Is it commendable to spend freely on one’s family during the day of Âshura or not? There is a group of Ulema who are of the opinion that this practice is unfounded. They maintain that the hadith substantiating this practice is unreliable. However, this standpoint of theirs is neither sound nor rational. It is a case of swaying to extremities. Judicious Muhadditheen are of the opinion that the hadith in this regard is reliable. This practice is therefore commendable. Allâma Sakhâwi Rahmatullâhi Alayhi has approved of this hadith in his book “Al Maqâsidul Hasana”.

The hadith is narrated by Hadhrat Abdullâh bin Mas'ood Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu, who mentions that Rasulullâh Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam said:

من وسع  علي عياله في يوم عاشوراء وسع الله عليه السنة كلها

 {“Allâh Ta’âla will grant prosperity throughout the year to the person
who spends freely on his family on the day of Âshura.”}

 Tabrâni, Bayhaqi and Abu Sheikh have all narrated this hadith from Hadhrat Abdullâh bin Mas'ood Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu. Tabrâni and Bayhaqi have also narrated it from Hadhrat Abu Sa'eed Khudri (R.A), while Bayhaqi reports narrations of this hadith from Hadhrat Jâbir Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu and Hadhrat Abu Hurayra Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhu as well. Although the chains of narrators of these Ahadeeth are not reliable, their sheer numbers lend strength to them[1].

The actual text of Imâm Sakhâwi Rahmatullâhi Alayhi’s “Al Maqâsidul Hasana” is as follows:

حديث }1193{: من وسع  علي عياله في يوم عاشوراء وسع الله عليه السنة كلها.

رواه الطبراني ، والبيهقي في الشعب وفضائل الأوقات ، وأبو الشيخ ،عن ابن مسعود   والأولان فقط عن أبي سعيد ، والثاني فقط في الشعب عن جابر و أبي هريرة ، وقال انّ أسانيده كلها ضعيفة ،ولكن اذا ضمّ بعضها الي بعض أفاد قوة.

بل قال العراقي في أماليه : لحديث أبي هريرة طرق صحح بعضها ابن ناصر الحافظ ، وأورده ابن الجوزي في الموضوعات من طريق سليمان بن أبي عبد الله ، وقال : سليمان مجهول ، وسليمان ذكره ابن حبان في الثقات فالحديث حسن علي رأيه. قال : وله طريق عن جابر علي شرط مسلم ، أخرجها ابن عبد البر في الاستذكار من رواية أبي الزبير عنه ، وهي أصح طرقه .

ورواه هو والدارقطنى في الأفراد بسند جيد عن عمر موقوفا عليه ، والبيهقي في الشعب من جهة محمد بن المنتثر ، قال : كان يقال فذكره ، قال : وقد جمعت طرقه في جزء.

قلت واستدرك عليه شيخنا رحمه الله كثيراً لم يذكره وتعقب اعتماد ابن الجوزي في الموضوعات قول العقيلي في هيصم بن شداخ راوي ابن مسعود انّه مجهول بقوله بل ذكره ابن حبان في الثقات والضعفاء  (المقاصد الحسنة للسخاوي  ص674)

   In his book “Mâ Thabata Bis Sunnah”, Hadhrat Shah Abdul Haqq Muhaddith Dehlawi Rahmatullâhi Alayhi has quoted the above dissertation of Imâm Sakhâwi Rahmatullâhi Alayhi. He has also quoted the following discussion of Hâfidh Zaynud Deen Iraqi Rahmatullâhi Alayhi who says, “This hadith has some weakness although Ibn Hibbân Rahmatullâhi Alayhi regards it to be an authentic hadith. There is also another version of this hadith, which Hâfidh Abul Fadhl Muhammad bin Nâsir Rahmatullâhi Alayhi has passed as authentic. From what Imâm Bayhaqi Rahmatullâhi Alayhi says, it appears as if the hadith about spending freely on one’s family is authentic according to other Muhadditheen besides Ibn Hibbân. This is evident from the fact that he has narrated this hadith from many Sahabah Radhi-Allâhu ‘anhum who all narrate from Rasulullâh Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam. He has also mentioned that although the chains of narrators of these Ahadeeth are not reliable, their sheer numbers lend strength to them. As for Allâma Ibn Taymiyyah Rahmatullâhi Alayhi who rejects this hadith and says that nothing of the sort was reported from Rasulullâh Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam, this is his misunderstanding. When Imâm Ahmad Rahmatullâhi Alayhi stated that this hadith is not authentic, he most probably meant that the hadith is itself not perfectly reliable. However, he did not refute the fact that the hadith may receive credibility because of other factors. After all, a hadith that becomes reliable because of other factors can also be regarded as a legitimate proof.”[2]