How
to Celebrate Eid?
In
Arabic Eid means any day on which people gather. Ibn Abideen, a
famous Hanafi scholar, writs:
The Eid's are named so because
Allah renews His bounties in them, and He distributes His blessings
to His worshippers. Thus on Eid al-Fitr He permits them to eat after
having abstained from food, and requires paying Sadaqa al-Fitr to the
needy."
In Islam there are only three occasions of Eid:
the yearly Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-'Adha, and the weekly Jumu'ah.
The
two Eid's are a mercy from Allah to this Umma. Anas reports that on
arriving in Madina the Prophet found its people celebrating two days
since jahiliyya. He said, 'IndEid,
Allah has substituted them for you with what is better: the day of
Sacrifice and the Day of Fitr. (Ahmad, Abu Daud)
Islam
teaches us how to celebrate these occasions of joy. Their spirit is
to remember Allah's bounties, that is why the major part of the
celebration is an extra prayer. It is an occasion to increase good
dEids at the conclusion of a significant worship. It is not an
occasion to sin and disobey Allah by listening to songs, watching the
latest movie released, to have mixed gatherings, or to waste
time.
The following are some recommended acts to be performed
on Eid:
(a) Ghusl: Ibn
'Umar used to take a bath on the day of Fitr before procEiding to the
musalla. (Malik, Abd al-Razzaq, etc)
(b) Beautifying
oneself: The Prophet used to wear his best clothes to go
the Eid prayer. He had a cloak that he wore specifically on the two
Eid's and Friday. Ibn 'Umar also used to wear his best clothes on he
two Eid's. Men may put on perfume, wear a kufi or an imama and not
shave their beards while women must observe proper purdah and not put
on perfume.
(c) Eating on the morning of Eid:
Allah's Messenger would not leave his house on the Day of Fitr until
he had ate some dates. (Bukhari)
(d) Prayer in
the Musalla: The Sunna is to hold the Eid prayer in the open.
This outdoor place is called the musalla.
(e)
Taking different routes: The Prophet
would take different routes on the day of Eid
(Bukhari)
(f) Walking: Ali
said it is Sunna that you goto Eid walking (Tirmidhi, Ibn
Majah)
(g) Saying Takbeer: is a distinctive
feature of Eid.
"…And that you
must exclaim Allah's greatness for having guided you, so that you may
be grateful." (Surah al-Baqara; 2: 185)
The time
for Eid takbir's starts from the time a person leaves his house
heading towards the musalla. The Prophet would leave his house on the
Day of Fitr saying takbeer until he reached the musalla and until he
performed the prayer. Once he had performed the prayer, he would stop
saying the takbeer.
Unfortunately, these days people have
limited saying takbeer only while waiting for the Imam. There is no
evidence from the Sunna or the practice of the Sahaba to say it in
unison in a loud voice while waiting for the Imam!
We don’t
know of any authentic hadith from the Prophet as to what should be
said in the takbeer, but we find three reports from the
Sahaba:
(a) Ibn Mas'ud:
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akar, La-il-la ha il-Allah, wa-Allahu Akbar,
(b) Ibn Abbas: Allahu
Abkar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, wa-lil-laahil-Hamd. Allahu Akbar
wa-Ajall, Allahu Akbar 'ala ma Hadana.
(c)
Salman: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu
Akbaru Kabira.
It is not correct to say: Takbir
will start at
Eid
Greetings: When the Sahaba of the Prophet met on the day of Eid
they would say to each other: Taqabbal-Allahu Minkum.
(A)
The Eid prayer is wajib according to the majority of scholars (Ahmad,
Shaf'I, Abu Hanifa). 'Umm 'Atiyya reports the Prophet commanded,
"The
Prophet commanded the free women, the virgins, and the menstruating
women to go out to attend the Eid prayer and witness the good and the
supplications of the believers. As for the menstruating women, they
should stay away from the musalla (i.e. they should not pray). I
said, "O Messenger of Allah, one of us does not have a jilbaab."
The Prophet said, "Let her borrow the jilbaab of her sister."
(Bukhari, Muslim, etc)
This hadith shows the following:
(a)
Eid prayer is obligatory.
(b) All women, young,
old, or menstruating must attend it in the musalla. Menstruating
women do not pray of course but they join in the khutba and du'a. If
Eid prayer is held in a masjid then they stay outside without
entering the masjid hall, listen to the khutba and join in the
du'a.
(c) The women must wear a jilbaab when they
come to the prayer, be they young or old. It is wajib to wear it.
