Spending on the family on ʿĀshūrā
Question
What is the status of the narration that suggests that a person should generously spend on the family on ʿĀshūrā? Please clarify because people who do not believe in this are criticised whilst people who believe in this are accused of innovation.
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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Answer
The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said:
من وسع على عياله يوم عاشوراء وسع الله عليه سائر سنته
“Whoever expands (his expenditure) on his family on the day of ʿĀshūrā (10thMuḥarram), Allah will expand (his sustenance and mercy) on him for his entire year”.
This narration has been transmitted via five companions with these or similar words: ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd, Abū Hurayrah, Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh and ʿAbd Allāḥ ibn ʿUmar (May Allah be pleased with them all).[1]
The scholars have four views regarding the status of this narration:
- The narration is ṣaḥīḥ (sound) – This is the view of Ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Faḍl ibn Nāṣir (d. 550 H.)[2], Ḥāfiẓ Suyuṭī (d. 911 H.)[3], ʿAllāmah Ḥaṣkafī (d. 1088 H.)[4] and Allāmah Ṭaḥṭāwī (d. 1231 H.)[5].
- The narration is ḥasan (agreeable) – This is the view of Ḥāfiẓ ʿIrāqī (d. 806 H.) who authored a treatise on this subject and concluded that the Ḥadīth of Jābir (May Allah be pleased with him) is at least ḥasan (agreeable).[6] His analysis has been relied upon and endorsed by later scholars including: Ḥāfiẓ Sakhāwī (d. 902 H.)[7], ʿAllāmah Qasṭalānī (d. 923 H.)[8], ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿIrāq (d. 963 H.)[9], ʿAllāmah Ibn Ḥajar al-Makkī (d. 974 H.)[10], ʿAllāmah Ṭāhir Pattanī (d. 986 H.)[11], ʿAllāmah Sirāj al-Dīn ibn Nujaym (d. 1005 H.)[12], Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī (d. 1014 H.)[13], ʿAllāmah Munāwī (d. 1031 H.)[14], ʿAllāmah Nūr al-Dīn al-Ḥalabī (d. 1044 H.)[15], Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥaq Muḥaddith Dehlawī (d. 1052 H.)[16], ʿAllāmah Zurqānī (d. 1122 H.)[17], ʿAllāmah ʿAjlūnī (d. 1162 H.)[18], ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿĀbidīn (d. 1252 H.)[19], ʿAllāmah Sharwānī (d. 1301 H.)[20] and ʿAllāmah ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Laknawī (d. 1304 H.)[21].
- The narration is weak – Our respected teacher Muḥaddith al-ʿAṣr Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī was requested by his teacher Shaykh al-Ḥadīth al-Mujaddid Mawlānā Muḥammad Zakariyyā Kandhelwī (d. 1402 H.) to research this narration. Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus concludes, “The truth according to me is that the narration is Maʿlūl (defective) with all its chains. And the chain that ʿIrāqī claimed is in accordance with the condition of (Imām) Muslim and he was followed in this view by Sakhāwī, Suyūṭī and al-Qārī is defective. Ibn Ḥajar has explicitly mentioned it is Munkar (unknown) in Lisān al-Mīzān.[22] The better chain according to me is what Bayhaqī has transmitted via Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh through his chain from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (May Allah be pleased with him). However, that is also Maʿlūl (defective) due to the unidentified person (in the chain). Thus, the highest condition of this narration is that it is weak”.[23]
Imām Bayhaqī (d. 458 H.) writes that the chains of this narration are all weak but when combined they provide some strength[24], a view that is shared by Ḥāfiẓ Mundhirī (d. 656 H.)[25] and Qāḍī Shawkānī (d. 1250 H.)[26]. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (d. 852 H.) is also of the view that the Ḥadīth is not fabricated.[27] ʿAllāmah Haythamī (d. 807 H.) appears to be of the view that the narration is extremely weak.[28]
- The narration is baseless and fabricated – This is the view of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241 H.)[29], Imām Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam (d. 286 H.)[30], ʿAllāmah ʿUqaylī (d. 322 H.)[31], Ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Faḍl ibn Ṭāhir al-Maqdisī (d. 507 H.)[32], ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 H.)[33], Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (d. 728 H.)[34], Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751 H.)[35], ʿAllāmah Ibn (Abī) al-ʿIzz (d. 792 H.?)[36], Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab (d. 795 H.)[37], ʿAllāmah Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrozābādī (d. 817 H.)[38] and Muftī Rashīd Aḥmad Ludyānwī (d. 1422 H.)[39].
