By Shaykh Anisul Haque
19 June 2026

﷽ 

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, we find ourselves once again at the beginning of a new Islamic year. It feels as though only yesterday we were welcoming the previous year, making plans, setting goals, reflecting on what lay ahead. Yet today another year has passed, reminding us how quickly time slips away. Days become weeks, weeks become months, and before we realise it, years have come and gone.

As we enter this new year, the first thing we should do is thank Allah. We thank Him for the blessing of life, for allowing us to witness another year, and for granting us another opportunity to worship Him, to draw closer to Him, and to improve ourselves. A new year is not simply the turning of a page on a calendar. It is a gift from Allah, a fresh chance to correct our mistakes, strengthen our faith, and increase in good deeds before we return to Him.

Brothers and sisters, many people who began the previous Islamic year with us are no longer here today. Many had plans they hoped to fulfil, changes they intended to make, acts of worship they meant to increase. Many thought they had more time. But their books of deeds have now been closed. Their opportunities have come to an end. They can no longer add a single good deed, nor seek forgiveness for a single missed one.

Yet Allah, through His infinite mercy, has allowed us to remain. He has granted us another year, another chance, another opportunity to prepare for the meeting with Him. So once again we say: Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah for another day. Alhamdulillah for another year. And Alhamdulillah for another opportunity to strive for His pleasure and His forgiveness.

The month that Allah named after Himself

One of the greatest blessings Allah has bestowed upon us is that the seasons of worship never truly come to an end. No sooner does one opportunity to draw closer to Allah pass than another presents itself. Only days ago we bade farewell to Dhul Hijjah, a sacred month of immense blessing, in which millions gathered to perform Hajj and the best days of the year came and went. And now, by the mercy of Allah, we find ourselves in the first days of Muharram, another of Allah’s sacred months.

The Prophet ﷺ described Muharram as Shahrullah, the Month of Allah. Al-Hasan al-Basri said that Allah opened the year with a sacred month, Muharram, and closed it with a sacred month, Dhul Hijjah, and that there is no month after Ramadan greater in the sight of Allah than Muharram. This is the only month Allah has attributed to Himself in this way. Ibn Rajab explained that Allah only attributes a thing to Himself when He wishes to highlight its honour and distinction. Just as He honoured His prophets by calling them His servants, and honoured the Ka‘bah by calling it His house, He honoured this month by naming it the Month of Allah.

Muharram is one of the four sacred months Allah mentions in the Qur’an:

The scholars explain that the four sacred months are Dhul Qa‘dah, Dhul Hijjah, Muharram, and Rajab. These are not like the rest of the year. They are seasons in which the believer should be even more conscious of his relationship with Allah, and even more careful about his actions. In the same verse, Allah continues:

Wrongdoing and sin are forbidden at all times. Yet Allah draws our attention to these months in particular to remind us of their sanctity. Imam al-Qurtubi explained that while every sin is serious, sins committed in these blessed months are graver, because they violate times that Allah Himself has made sacred. Abdullah ibn Abbas said likewise that disobedience in these months is more severe in the sight of Allah, while obedience and worship within them carry greater reward.

This is why the righteous before us were especially mindful of their deeds in these months, striving to increase in worship and taking care to avoid whatever displeases Allah. And from the greatest of those deeds is fasting. The Prophet ﷺ said:

The best fasting after Ramadan is in Allah’s month of Muharram.

[Muslim]

Ibn Rajab noted something beautiful here. Allah attributed fasting, among all acts of worship, to Himself, when He said in a hadith qudsi that fasting is His and He Himself will reward it. So it was fitting that this month, which is also ascribed to Allah, be chosen for this particular act of worship.

And brothers and sisters, every season of worship contains within it a special day. In Ramadan we have Laylatul Qadr, a night better than a thousand months. In the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah we have the Day of Arafah. And in Muharram we have the Day of Ashura. The Prophet ﷺ greatly encouraged fasting on this day, and when asked about it he said that it expiates the sins of the previous year. A single day of fasting, and a year of minor sins forgiven. If you were to count the favours of Allah, you could never enumerate them.

