Muharram

What is Muharram?

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic (Hijri) lunar calendar and one of the four sacred months in Islam. Its name comes from the Arabic root meaning “forbidden” — a reference to the ancient prohibition of warfare during this month. The Prophet ﷺ called Muharram “the month of Allah” and identified it as the best month for voluntary fasting after Ramadan.

The name Muharram (مُحَرَّم) comes from the Arabic root haram— meaning “forbidden” or “sacred.” In pre-Islamic Arabia, this was a month in which warfare and bloodshed were prohibited, allowing pilgrimage and trade caravans to move safely.

Islam preserved that sanctity. The Quran sets apart four months as sacred: “Indeed, the number of months with Allah is twelve months in the register of Allah from the day He created the heavens and the earth; of these, four are sacred. That is the correct religion, so do not wrong yourselves during them” (Surah At-Tawbah 9:36). For more on the four-month group, see the guide to the sacred months in Islam.

Of all twelve months, only Muharram is attributed directly to Allah in prophetic speech (shahr Allah— “the month of Allah”), and the Prophet ﷺ singled it out as the most virtuous month for voluntary fasting outside Ramadan.

The Islamic New Year (1 Muharram)

1 Muharram marks the start of a new Hijri year. Mainstream Sunni scholarship does not prescribe any specific worship or ritual celebration for the day — no sound hadith establishes special prayers, fasts, or feasts tied to 1 Muharram. The Hijri calendar counts from the Prophet's ﷺ migration (Hijra) from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE, formalized by the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab around 17 AH.

The migration itself occurred in Rabi al-Awwal, not Muharram. Umar retroactively chose Muharram as the start of the year roughly 17 years after the Hijra, in part because it was already the traditional start of the Arab year and because the companions had returned from Hajj in Dhu al-Hijjah and were preparing to plan ahead.

What about the dua for the new moon? The Prophet ﷺ taught a general dua for sighting any new crescent moon, applicable to the Muharram crescent:

Many Muslims use 1 Muharram as a moment for reflection and intention-setting — much as one might at any new-year boundary. The sacred-month status of Muharram already amplifies the reward of righteous deeds undertaken during the month, so beginning a habit of additional prayer, fasting, or Quran recitation here is well-placed in time. What scholars consistently caution against are invented rituals specific to the New Year: invented prayers, dua chains shared on social media, or practices attributed to the Prophet ﷺ without evidence.

The Day of Ashura (10 Muharram)

The Day of Ashura is the 10th of Muharram and the most observed day of this month. It commemorates the day Allah saved Prophet Musa (Moses) and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh by parting the sea. The Prophet ﷺ said fasting Ashura “expiates the sins of the year before it” (Sahih Muslim 1162). The same date is also when Husayn ibn Ali was killed at Karbala in 61 AH — observed primarily in mourning by Shia Muslim communities.

Musa, Pharaoh, and the saving of the Children of Israel

When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah after the Hijra, he found the Jewish community fasting on this day. He asked them why, and they answered:

“This is a great day. Allah saved Musa and the Children of Israel from their enemy on this day, so Musa fasted in gratitude.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “We have more right to Musa than you,” and he fasted that day and ordered the Muslims to fast it.

The day commemorates the parting of the sea, the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, and Allah's rescue of an entire community of believers under Prophet Musa ﷺ. The Quran tells the exodus story in detail across multiple surahs — notably Surah Ash-Shu'ara' 26:60–67 and Surah Ta-Ha 20:77–80 — with Pharaoh pursuing the Israelites to the sea, Allah commanding Musa to strike the water with his staff, and the path opening for the believers and closing on their pursuers.

On the reward of fasting Ashura, the Prophet ﷺ was explicit:

“I hope from Allah that it [the fast of Ashura] expiates the sins of the year that came before it.”

A single voluntary fast that erases a year of minor sins is one of the most weighted day-for-day exchanges in the Sunnah. This is why Ashura is the most strongly recommended single-day fast in the Islamic calendar after the fasts of Ramadan itself.

Karbala and the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali

On the same date — 10 Muharram, 61 AH (10 October 680 CE) — Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet ﷺ and son of Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA), was killed at the Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq. He had refused to give allegiance to Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah, the new Umayyad ruler, and was killed along with most of his small band of family and followers.

The killing of the Prophet's ﷺ grandson is one of the most tragic events in Islamic history and is mourned across Muslim traditions. The observance, however, differs between communities:

• Sunni Muslims commemorate the day primarily through the prophetic sunnah of fasting (the Musa observance the Prophet ﷺ himself established), while acknowledging Husayn's killing as a great calamity.
• Shia Muslims observe the day as a major day of mourning, with processions, recitations, and gatherings marking Husayn's death. The first ten days of Muharram are dedicated to commemoration in much of the Shia tradition.

Both communities share the same calendar and the same Day of Ashura. Treating each tradition with respect, while practicing one's own according to evidence, is the long-standing scholarly counsel.

Tasu'a — fasting the 9th of Muharram

Tasu'a (تاسوعاء) is the 9th of Muharram. Toward the end of his life, the Prophet ﷺ planned to add this day to the Ashura fast to differentiate Muslim practice from the practice of the Jewish community of his time, who fasted only the 10th. He passed away before the next Muharram came, but his stated intention is treated as Sunnah by the majority of scholars.

Ibn Abbas narrated:

When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fasted Ashura and ordered the Muslims to fast it, they said: “O Messenger of Allah, it is a day that the Jews and Christians revere.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “If I live until next year, I will surely fast the ninth.”

