Ashura: The 10th of Muharram and the Fast of the 9th

Ashura is the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Hijri calendar. Its name comes from the Arabic word for ten. In Sunni practice it is a voluntary fast day, and many Muslims also fast the 9th because of a sahih hadith in which the Prophet ﷺ said he would fast the 9th the following year. For Shia Muslims, Ashura is above all the anniversary of the killing of Husayn ibn Ali at Karbala in 680 CE. By the calculated Umm al-Qura calendar, the next Ashura falls on Tuesday 15 June 2027, with the 9th on Monday 14 June.

Key Takeaways

• Ashura is 10 Muharram, named after the Arabic word for ten.
• The Prophet ﷺ fasted Ashura and encouraged it. After Ramadan was prescribed, it became optional.
• In Sahih Muslim, the Prophet ﷺ said that if he lived to the next year he would fast the 9th. He died before that year came.
• Shia communities mark Ashura as a day of mourning for Husayn ibn Ali, who was killed at Karbala on 10 Muharram 61 AH.
• Calculated dates for 1449 AH: 9 Muharram is Monday 14 June 2027 and 10 Muharram is Tuesday 15 June 2027. Local announcements may differ by a day.

What the word Ashura means

Encyclopaedia Britannica's entry on Ashura explains that the name derives from the Arabic word for the number ten, and that the day is observed on the 10th of Muharram. The same entry notes that Muharram was traditionally one of the four sacred months, when fighting was not allowed. The sister post on the four sacred months in Islam covers that background in more detail.

Because the Hijri calendar is lunar, Ashura moves about 11 days earlier against the Gregorian calendar each year. In 2025 it fell in early July. By 2030 it will fall in May.

The sahih hadith on fasting Ashura

The main texts on the Ashura fast are in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Read in order, they tell a short history.

It was fasted before Islam and then made optional

In Sahih al-Bukhari 2002, Aisha reports that the Quraysh used to fast on Ashura before Islam, and that the Prophet ﷺ fasted it too. After he came to Madinah he fasted it and told others to fast. When the fast of Ramadan was prescribed, Ashura became optional: whoever wished could fast it, and whoever wished could leave it.

The link to Musa

In Sahih al-Bukhari 2004, Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet ﷺ found the Jews of Madinah fasting on Ashura. They told him it was the day God rescued the Children of Israel from their enemy, so Musa (Moses) fasted it. The Prophet ﷺ replied, "We have more claim over Moses than you," then fasted the day and told the Muslims to fast it.

How much the Prophet ﷺ valued it

Ibn Abbas also said, in Sahih al-Bukhari 2006, that he never saw the Prophet ﷺ seek out a fast on a day he favoured over others except Ashura and the month of Ramadan.

In a long narration from Abu Qatada in Sahih Muslim 1162b, the Prophet ﷺ was asked about fasting on Ashura and said it "expiates the sins of the preceding year." The same narration says fasting the Day of Arafah expiates the preceding year and the coming one; the sister post on the Day of Arafah covers that fast.

Why many Muslims also fast the 9th

The 9th comes from a narration in Sahih Muslim. In Sahih Muslim 1134a, Ibn Abbas reports that when the Prophet ﷺ fasted Ashura and told others to fast it, his Companions said it was a day the Jews and Christians held in high esteem. He answered that the next year, God willing, they would fast on the 9th. Ibn Abbas adds that the Prophet ﷺ died before the next year came.

A shorter wording in Sahih Muslim 1134b has him say: "If I live till the next (year), I would definitely observe fast on the 9th."

A third narration, Sahih Muslim 1133a, records a question put to Ibn Abbas himself. He told the questioner to count from the new moon of Muharram and fast on the 9th, and confirmed that this was how the Prophet ﷺ observed it.

