Ruling
on Eid and the Sunnahs of Eid
(Source: Islam Q&A)
Allaah has set
out several rulings concerning Eid, including the following:
1– It is
mustahabb to recite takbeer during the night of Eid from sunset on the
last day of Ramadaan until the imam comes to lead the prayer.
The format of
the takbeer is as follows:
Allaahuakbar,
Allaahuakbar, laailaaha ill-Allaah, Allaahuakbar, Allaahuakbar,
waLillaahi’l-hamd (Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, there is
no god except Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, and
all praise be to Allaah).
Or you can say
Allaahuakbar three times, so you say:
Allaahuakbar,
Allaahuakbar, Allaahuakbar, laailaaha ill-Allaah, Allaahuakbar,
Allaahuakbar, Allaahuakbar, waLillaahi’l-hamd (Allaah is Most Great,
Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, there is no god except
Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great , Allaah is Most
Great, and all praise be to Allaah). Both are permissible.
Men should raise
their voices reciting this dhikr in the marketplaces, mosques and
homes, but women should not raise their voices.
2– You should
eat an odd number of dates before leaving for the Eid prayer, because
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not set out
on the day of Eid until he had eaten an odd number of dates. We should
stick to an odd number as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) did.
3– You should wear your best clothes – this is for men. With regard to
women, they should not wear beautiful clothes when they go out to the
Eid prayer-place, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “Let them go out looking decent” i.e., in regular
clothes that are not fancy. It is haraam for them to go out wearing
perfume and makeup.
4– Some of the
scholars regarded it as mustahabb to do ghusl for the Eid prayer,
because it is narrated that some of the salaf did this. Doing ghusl for
Eid prayer is mustahabb, just as it is prescribed for Jumu’ah because
one is going to meet people. So if one does ghusl, that is good.
5– The Eid prayer:
The Muslims are unanimously agreed that the Eid prayer is prescribed in
Islam. Some of them say that it is Sunnah, some say that it is fard
kafaayah (a communal obligation) and some say that it is fard ‘ayn (an
individual obligation), and that not doing it is a sin.
They quoted as evidence the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) commanded even the virgins and women in
seclusion, i.e., those who did not ordinarily come out, to attend the
Eid prayer place, except that those who were menstruating should keep
away from the prayer-place itself, because it is not permissible for a
menstruating woman to stay in the mosque; it is permissible for her to
pass through but not to stay there.
It seems to me, based on the evidence, that it is fard ‘ayn (an
individual obligation) and that every male is obliged to attend the Eid
prayer except for those who have an excuse. This was the view favoured
by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him).
In the first
rak’ah the imam should recite Sabbihismarabbika al-A‘ala (Soorat
al-A’la 87) and in the second rak’ah he should recite Hal
ataakahadeethul-ghaashiyah (al-Ghaashiyah 88). Or he may recite Soorat
Qaaf (50) in the first and Soorat al-Qamar (54) in the second. Both
options are narrated in saheeh reports from the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
6– If Jumu’ah and Eid fall on the same day, the Eid prayer should be
held, as should Jumu’ah prayer, as is indicated by the apparent meaning
of the hadeeth of al-Nu’maanibnBasheer which was narrated by Muslim in
his Saheeh. But those who attend the Eid prayer with the imam may
attend Jumu’ah if they wish, or they may pray Zuhr.
7–
One of the rulings on Eid
prayer is that according to many scholars, if a person comes to the Eid
prayer-place before the imam comes, he should sit down and not pray two
rak’ahs, because the Prophet (peace
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and blessings of
Allaah be upon
him) prayed Eid with two rak’ahs, and he did not offer any prayer
before or after it. Some
of the
scholars are of the view that when a person comes he should not sit
down until he has prayed two rak’ahs, because the Eid prayer-place is a
mosque, based on the fact that menstruating women are not allowed
there, so it comes under the same rulings as a mosque, which indicates
that it is a mosque. Based on this, it comes under the general meaning
of the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him): “When any one of you enters the mosque, let him not sit down
until he has prayed two rak’ahs.” With regard to the fact that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not offer any
prayer before or after the Eid prayer, that is because when he arrived
the prayer started.
Thus it is proven that we should pray Tahiyyat al-Masjid (two rak’ahs
to “greet the mosque”) when arriving at the Eid prayer-place, as in the
case of all mosques, because if we assume from the hadeeth that there
is no Tahiyyat al-Masjid for the Eid mosque, then we should say that
there is no Tahiyyat al-Masjid for the Jumu’ah mosque either, because
when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) arrived at the Jumu’ah mosque he would deliver the khutbah, then
pray two rak’ahs then leave and pray the regular Sunnahs of Jumu’ah in
his house, so he did not offer any prayer before it or after it (in the
mosque).
What seems more likely to be correct in my view is that we should pray
two rak’ahs in the Eid prayer-place to greet the mosque, but we should
not denounce one another with regard to this issue, because it is a
matter concerning which the scholars differ. We should not denounce
others with regard to matters where the scholars differ, unless there
is a clear text. So we should not denounce the one who prays (Tahiyyat
al-Masjid) or the one who sits down without praying.
8–
One of the rulings on the day of Eid – Eid al-Fitr – is that Zakaat
al-Fitr is due on this day. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) enjoined that it should be paid before the Eid prayer. It
is permissible to pay it one or two days before that, because of the
hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) which was
narrated by al-Bukhaari: “They used to give it one or two days before
(Eid) al-Fitr.” If it is paid after the Eid prayer, it does not count
as Sadaqat al-Fitr, because of the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas: “Whoever
pays it before the prayer, it is Zakaat al-Fitr, and whoever pays it
after the prayer, it is ordinary charity.” It is haraam to delay Zakaat
al-Fitr until after the Eid prayer. If one delays it with no excuse
then it is not acceptable zakaah, but if there is an excuse – such as
if a person is traveling and does not have anything to give or anyone
to give it to, or he is expecting his family to pay it and they are
expecting him to pay it, then in this case he should pay it when it is
easy for him to do so, even if that is after the prayer, and there is
no sin on him because he has an excuse.
We see some people denouncing those who refuse to shake hands with
those who are not their mahrams, but it is they who are the wrongdoers,
not he. But he should explain to them and tell them to ask trustworthy
scholars to verify his actions and he should tell them not to get angry
and insist on following the customs of his forefathers, because they do
not make a permissible thing forbidden or a forbidden thing
permissible. He should explain to them that if they do that, they will
be like those of whom Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And similarly, We sent not a warner before you (O Muhammad) to any
town (people) but the luxurious ones among them said: “We found our
fathers following a certain way and religion, and we will indeed follow
their footsteps”
[al-Zukhruf 43:23]
Some people have the custom of going out to the graveyard on the day of
Eid to greet the occupants of the graves, but the occupants of the
graves have no need of any greeting or congratulations, because they do
not fast or pray qiyaam.
Visiting the graves is not something to be done especially on the day
of Eid or Friday or any particular day. It was proven that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) visited the graves at
night, as mentioned in the hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah narrated by Muslim. And
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Visit
the graves for they will remind you of the Hereafter.”
Visiting graves is an act of worship, and acts of worship are not
acceptable unless they are in accordance with sharee’ah. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not single out the day
of Eid for visiting the graves, so we should not do so
either. 10– There is nothing wrong
with what men do on the day of Eid of embracing one another.
11– It is prescribed for the one who goes out to the Eid prayer to go
by one route and return by another, following the example of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). This
Sunnah does not apply to other prayers, Jumu’ah or anything else, it
only applies to Eid.
Majmoo’ FataawaIbn ‘Uthaymeen, 16/216-223.
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