What Ashura teaches us

But today I do not wish only to speak of the virtues of Ashura. I want us to reflect on the lessons that emerge from the event itself, when Allah saved Musa عليه السلام and the believers from the oppression of Fir‘awn. As believers, we do not merely weigh the rewards of an action. We look deeper. We reflect on the stories preserved in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, we draw inspiration from them, and we seek guidance for our own lives. Allah did not relate these events simply so we would know the past. He related them so that we would strengthen our faith and learn how to face the trials of our own time.

The first lesson is that patience leads to victory. The Prophet ﷺ told Abdullah ibn Abbas: know that victory comes with patience. Musa عليه السلام and the Children of Israel endured years of persecution under Fir‘awn. They were enslaved, humiliated, subjected to unimaginable suffering. Yet Musa عليه السلام remained steadfast, trusting in Allah's promise. And when the sea stood before them and Fir‘awn’s army closed in from behind, his people cried out in despair:

But Musa عليه السلام answered with complete certainty:

At that very moment, when every worldly means appeared exhausted, Allah opened a way where none seemed possible. The sea parted, the believers were saved, and Fir‘awn was destroyed. This teaches us that relief may not come at once, but Allah never abandons those who are patient. Many of us today carry personal struggles, family difficulties, financial hardship, or pressure in practising our faith. Ashura reminds us that the believer never loses hope. Victory belongs to those who hold firm upon obedience and trust in Allah.

The second lesson is that gratitude is expressed through worship. When the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah, he found the Jews fasting on Ashura. They explained that it was the day Allah saved Musa عليه السلام and his people, so they fasted out of gratitude. The Prophet ﷺ affirmed the principle and said, “We have more right to Musa than they do.” He then fasted the day and encouraged the Muslims to fast it too.

This teaches us something we easily forget. Gratitude is not merely a feeling in the heart, nor only words on the tongue. True gratitude is shown through worship and obedience. How many blessings does Allah pour upon us? A person searches for work for months, and Allah opens a door. Another battles illness, and Allah grants recovery. A family is given a child after years of waiting. A student succeeds. Someone is spared an accident that could have changed their life. In those moments, how do we respond? Do we simply say Alhamdulillah and carry on as before? Ask yourself honestly: the last time Allah blessed you with success, did you fall into a prostration of gratitude, or did you celebrate and forget the One who gave it?

And how many people remember Allah only in hardship? When difficulty strikes, they raise their hands in sincere du‘a, they fill the masjid, they pray with humility. Yet when Allah answers and lifts the hardship, they drift back into heedlessness. The believer should not be like this. He worships Allah in ease as he worships Him in hardship. Every blessing should increase our worship, because every blessing is another reason to thank the One who gave it.

The third lesson is the importance of preserving our Islamic identity. Although the Prophet ﷺ fasted on Ashura, he did not wish the Muslims merely to imitate another community, so he said: “If I live until next year, I will fast the ninth as well.” For this reason the scholars recommend fasting the ninth and tenth of Muharram, or the tenth and eleventh, so that Muslims remain distinct. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Islam is superior, and nothing is placed above it.”

This does not mean arrogance, nor looking down upon others. It means that Allah has honoured us with the guidance of Islam, so we should never feel inferior or ashamed of our faith. We do not take our values from changing trends or social pressure. We take them from Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. Today many Muslims feel a pull to fit in, to hide their faith, to soften their principles in order to be accepted. A man hesitates to pray at work. A sister feels pressure over her hijab. A young person is embarrassed to practise openly among friends. Ashura reminds us that our honour lies in holding firmly to who we are. We live alongside people of all faiths and backgrounds with kindness, justice, and respect, but we do not lose ourselves in the process. Our dress, our worship, our manners, and our conduct should all show that we are servants of Allah. Distinction is not hostility. It is quiet confidence in the guidance Allah has given us.

So as we approach the Day of Ashura, let us not seek its reward through fasting alone, but also carry its lasting lessons: that patience leads to victory, that gratitude is shown through worship, and that success lies in holding firm to our identity and remaining steadfast upon the guidance of Allah.

O Allah, allow us to reach the Day of Ashura in faith and health, and accept our fasting and our worship. Make us of those who are patient in hardship and grateful in ease. 

Ameen.

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