ḤADĪTH OF THE DAY

“ Al- Ḥakam Ibnul-A'raj said, "I came to Ibn-'Abbās , who he was bolstered on his cloak at Zamzam, and said, 'Tell me which day is the Day of 'Āshūrā' (2) so that I fast it.' He replied, 'When you see the crescent (3) of [the month of] Muharram, count [the days] then begin fasting from the ninth day (4).' I asked, 'Is this how Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him, used to fast ['Āshūrā']?' He confirmed, 'yes.'" Footnotes: 1. The well located in the vicinity of the Sanctified House of God, the Ka'bah, where the prophet Ishmael's mother, Hagar, found water under her son's feet. The well produces water to this day. 2. The day on which prophet Moses used to fast to give thanks to God for saving the Children of Israel from their enemy. Fasting on the Day of 'Ashūrā' is optional. However, the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said that the reward for fasting on that day is the expiation of sins committed during the year leading up to it. 3. The appearance of the crescent signals the beginning of the month. 4. The majority of scholars consider the Day of 'Āshūrā' to be the tenth of Muharram. Ibn-'Abbās also narrated another hadīth clearly identifying the tenth of Muharram as the Day of Āshūrā'. However, the Jews of Madīnah used to fast on that day long before the arrival of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him. In order to distinguish the Muslims from them, the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, decided to fast an extra day the following year; only he did not live long enough to do so. In which case, he would indeed have started to fast the morning of the ninth of Muharram, as indicated by Ibn-'Abbās. ”

Sunan at-Tirmithiy كتاب الزهد باب [ القبر أول منازل الآخرة ]

حَدَّثَنَا هَنَّادٌ حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ مَعِينٍ حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ حَدَّثَنِى عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بَحِيرٍ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ هَانِئًا مَوْلَى عُثْمَانَ قَالَ كَانَ عُثْمَانُ إِذَا وَقَفَ عَلَى قَبْرٍ بَكَى حَتَّى يَبُلَّ لِحْيَتَهُ فَقِيلَ لَهُ تُذْكَرُ الْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ فَلاَ تَبْكِى وَتَبْكِى مِنْ هَذَا فَقَالَ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ إِنَّ الْقَبْرَ أَوَّلُ مَنَازِلِ الآخِرَةِ فَإِنْ نَجَا مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَيْسَرُ مِنْهُ وَإِنْ لَمْ يَنْجُ مِنْهُ فَمَا بَعْدَهُ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ. قَالَ وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا رَأَيْتُ مَنْظَرًا قَطُّ إِلاَّ وَالْقَبْرُ أَفْظَعُ مِنْهُ. قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ هِشَامِ بْنِ يُوسُفَ.
Whenever ‘Uthmān Ibn-‘Affān stood before a grave, he wept until his beard was wet. He was asked, “When Paradise and the Fire are mentioned, you do not weep, yet you weep over this?!” He replied that the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said, “Indeed, the grave is the first abode of the Hereafter; whoever escapes it, then what follows is easier. And whoever does not escape it, then what follows is even tougher.” The Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, also said, “I have never come across a more terrifying scene than the grave.”