Thus, there is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the status of this narration. The preferred view is that of our teacher Muḥaddith al-ʿAṣr Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī that the narration is weak. However, it is permissible to act upon weak narrations subject to certain conditions without overemphasising it.[40]
Scholars who have recommended the practice of increasing expenditure on the family on ʿĀshūrā include: Ibn Ḥabīb Mālikī (d. 238/9 H.)[41], ʿAllāmah Qarāfī Mālikī (d. 684 H.)[42], ʿAllāmah Ibn al-Ḥāj Mālikī (d. 737 H.)[43], ʿAllāmah Burhān ibn Mufliḥ Ḥanbalī (d. 884 H.)[44], ʿAllāmah Ḥaṭṭāb Mālikī (d. 954 H.)[45], ʿAllāmah Sirāj al-Dīn ibn Nujaym Ḥanafī (d. 1005 H.)[46], ʿAllāmah Munāwī Shāfiʿī (d. 1031 H.)[47], ʿAllāmah Bahūtī Ḥanbalī (d. 1051 H.)[48], ʿAllāmah Ḥaṣkafī Ḥanafī (d. 1088 H.)[49], ʿAllāmah Kharashī Mālikī (d. 1101 H.)[50], Shaykh Dardīr Mālikī (d. 1201 H.)[51], Imam Ṣāwī Mālikī (d. 1241 H.)[52], Imam Sharwānī Shāfiʿī (d. 1301 H.) [53], Shaykh Ashraf ʿAlī Thanawī (d. 1362 H.)[54], Shaykh Muḥammad Zakariyyā Kandhelwī (d. 1402 H.), Mufti Maḥmūd Ḥasan Gangohī (d. 1417 H.)[55], Mufti ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Lājpūrī (d. 1422 H.)[56] and others. There are also narrations from earlier scholars who are reported to have acted upon this narration. Examples include Muḥammad ibn al-Muntashir (n.d.), Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Muntashir (d. ca. 150 H.)[57], Shuʿbah ibn al-Ḥajjāj (d. 160 H.) and Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah (d. 198 H.).[58]
However, one should avoid overemphasising this practice and regarding it necessary, as mentioned by the Mālikī scholars Imām Ibn al-Ḥāj (d. 737 H.), Imām Shāṭibī (d. 790 H.), Imām Ḥaṭṭāb (d. 954 H.), Imām Kharashī (d. 1101 H.) and others. Imām Ibn al-Ḥāj states that generosity on the family, relatives, orphans, poor and increasing expenditure and charity on ʿĀshūrā is recommended provided there is no Takalluf (pretentiousness) and it does not become a practice that is regarded as necessary, otherwise it will be disliked.[59]
Thus, one should not criticise those who do not act upon this narration or do not believe in its authenticity. Similarly, those who believe in the validity of the narration and act upon it should not be criticised. It is necessary to maintain appropriate etiquette because both views are held by great scholars and luminaries, to whom we shall remain indebted forever.
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir, Blackburn, UK
9 Dhū al-Ḥijjah 1437 H. – 11 September 2016
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmad Sahib
Footnotes
[1] For a detailed analysis of these narrations and their sources, refer to al-Yawāqīt al-Ghāliyah (1: 326), also available on the following link:https://nawadir.org/2015/10/23/virtue-of-spending-on-ones-family-on-10-muharram-muhaddithul-asr-shaykh-yunus-jownpuri-sahib/.
[2] Al-Tawsiʿah ʿAlā al-ʿIyāl (8); al-Laāli al-Maṣnūʿah (2: 95).
[3] Al-Laāli al-Maṣnūʿah (2: 95); al-Durar al-Muntatharah (p. 186).
[4] Al-Durr al-Mukhtār (2: 419).
[5] Ḥāshiyah al-Ṭaḥṭāwī ʿAlā Marāqī al-Falāḥ (p. 681).
[6] Al-Tawsiʿah ʿAlā al-ʿIyāl (2).
[7] Al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah (p. 674).
[8] Al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyyah (11: 280).
[9] Tanzīh al-Sharīʿah (2: 157).
[10] Ashraf al-Wasāʼil (p. 439); al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Muḥriqah (2: 536).
[11] Tadhkirah al-Mawḍūʿāt (p. 118).
[12] Al-Nahr al-Fāʼiq (2: 26).
[13] Jamʿ al-Wasāʼil (2: 106); Mirqāt al-Mafātīḥ (4: 1349); al-Asrār al-Marfūʿah (p. 360).
[14] Fayḍ al-Qadīr (6: 235).
[15] Sharḥ Sifr al-Saʿādah (p. 543).
[16] Al-Sīrah al-Ḥalabiyyah (2: 185).
[17] Sharḥ al-Zurqānī ʿAlā al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyyah (11: 280).
[18] Kashf al-Khafā (2: 284).
[19] Radd al-Muḥtār (6: 430; also see 2: 418).
[20] Ḥāshiyah al-Sharwānī ʿAlā Tuḥfah al-Muḥtāj (3: 455).
