on one who abandons prayer

Al-Sallabi quotes Ali: whoever does not pray is an unbeliever. He then reports from al-Nawawi the dispute over one who neglects prayer while believing it obligatory: the majority (Malik, al-Shafi'i) hold him a sinner to be asked to repent, others hold him an unbeliever, a view ascribed to Ali; Abu Hanifa and the Kufans hold him not an unbeliever but to be disciplined.