The sacred month.
The opening of the year.
المحرم
One of the four sacred months in the Qur'an. The Prophet ﷺ called it 'the month of Allah,' and said the best fast after Ramadan is in Muḥarram — above all, the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, when Allah delivered Mūsā and his people.
What the classical scholars said.
A sacred month.
Among the four months of sanctity named in Sūrat al-Tawbah. In them, sins weigh heavier and good deeds are multiplied. The classical scholars advised intensifying worship without overburdening the soul.
The tenth.
The day Allah parted the sea for Mūsā. The Prophet ﷺ fasted it, and said: "We are closer to Mūsā than they are." To distinguish from the practice of other communities, he added the 9th as well.
The full ruling →The story of Mūsā.
Ibn Kathīr's retelling of Mūsā and Pharaoh, the parting of the sea, and the salvation of the Children of Israel — the events Muḥarram commemorates.
Read on Mūsā →"The best fast after Ramadan is the month of Allah — Muḥarram. And the best prayer after the obligatory one is prayer in the depths of the night."