Taken together, these narrations are why many Muslims fast both the 9th and the 10th. In the Encyclopaedia Iranica article on Ashura, the scholar Mahmoud M. Ayoub describes it as a day on which fasting is recommended for Sunnis, and notes traditions that Muslims should fast the 9th, or the 9th and the 10th. The Britannica entry adds that the fast was sometimes extended to the 9th and 11th of Muharram, and that later Sunni scholars agreed it is a recommended (mustahabb) fast. Scholars discuss how best to combine the days, and whether fasting the 10th alone is enough. For your own practice, follow the scholar or mosque you trust.

Ashura and Karbala

For Shia Muslims, Ashura is first a day of mourning. Britannica's article on the Battle of Karbala dates it to 10 October 680, which was the 10th of Muharram, 61 AH. On that day a small party led by Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet ﷺ, was killed by an army sent by the Umayyad caliph Yazid I. The Britannica Ashura entry adds that both Sunni and Shia communities agree on the date of Husayn's death.

Husayn is revered by Shia Muslims as the third imam. According to the Britannica Ashura entry, Shia communities commemorate his death during the first ten days of Muharram, ending on Ashura itself. Common elements include:

• gatherings where preachers relate Husayn's life and the events of Karbala
• recited poems of mourning, often accompanied by rhythmic chest-beating
• passion plays (ta'ziyah) that re-enact his death
• processions, especially in Iran and South Asia, carrying models of his tomb (tazias)
• black clothing worn as a sign of mourning

The same entry notes that some practices, such as self-flagellation, are debated within Shia communities and are prohibited by some Shia authorities.

How communities observe the day

Observance varies by place and tradition. Many Sunni Muslims treat the 9th and 10th as fast days and hold no public event. Shia communities hold mourning assemblies through the first ten days of Muharram and processions on Ashura. Regular processions now also take place in the United States, Canada, England and South Africa.

Shia tradition also treats the day differently from a Sunni fast day. Ayoub's Iranica article explains that Ashura is not observed as a regular fast in Shia practice: the devout go hungry and thirsty in remembrance of Husayn and his family at Karbala, but break that abstention before sunset. Present-day Shia jurists set out their own rulings on fasting the day, so Shia readers should follow the marja or scholar they refer to.

Some local traditions mix the two. In parts of South Asia, according to Britannica's Ashura entry, Sunni Muslims have historically joined Shia processions out of respect for Husayn as a member of the Prophet's family. In Trinidad, the same entry notes, a local form of the commemoration called Hosay draws Muslims, Hindus and Christians. The same source also records periods of friction between communities over these rituals.

A reader from any background can treat Ashura as a day that carries two meanings at once for Muslims: the fast connected with Musa, and the grief connected with Husayn. Which one is foremost depends on the community.

Ashura dates for the coming years

These dates come from the calculated Umm al-Qura calendar used on this site. Each Hijri date begins at sunset on the evening before the Gregorian date shown, but the fast itself runs from dawn to sunset on the listed day.

Ashura 1448 AH has already passed: by the same calendar it fell on Thursday 25 June 2026.

In communities that begin Muharram with a local crescent sighting, the 9th and 10th can fall a day later than the calculated dates. Ibn Abbas's own instruction in Muslim 1133a was to count from the new moon of Muharram, so the practical step is to confirm when your community started the month.

A worked example for 1449 AH

Suppose your community follows the calculated calendar and 1 Muharram 1449 falls on Sunday 6 June 2027. Counting forward:

• Sunday 13 June, after sunset: the night of 9 Muharram begins.
• Monday 14 June, before dawn: suhoor for the 9th. Fast until sunset.
• Monday 14 June, sunset: iftar. The night of 10 Muharram begins.
• Tuesday 15 June, before dawn: suhoor for Ashura. Fast until sunset.

If your mosque announces that Muharram began a day later, shift every line by one day. The post on why the Islamic day begins at sunset explains why the evening comes first.

Plan your Ashura fast

Open the Ashura page for the calculated date in each year, then check the Muharram 1449 calendar to see the 9th and 10th in a monthly grid. If you want to check another date, the date converter converts between Hijri and Gregorian. Mark the days as provisional, and confirm the start of Muharram with your local mosque once the month is announced. For the rest of the month's background, see the guide to Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year.