English
‘Eed
is the season of happiness and joy, during which the Muslims rejoice
only at the bounty of their Lord, having won the blessing of completing
their acts of worship and receiving the reward, given their complete
confidence in His promises to forgive and reward them. Allaah The
Exalted Says (what means): {Say, "In the Bounty of Allaah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate."}[Quran 10:58]
A wise man once said, “No
one would rejoice at anything other than the bounty of Allaah except
due to his heedlessness. The oblivious person rejoices at his amusement
and fancies, but the reasonable man rejoices at the bounty of his Lord.”
Here are some concise tips about the rulings and etiquette of ‘Eed:
1- Thank Allaah The Almighty for completing the blessing of fasting the month of Ramadhaan upon you, and supplicate Him to accept your fasting and night prayer. It was narrated on the authority of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib that he used to say on the last night of Ramadhaan, “I wish we could know the winners to congratulate them and the losers to console them.”
Likewise, Ibn Mas‘ood used to say, “Who
are the accepted people [so as] to congratulate them? Who are the
deprived people to console them? O you who have been accepted,
congratulations … O you who have been rejected, may Allaah compensate
you for your loss.”
2- Showing happiness on the occasion of ‘Eed: ‘Aa’ishah said,
“The Messenger of Allaah entered upon me while two girls were singing beside me). The Prophet
lay down and turned his face to the other side. Then Abu Bakr came and
spoke to me harshly saying, ‘Musical instruments of the devil in the
house of the Prophet ?’ The Messenger of Allaah turned his face towards him and said: ‘Leave them.’ When Abu Bakr became inattentive, I signaled to those girls to go out and they left.”[Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
According to a narration by Muslim, “They were singing using the tambourine...”
Based on this Hadeeth
(narration), scholars said that it is permissible for one to allow his
wife and children to engage in lawful entertainment on the Days of ‘Eed through the methods that amuse them and give them rest from the stress of worship; nevertheless, avoiding this is better. This Hadeeth also proves that expressing happiness and joy on the occasion of the ‘Eeds is one of the rites of Islam.
3- Takbeer: Making Takbeer from the time sunset on the night of ‘Eed until the ‘Eed Prayer. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {and to glorify Allaah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.}[Quran 2:185]
It is recommended for men to make Takbeer
loudly in the markets, houses, roads, mosques and gatherings to
manifest this rite and revive it, and to emulate our righteous
predecessors. The Takbeer wording is, “Allaahuakbar
Allaahuakbar, Laa Ilaaha Illa Allaah. Allaahuakbar Walillaah Al-Hamd.
(Allaah is The Most Great, Allaah is The Most Great, there is no true
god except Allaah, Allaah is The Most Great, Allaah is The Most Great
and all praise is due to Him.)”
Young children should be accustomed to this after teaching them the rationale behind it.
4- Zakaat Al-Fitr: After the completion of the fast of the month of Ramadhaan, Allaah The Almighty legislated Zakaat Al-Fitr
as a purification for the fasting person from idle and obscene speech
that might affect his fast, and to feed the poor. It is a Saa‘
(measure of weight) of the food from the common foods in your country
like rice, wheat, and dates for every Muslim person, as Ibn ‘Umar said, “The Messenger of Allaah enjoined Zakaat Al-Fitr, a Saa’ of dates, or a Saa’ of barley, on every Muslim, slave or free, male or female, young or old.”[Muslim]
It is also an act of the Sunnah to pay for the fetus, as ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan did so. Zakaat Al-Fitr must be paid before the ‘Eed
Prayer, and it is impermissible to be paid as money according to the
soundest opinion of scholars. They argued that this violates the command
of the Prophet, . The Muslim should search for the poor and the needy to pay Zakaat Al-Fitr to them.
The best time to pay Zakaat Al-Fitr is on the ‘Eed Day, before the prayer. It is also permissible to be paid one or two days before the ‘Eed Day.
5- Ghusl (ritual bath) and adornment: It is recommended for men to perform Ghusl, apply perfume and wear their best clothes, as Ibn ‘Umar said, “‘Umar took a brocade cloak that was for sale in the market and brought it to the Messenger of Allaah and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, buy this and adorn yourself with it for ‘Eed and for receiving delegations…’”[Al-Bukhaari]
Ibn ‘Umar also used to wear his best clothes on ‘Eed.
6- Eating before the ‘Eed Prayer: It is recommended for one to eat an odd number of dates (three or five) before going to the prayer of ‘Eed Al-Fitr, as Anas narrated that the Prophet, , “Did not use to go out on the morning of ‘Eed Al-Fitr until he had eaten some dates… of which he would eat an odd number.”[Al-Bukhaari]
7- Going out to the ‘Eed Prayer early: Going out to the ‘Eed Prayer early is recommended, as Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {so race to [all that is] good.}[Quran 5:48]
Undoubtedly, ‘Eed is one of the best things, and Al-Bukhaari entitled a chapter in his Saheeh as “Going Early to the ‘Eed Prayer.” Under this title, he mentioned a Hadeeth narrated on the authority of Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib . He said, “The Prophet delivered a Khutbah (sermon) on the Day of An-Nahr saying, ‘the first thing we will do this day is the prayer….’”
Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar said, “This proves that one should not be engaged in anything on the Day of ’Eed other than preparing for the prayer and going to it. This entails refraining from doing anything else, which means that one should go to the prayer early.”
Scholars such as Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and others were of the opinion that the ‘Eed
Prayer is obligatory and cannot be left without a valid excuse. Muslim
women, including those who are menstruating, should attend the ‘Eed Prayer; However, the menstruating women should keep away from the place of prayer. Umm ‘Atiyyah said: “The Messenger of Allaah
commanded us to bring them (women) out on (‘Eed) Al-Fitr and (‘Eed)
Al-Adh-ha, and to bring out adolescent girls, menstruating women and
virgins, but the menstruating women were to stay away from the prayer,
and were to witness goodness and the supplication of the Muslims.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
8- Going to the place of prayer on foot: ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said, “It is an act of Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) for one to go to the ‘Eed Prayer on foot.”[At-Tirmithi: Hasan]
The majority of scholars rely on this Hadeeth and consider going to the ‘Eed Prayer on foot recommended.
Ibn Al-Munthir said, “Going to the ‘Eed Prayer on foot is more humble, but whoever goes to it riding is not blamed.”
9- Congratulations on the ‘Eed Day: There is no harm in congratulating each other on the Day of ‘Eed by saying 'Taqabbalal-Laahu minna wa minkum (may Allaah accept from us and you).’ Jubayr ibn Nufayr narrated that some of the honorable Companions of the Prophet, , used to congratulate each other when meeting on ‘Eed saying, “'Taqabbalal-Laahu minna wa minkum (may Allaah accept from us and you)”