10 Muharram (ALYAUMUL-'ASHARAA)

Assalamu'alaikum Wr. Wb.

Alhamdullillah, we're all in good health and full of happiness this new year. ( I't was raining the whole day of that Thursday night - people said " hujan pada hari mlm jumaat adalah rahmat dan bermakna, semuga doa kita dikabulkan olehNya..) One of the auspicious day in Islam, Ashuraa (10 Muharram), will fall on Thursday, 9 February 2006. This is one of the very special days where Allah swt grant loads of blessings on His servants. Attached please find some write-ups on the greatness of Ashuraa for our reference and observance.

One of the ibadah strongly encouraged on Ashuraa is the fast. However, we're also encouraged to fast on the 9th of Muharram as per the hadith appended below:

     Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda; "Berpuasa kamu pada hari ke sembilan dan sepuluh Muharam  dan jangan meniru cara orang-orang Yahudi." - Riwayat Al Baihaqi        

The Jews fast on 10 Muharram in remembrance of Prophet Moses as. Rasulullah saw. encouraged us to fast on 9th & 10th Muharram so that we differ from the Jews' practice.

Let's try our best to fast and observe the ibadah we can get to do on Ashuraa in order for us to get the blessings as promised by Allah swt. Notwithstanding that, our ibadah should improve and continue to move on and not stop at 10 Muharram only. With the onset of the Hijrah New Year, we should see improvements in ourselves eg. in our ibadah, our lifestyle, our dressing, our education, etc following the Islamic path. We must start now before its too late becos time is not on our side. Tomorrow might never come. Look at those affected by tsunami, earthquakes, accidents, etc. We've been reading about these calamities quite regularly. Shouldn't this be a wake up call for us to pull our socks up?

Many Muslim scholars had indicated that the world is running its last lap with the signs Allah swt had shown us through the hadiths of Rasulullah saw. Despite these warnings, if we still continue with our relax and unbothered lifestyle which brings us further away from Allah swt, then we're asking for trouble. Let's improve our lifestyle to come closer to Allah swt. Adopt positive mindset, set goals for excellence and contribute to the community using the framework set by Islam, insyaAllah you will find peace in this world and the next.

May Allah swt bless us, our families, friends and all Muslims with the offerings of Ashuraa and may our iman, taqwa and ibadah improve with the passing of every single day. For our brothers and sisters in Palestine, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Kashmir, Iraq, Mindanao, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, African continent and other places who are suffering from war, humiliation, starvation, natural calamities, etc, May Allah swt increase the blessings on them many folds as to what He grant us. Aameen.

Wassalam.