Fasting both the 9th and 10th is the recommended practice for someone who can. If two consecutive days are not possible, scholars give two alternatives: fast only the 10th, or fast the 10th and 11th together. Fasting only the 9th — without the 10th — is not what was recommended.

How to fast Ashura — step by step

Fasting Ashura follows the same pattern as any voluntary fast: make intention, eat suhoor if you wish, abstain from food and drink from dawn (Fajr) to sunset (Maghrib), break the fast at sunset. For a voluntary fast, the intention may be made any time before the start of the day's fasting, including in the morning if you haven't eaten or drunk yet.

1. Niyyah (intention)

Intention is in the heart — no verbal formula is required. A simple internal resolve such as “I intend to fast tomorrow for Ashura, for Allah” is sufficient. For a voluntary fast (nafl/sunnah), intention can be made in the morning of the fast itself, provided you haven't eaten or drunk since dawn. For the obligatory fasts of Ramadan, intention must be made before dawn — but this rule does not apply to voluntary fasts like Ashura.

2. Suhoor (pre-dawn meal)

Suhoor is the meal taken before Fajr — sunnah and rewarded, but not obligatory. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Eat suhoor, for in suhoor there is blessing” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1923). Stop eating and drinking at the start of Fajr — see prayer times for your location for the exact time.

3. Through the day

Avoid food, drink, intentional vomiting, and intimate relations from Fajr to Maghrib. Increase Quran recitation, dhikr, and dua — the spiritual core of the fast. Avoid backbiting and arguments; the Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his giving up his food and drink” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1903).

4. Iftar (breaking the fast at sunset)

Break the fast immediately at Maghrib — the sunnah is to be quick about it. Traditionally with dates and water, but any halal food works. The dua at iftar: “Dhahaba al-zama'u wabtallat-il-urooqu wa thabat-al-ajru insha'Allah” — “Thirst has gone, the veins are moist, and the reward is confirmed, if Allah wills” (Sunan Abi Dawud 2357).

Three valid patterns

1. Best: Fast both the 9th and 10th (Tasu'a + Ashura) — the pattern the Prophet ﷺ intended.
2. Good: Fast the 10th alone — valid and rewarded.
3. Alternative: Fast the 10th and 11th — also a recognized form to differentiate from singular-day fasting.

The virtue of fasting in Muharram

The Prophet ﷺ identified Muharram as the most virtuous month for voluntary fasting outside Ramadan, calling it “the month of Allah.” Fasting any day of the month is rewarded, with Ashura (10th) the most specifically recommended single day.

“The best fast after Ramadan is in the month of Allah, al-Muharram, and the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the prayer at night.”

Practically, a tiered approach:

• Minimum: fast the Day of Ashura (10th).
• Better: fast both Tasu'a and Ashura (9th and 10th).
• Best: fast additional days throughout the month — Mondays and Thursdays, or the “white days” (13th, 14th, 15th).

The Prophet ﷺ himself did not fast every day of Muharram. A'ishah (RA) noted that the only complete month she ever saw him fast was Ramadan. Fasting the entire month of Muharram is not Sunnah — the point is to use a month whose fasting is multiplied in reward without straining oneself.

What to do in Muharram — a practical checklist

Beyond the central acts of fasting Tasu'a and Ashura, Muharram is a natural moment for a spiritual reset at the start of a new Hijri year. The reward for any righteous deed is multiplied during a sacred month.

1. Fast the 9th and 10th (Tasu'a + Ashura) — the core sunnah of the month.
2. Set spiritual goals for the new Hijri year — a habit to build, a sin to leave behind, a memorization target.
3. Make sincere tawbah (repentance) — a deliberate reset before deeds of the new year.
4. Reflect on the Hijra — the migration the calendar counts from — and what it teaches about prioritizing faith over comfort.
5. Increase Quran recitation — set a daily portion you can sustain through the year.
6. Give sadaqah — sacred-month giving carries multiplied reward.
7. Make up missed obligatory fasts (qada) from previous Ramadans if you have any pending.
8. Strengthen family ties — a call, a visit, settling a long-standing dispute.

Muharram dates — next 5 years

Muharram moves earlier by approximately 11 days each Gregorian year because the Hijri lunar year is shorter than the solar Gregorian year. The table below shows the expected Gregorian dates for the next five Hijri years, calculated using the Umm al-Qura calendar. Local moon sighting may shift dates by one day.

Muharram as a sacred month

Muharram is one of the four sacred months (al-ashhur al-hurum) in Islam. During sacred months, warfare is prohibited unless one is defending against an attack, and the reward for righteous deeds is multiplied — but so is the gravity of sins.

Muharram is the last of the four sacred months in the year-end cluster — preceded by Dhu al-Qi'dah and Dhu al-Hijjah — and then a six-month gap before Rajab. The three consecutive sacred months at year-end form a 90-day window of heightened spiritual significance the Quran was explicit about preserving.

As Ibn Abbas explained on Surah At-Tawbah 9:36: “He singled out four of them as sacred, magnified their inviolability, and made sin in them greater and righteous deeds in them more rewarded.”

That doubled weight is one reason scholars stress consistency in the basics during Muharram — guarding speech, settling debts, maintaining family ties, anchoring the day in the five prayers, and adding what one reasonably can. Some Muslims also use this month to deepen their connection through the 99 Names of Allah.