Honor His ﷺ Way to Attain Salvation

Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm

Today is the blessed day of ‘Ashūra. Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam honored this beautiful day. He ﷺ commanded us to honor it as well; to fast, make du’ā’, and tasbihāt to attain its barakah.

‘Ashūra is one of the blessed days. It is the 10th day of Muḥarram. ‘Ashūra means the tenth day. Fasting is not observed only on this day alone. Of course, some know this, some don’t. It is always better to fast for two days, but the fast of ‘Ashūra should be observed specifically for two days, not just one. It should be fasted either on the ninth and tenth days or the tenth and eleventh days.

Many blessings were bestowed by Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla on this day. The salvation of the prophets and their nations, the elevation of ‘Awliyā’ to their ranks, the martyrdom of the martyrs; all occurred on this blessed day. Those who respect and honor this day will attain its barakah, in shā’a Llāh.

These blessed days are gifts from Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla to the Muslims, to the Ummah of Muhammad. One must honor them and benefit from them. Is it okay not to? Yes, not doing so is not a sin, but doing so will be to your benefit, a great profit for your hereafter. Missing this opportunity is not wise. Shukr to Allāh ﷻ for creating us from the Ummah of Muhammad. He ﷻ has bestowed all His ﷻ favors upon the Ummah of our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, for his honor.

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, from the moment of his birth until the Day of Judgment, always thought of his Ummah, saying, “My Ummah, my Ummah,” and always prayed for them. And because he ﷺ was the most beloved servant of Allāh ‘Azza wa-Jalla, He ﷻ bestowed favors upon his Ummah for his sake. Those who wish to receive these favors will receive them. You can’t force someone who doesn’t want to. But in the end, the person regrets it.

They think, “I missed so many opportunities. I followed foolish people. I didn’t respect or honor our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, I didn’t follow his way. Yet, while I was in this world, I saw his virtues and those who followed him all around me; near me, in front of me, behind me. But I, according to my own mind, didn’t believe in these things,” and they turned away. Then they chased after unnecessary people. They followed all sorts of useless people; this player, this and that. Then they leave this world thinking they’ve gained something.

Then they wake up and say, “Oh God, what have we done?!” They say, “I wish I could go back and try,” but they’ve already missed that opportunity. Now they are with the people they loved in this world; if they are like you, then they are doomed. A person is with those they love. If the person they love is in hell, they will be in hell too. But if they love our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam, they will be saved. That’s the point, nothing else.

Whoever loves him ﷺ follows him ﷺ and honors him ﷺ, they don’t throw themselves into hell by being deceived by the nonsensical words of fools. Hell is real, heaven is real. This is not a game or a toy. People should pay close attention to this. In these latter days, regardless of age, young or old, they are slandering Islām and the way of our Prophet ﷺ, whether they know anything or not. They claim that people don’t know the way, but they do.

For thousands of years, people have followed our Prophet ﷺ, are you the intelligent one? May Allāh ﷻ grant them mind, understanding, and guidance. They think disbelief is a skill. They mistake straying from the way for wisdom. May Allāh ﷻ guide them. For the sake of this blessed day, may they come to this way; may they benefit from this blessing.

Our Prophet ṣallá Llāhu ‘alayhi wa-sallam said: “When you enter the gardens of Paradise, benefit from them.” The Companions asked, “What are the gardens of Paradise?” He ﷺ replied, “Gatherings of knowledge, gatherings of those who remember Allāh ﷻ and those who love Allāh ﷻ.”

Those gatherings are Paradise in this world; and the true Paradise will be in the Hereafter. We say, May Allāh ﷻ grant them guidance. Because many families come and say, “Our child is like this and like that.” Those children have gone astray by following others. If they regret it now, they will be saved. A person is saved if they regret in this world; regret in the Hereafter will be of no benefit.

May Allāh ﷻ, for the sake of this day, grant guidance to our children and give strength and īmān to all of us, in shā’a Llāh. May He ﷻ keep us steadfast on the way of Allāh ﷻ, in shā’a Llāh. May Allāh ﷻ, for the honor of this blessed day, for the honor of all the martyrs, especially the leader of the martyrs, Sayyidinā Hussein, and those who were with him, grant us all guidance, in shā’a Llāh.

May we be on their way, in shā’a Llāh.

Wa min Allah at-Tawfiq.

Guide to the Eve & Day of Ashura here.