In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Ashra is an Arabic word which means “ten.” In Islamic terminology, the 1st Ashra refers to the first 10 days of the Holy month of Ramadan. The second Ashra refers to the middle 10 days (11-20), and the third Ashra refers to the last set of 10 days (21-30).

 

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 

“It (Ramadan) is the month, whose beginning is mercy, its middle forgiveness, and its end is the emancipation from the fire (of hell).” – Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 93, pg. 342

 

 

The first ten days of Ramadan are known as the period of Mercy. It is indeed the sign of His Mercy upon us that we are blessed to observe Fast during Ramadan. Accordingly, we are encouraged to be more generous and kind to fellow beings, especially to be extremely respectful to elders and loving to the younger ones, and to be extremely generous to the needy and poor ones. Being that it will be our first days of experiencing hunger and thirst, this act of generosity should come naturally as it becomes easy to understand the hardship of the poor and needy. Among the few things to do in this month of mercy and charity, as instructed by the Prophet, peace be upon him, are, “Give alms to the poor and needy. Pay respect to elders, have sympathy to youngsters, to be kind to your relatives.” It is our undeniable duty to practice of guarding our tongue against unworthy words, eyes from seeing forbidden things, and ears from hearing voices that are evil.

Source:Islam4All Yahoo Group