[21] Al-Āthār al-Marfūʿah (p. 97).
[22] Lisān al-Mīzān (6: 336).
[23] Al-Yawāqīt al-Ghāliyah (1: 333).
[24] Shuʿab al-Īmān (5: 333). ʿAllāmah Ibn Ḥajar al-Makkī suggests in al-Ṣawāʿiq al-Muḥriqah (2: 536) that the statement of Imām Bayhaqī suggests that the narration is Ḥasan (agreeable) according to him.
[25] Al-Targhīb Wa al-Tarhīb (2: 71).
[26] Al-Fawāʼid al-Majmūʿah (p. 98).
[27] Al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah (p. 674).
[28] Majmaʿ al-Zawāʼid (3: 189).
[29] Minhāj al-Sunnah (7: 39); Laṭāʼif al-Maʿārif (p. 54); al-Manār al-Munīf (p. 111). It is worth noting that Shaykh ʿAbd al-Fattāh Abū Ghuddah (d. 1417 H.) has refuted those who suggest that the term “Lā Yaṣiḥḥ” (It is not ṣaḥīḥ) indicates that according to Imām Aḥmad the narration is weak. This is incorrect because this term refers to fabricated narrations when cited in books that specialise in fabricated and weak narrations. For further details, refer to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Fattāh’s footnotes of al-Manār al-Mūnīf (p. 112) and his introduction to Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s al-Maṣnūʿ Fī Maʿrifah al-Ḥadīth al-Mawḍūʿ (p. 27) where he has discussed this issue in detail. Our teacher Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī concurs and adds that Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyah has attributed the words “Lā Aṣla Lahū” (it has no basis) to Imām Aḥmad. Thus, there is no doubt that according to Imām Aḥmad, this narration is fabricated.
[30] Laṭāʼif al-Maʿārif (p. 54).
[31] Al-Ḍuʿafā al-Kabīr (3: 252).
[32] Tadhkirah al-Mawḍūʿāt (p. 97). Also see Aṭrāf Aḥādīth Kitāb al-Majrūḥīn (p. 362).
[33] Al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah (2: 62).
[34] Minhāj al-Sunnah (7: 39); Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā (25: 312).
[35] Al-Manār al-Munīf (p. 111).
[36] Al-Nahr al-Fāʼiq (2: 26); Radd al-Muḥtār (2: 418).
[37] Laṭāʼif al-Maʿārif (p. 54).
[38] Sifr al-Saʿādah (p. 144).
[39] Munkarāt Muḥarram (p. 15).
[40] See al-Iṣābah (5: 690); al-Qawl al-Badīʿ (p.195); al-Ajwibah al-Fāḍilah (p.55); al-Yawāqīt al-Ghāliyah (2: 296).
[41] Mawāhib al-Jalīl (2: 403); Fayḍ al-Qadīr (6: 235).
[42] Al-Dhakhīrah (2: 529).
[43] Al-Madkhal (1: 289).
[44] Al-Mubdiʿ (3: 49).
[45] Mawāhib al-Jalīl (2: 403).
[46] Al-Nahr al-Fāʼiq (2: 26).
[47] Fayḍ al-Qadīr (6: 235).
[48] Al-Rawḍ al-Murbiʿ (p. 239); Kashshāf al-Qināʿ (2: 329).
[49] Al-Durr al-Mukhtār (2: 418).
[50] Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar Khalīl Li al-Kharashī (2: 241).
[51] Al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (1: 516).
[52] Bulghah al-Sālik (1: 691).
[53] Ḥāshiyah al-Sharwānī ʿAlā Tuḥfah al-Muḥtāj (3: 455).
[54] Imdād al-Fatāwā (5: 289).
[55] Fatāwā Maḥmūdiyyah (5: 487).
[56] Fatāwā Raḥīmiyyah (2: 112).
[57] Al-Wāfī Bi al-Wafayāt (6: 68).
[58] Al-Tawsiʿah ʿAlā al-ʿIyāl. Also see Shuʿāb al-Imān (5: 334); Laṭāʼif al-Maʿārif (p. 54).
[59] Al-Madkhal (1: 289). Also see Mawāhib al-Jalīl (2: 403) and Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar Khalīl Li al-Kharashī (2: 241). Imām Shāṭibī (d. 790 H.) writes in al-Iʿtiṣām (1: 450): “Saʿīd ibn Ḥassān said: “I was reading to Ibn Nāfiʿ, and when I passed the narration of expanding (wealth on ʿĀshūrā), he said to me: Burn it. I asked, why O Abū Muḥammad? He said: In fear of it being adopted as a Sunnah”. Imām Shāṭibī writes, “So these matters are permissible or recommended. However, they disliked practising it for fear of innovation, because adopting it as a Sunnah is through people practising it constantly and emphasising it.”