Mistakes made on Eid

What are the mistakes and wrong actions that the Muslims are warned
against on the two Eids? We see some actions which we denounce such as
visiting graves after the Eid prayer and staying up to worship onthe
night of Eid….
Praise be to Allaah.
As Eid is approaching, we would like to point out some things that
some people do out of ignorance of the laws of Allaah and the Sunnah
ofthe Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
These include the following:
1 – The belief of some that it is prescribed to spend the night of Eid
in worship.
Some people believe that it is prescribed to spend the night of Eid in
worship. This is a kind ofinnovation (bid'ah) that is not proven from
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Rather it
wasnarrated in a da'eef (weak) hadeeth which says, "Whoever stays up
on the night of Eid, his heart will not die on the day when hearts
die." This hadeeth is not saheeh. It was narrated via two isnaads, one
of which is mawdoo' (fabricated) and the other is da'eef jiddan (very
weak). See Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah wa'l-Mawdoo'ah by
al-Albaani, 520, 521.
It is not prescribed to single out the night of Eid to pray qiyaam to
theexclusion of all other nights, unlike the one whose habit it is to
pray qiyaam, in which case there is nothing wrong with him praying
qiyaam on the night of Eid.
2 – Visiting graves on thetwo Eid days.
This is contrary to the purpose of Eid which is to express joy and
happiness, and it goes against the teaching of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the actions of the salaf. It
comes under the generalmeaning of the Prophet's prohibition onvisiting
graves on a specific day and making that like a festival, as
thescholars stated.
See Ahkaam al-Janaa'iz wa Bida'uha by al-Albaani, p. 219, 258.
3 – Forsaking the jamaa'ah and sleeping late and missing the prayer.
Unfortunately you see some of the Muslims missing the prayer and
forsaking the jamaa'ah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "The covenant that stands between us and them is the
prayer; whoever forsakes it is a kaafir." Narrated by al-Tirmidhi,
2621; al-Nasaa'i, 463; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi.
And he said: "The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are the
'Isha' and Fajr prayers. If they knew (what goodness) there is in
them, they would come to them even if they had to crawl. I had thought
of ordering the call to prayer to be given, then I would tell a man to
lead the people in prayer, then I would go, taking some men with me
carrying bundles of wood, to people who donot attend the prayer, and
would burn their houses down around them." Narrated by Muslim, 651.
4 – Women mixing with men in the prayer place, the streets and
elsewhere, and crowding together with men in those places.
This is a source of great fitnah (temptation) and serious danger. Both
women and men should be warned against that, and the necessary
meansshould be taken to prevent that as much as possible. Men and
youth should not leave the prayer place or the mosque until after the
women have dispersed completely.
5 – Some women going out wearing perfume and makeup, and without veils.
This is a problem which is widespread, and manypeople take this matter
lightly. Allaah is the One Whose help we seek. Some women – may Allaah
guide them – even dress up in their finest clothes and put onthe best
perfume when they go to the mosque to pray Taraaweeh or goto the Eid
prayers, etc. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Any woman who puts on perfume and passes by people so that they
can smell her fragrance, is anadulteress." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i,
5126; al-Tirmidhi, 2783; classedas hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh
al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb, 2019.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "There are two types of the people of Hell whom I have not
seen. People with whips like the tails of cattle with which they beat
the people, and women who are clothed yet naked, going astray and
leading others astray, with their heads lookinglike the humps of
camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise nor even
smell its fragrance, although its fragrance may be detected from such
and such a distance." Narrated by Muslim, 2128.
The guardians of womenmust fear Allaah with regard to those who are
under their care, and fulfil the duty of protecting and maintaining
that Allaah has enjoined upon them,because,
"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allaah has
made one of them toexcel the other"
[al-Nisa' 4:34 – interpretation of the meaning]
So they must guide themand show them that which will lead to their
salvation and their safety in this world and in the Hereafter, by
means of keeping away from that which Allaah has forbidden and
striving for that which will bring them closer to Allaah.
6 – Listening to singing and haraam things.
Among the evil things that are widespread in these times is music and
singing. They have become very widespread and people take this matter
lightly. It is on TV and radio, in cars, homes and marketplaces. There
is no power and no strength except with Allaah. Even cell phones are
not free of this evil. There are companies which compete in putting
the latest music on the ringers of their cell phones, and in this way
music has even reached the mosques, may Allaah protect us… This is a
great problem and a great evil wherebymusic is heard in the houses of
Allaah. See question no. 34217 . This confirms the words of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "There will be
among my ummah people who will regard adultery, silk, alcohol and
musical instruments as permissible." Narratedby al-Bukhaari.
See questions no. 5000 , 34432 .
The Muslim has to fear Allaah and realize that the blessing of Allaah
means that he is obliged to give thanks to Him. It is not gratitude
for the Muslim to disobey his Lord, when He is the OneWho has bestowed
this blessing upon him.
One of the righteous passed by some people who were engaged in idle
entertainment on the day of Eid and said to them, "If you did well in
Ramadaan, this is not the way to give thanks for that. If you did
badly in Ramadaan, this is not the way that the one who did badly
should behave."
And Allaah knows best.