Fasting on the Day of ‘Aashooraa’ has great virtues and merits, and the righteous predecessors (i.e., early Muslim generations) keenly fasted that day, following the example of the Prophet ﷺ, while contravening the Jews in the manner of their fasting. In this hadeeth, Aboo Moosaa Al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Jews used to venerate the Day of ‘Aashooraa’ and take it as a festival, and therefore the Prophet ﷺ commanded Muslims to observe fasting on that day. The apparent meaning of this narration is that the motive behind the Prophet’s command to fast on that day was out of his keenness to contravene the Jews, observing fasting on the days when they refrained from fasting and refraining from fasting on the days when they fasted, because the days of ‘Eid must not be fasted. The hadeeth narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with them), cited in Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree and Saheeh Muslim, indicates that the reason for his fasting was the approval of the reason for which they fasted on that day, i.e., expressing gratitude to Allah for saving Prophet Moosaa. However, the Jews’ veneration of that day and their belief in it as a day of ‘Eid did not necessitate that they refrained from fasting on it. Perhaps fasting on that day was a manifestation of veneration prescribed by their divine law. This was explicitly stated in another narration reported by Al-Bukhaaree on the authority of Aboo Moosaa (may Allah be pleased with him) reading: “… and saw the Jews venerating and fasting on the Day of ‘Aashooraa’.” The version narrated in Saheeh Muslim reads: “People of Khaybar observed fast on the Day of ‘Aashooraa’ and took it as ‘Eid.” Narrated Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the act of Sunnah in this regard is to observe fasting on the 9th and 10th days of Muharram, to be different from the Jews who fasted only on the 10th of Muharram, and this was narrated in Saheeh Muslim. Moreover, it has been reported on the authority of Qataadah (may Allah be pleased with him) that fasting on that day expiates the sins committed during the previous year, as has also been recorded in Saheeh Muslim. .