Ashura 2027, the fast of 10 Muharram

Ashura is the 10th of Muharram. In 2027 it is expected on Tuesday 15 June 2027, by the Umm al-Qura calendar. The Sunnah is to fast it, and to add the 9th (Monday 14 June) or, failing that, the 11th (Wednesday 16 June). Where Muharram begins a day later by local sighting, each day moves a day later.

Why Muslims fast on Ashura

Ibn Abbas said that when the Prophet ﷺ came to Madinah he found the Jews fasting on the day of Ashura. They said it was the day Allah saved Musa and the Children of Israel from Pharaoh, so Musa fasted it. The Prophet ﷺ said: "We are closer to Musa than you," and he fasted it and told the Muslims to fast it.¹ Before Ramadan was made obligatory, the Muslims were ordered to fast Ashura; afterwards it became voluntary.²

The reward

The Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting the day of Ashura and said: "It expiates the sins of the previous year."³ He also said the best fasting after Ramadan is in Muharram, the month of Allah.⁴

Why the 9th as well

Near the end of his life the Prophet ﷺ said: "If I live until next year, I will fast the ninth," so that the Muslims' fast would differ from the fast of the People of the Book. He passed away before the next Muharram.⁵ A report in Musnad Ahmad from Ibn Abbas says "fast a day before it or a day after it"; its chain is weak, but a version stopping at Ibn Abbas himself is authentic, and scholars use it to allow the 11th.

Can I fast Ashura with a make-up fast?

You can fast a missed Ramadan day on Ashura. In the Hanafi school the fast counts as the make-up, the stronger of the two intentions, and many scholars hope the reward of the day is not lost. If you can, fast Ashura as a voluntary fast and make up Ramadan on other days.

What else is reported about Ashura

• A report about being generous to your family on Ashura is in al-Bayhaqi and others. Its chains are weak; some scholars accepted it through their number and others did not.
• Special prayers, a set number of rakahs, or kohl and bathing as rites of Ashura have no authentic basis.
• Ashura is also the day al-Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet ﷺ, was martyred at Karbala in 61 AH. Muslims remember him with love and sorrow. The Sunnah for this day remains fasting, patience and dua.

How to keep the fast

• Make the intention the night before or before midday, for a voluntary fast in the Hanafi school.
• Eat sehri before Fajr and break the fast at Maghrib, as in Ramadan. See today's times on prayer times.
• Encourage children to try, as the Companions did with theirs.²

1. Sahih al-Bukhari 2004; Sahih Muslim 1130.
2. Sahih al-Bukhari 2002 and 1960; Sahih Muslim 1125 and 1136.
3. Sahih Muslim 1162, from Abu Qatadah.
4. Sahih Muslim 1163.
5. Sahih Muslim 1134.
6. Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Sawm. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.