Why? The Prophet commanded women to attend Eid prayer who did not
have a jilbabb presented it as an excuse. The Prophet did not tell
her to come anyways without jilbabb, but he instructed her to borrow
it from her sister.
(B) No prayer
before or after it: There is no Sunna prayer before or after sala
al-Eid, except if it is held in a masjid, then one must pray two
rak'at of tahiyya al-masjid before sitting down. Ibn Abbas: "The
Prophet went out (of his house) on the day of fitr, prayed two
rak'aat, and did not pray before or after it."[4]
(C)
No Adhan or Iqama
Jabir ibn
Samura reports:
"I prayed Eid prayer
with Allah's Messenger on more than one occasion, withour Adhan or
Iqama." [5]
(D)
Description of Prophet's Eid prayer
Like
any prayer, the prayer began with Takbir al-Ahram followed by the
opening supplication. It is followed by seven takbee-raat in the
first rak'at and five additional takbee-raat in the second rak'at.
Aisha said, "Allah's messenher would say Takbir in both Fitr and
Adha; seven in the first, and five in the second - other than the two
Takbir's of ruku'." [6]
"In
the Eid prayer Allah's messenger said seven takbee-raat in the first
rak'at, recited Qur'an, said the takbir and bowed, prostrated
himself, then he stood, said five takbee-raat, recited, said takbir,
bowed, and prostrated. “ [7]
Ibn
al-Qayyim writes in Zaad al-Ma'aad: "The Prophet would remain
silent between the two takbee-raat, and nothing is reported from him
regarding Dhikr between them."
But
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "Between every two takbir's is a
praise of Allah and a salah upon the Prophet." [8]
After
reciting al-Fatiha, the Prophet would recite either Surah Qaaf in
first rak'at and al-Qamar in the second, or al-'
Rest
of the prayer is like any other prayer.
(E)
Khutba
The
Prophet would give the Khutba after the prayer. [10]
The
Eid khutba of the prophet would be one unit, unlike the Jumu'ah
Khutba which is two.
He would give a choice to either
listen to the khutba or leave. After finishing the prayer, the
Prophet would say,
"We shall give
the khutba - so let whoever wishes to sit for khutba do so, and
whoever wishes to leave, leave."
[11]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1]
Abu Daud, Ibn Majah, Darqutni, Hakim
[2] according to Hanafis, but
fard according to rest
[3] Bukhari, Muslim
[4] Bukhari,
Muslim
[5] Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi
[6] Abuu daud, Ahmad, Ibn
Majah
[7] Abu Daud, Ahmad, Ibn Majah
[8] Baihaqi
[9] Muslim,
Tirmidhi, Nisai, Ibn Majah
[10] Bukhari, Muslim
[11] Abu Daud,
Ibn Majah, Nisai, Hakim
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To
purify the person who fasted and cleanse him of indecent talk and
minor sins performed during Ramadan.
(b) To Eid
poor Muslims so they have enough food during Eid.
This
statement also indicates that paying zakat al-Fitr is obligatory
(wajib).[2] It is wajib on every Muslim capable of giving
for himself and on behalf of every member of his family under his
care. The proof for this in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar:
"Allah's
Messenger has made obligatory zakat al-Fitr in the amount of sa'a of
dates or one sa'a of barley, for the Muslims - slave or free, male or
female, young or old, and he ordered it to be given before the people
went out to the Eid prayer. We would give it out before Eid by a day
or two."[3]
This hadith tells us four things: the
quantity of food to be given out, the type of food that can be given
out, the best time to give it out, and the permissible time to give
it out.
(a) The quantity of food to be given out
is one sa'a of food stuff. One sa'a is roughly equal to four handfuls
of an average man put together. It's weight will be different for
different foodstuffs. Some scholars allow giving money also, but it
is safest to limit oneself to giving foodstuff only as held by the
majority of scholars.
(b) The strongest opinion as
far as what type of food may be given out is whatever is the staple
food of the people where one is living. Dates, barley, wheat, olives,
raisins, wheat, and dried yogurt used to be commonly eaten food in
the time of the Prophet. Today in
(c) The
best time for it to be given out is on Eid before going to the
prayer.
(d) Permissible time as proven by the
action of the Sahaba in the presence of the Prophet was one or two
days before Eid.
(e) If it is delayed after Eid
prayer, then it is a mere sadaqah or charity, and it is not
permissible to do so.
The last matter is who should it be
given to? The masakeen as the hadith of Ibn Abbas indicated - not
someone in complete poverty, but rather with limited financial means.
It can not be given to non-Muslims
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