who may well have been enemies of al-Ḥusayn—peace be upon him—who fabricated ḥadiths on the virtues of feeding others, applying kohl, and similar practices on the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, in order to counter the Shīʿah, who had turned that day into a time of mourning for al-Ḥusayn because his martyrdom occurred then.

For this reason Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) declared the report a lie. He noted that Imām Aḥmad was asked about it and regarded it as worthless. Ibn Taymiyyah reinforced his verdict by pointing out that none of the early generations recommended enlarging one’s spending on ʿĀshūrāʾ and that none of these narrations were known during the praiseworthy centuries. He discusses the matter in detail in his Fatāwā, 2/248-256; refer to it.

Al-Manāwī quotes al-Majd al-Lughawī as saying:
“Everything transmitted about the virtue of fasting on ʿĀshūrāʾ, performing extra prayers, giving donations, dyeing, anointing with oil, or applying kohl is an innovation originated by the murderers of al-Ḥusayn—may Allah be pleased with him.”

Under the heading “Fasting Most of Shaʿbān” he cites the tradition:
“Usāmah said, ‘I asked, Messenger of Allah, I do not see you fast any month as much as you fast in Shaʿbān.’ He replied, ‘That is a month people neglect … .’ Reported by Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, and authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah.”

I say: In attributing it to Abū Dāwūd the author followed al-Ḥāfiẓ in Fatḥ al-Bārī, al-Ṣanʿānī in Subul al-Salām, and al-Shawkānī in Nayl al-Awṭār, but they all erred and repeated one another’s mistake: the narration is not in Abū Dāwūd. Rather, Abū Dāwūd transmits from Usāmah a different ḥadith about fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. Hence al-Mundhirī in al-Targhīb, al-Ḥāfiẓ in Tabʿyīn al-ʿAjab bimā Warida fī Faḍl Rajab, and likewise al-Nābulusī in al-Dhakhāʾir restricted its attribution to al-Nasāʾī alone. Moreover, the isnād in al-Nasāʾī is ḥasan.