Dought & clear, - Ruling on Eid and the Sunnahs of Eid

I would like to know some of the Sunnahs of Eid and the rulings thereon.
Praise be to Allaah.
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:
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, Allaahu akbar,
Allaahu akbar, wa Lillaahi'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 Allaahu akbar three times, so you say:
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, wa Lillaahi'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. He 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 reciteSabbih isma rabbika
al-A'ala(Soorat al-A'la 87) and in the second rak'ah he should
reciteHal ataaka hadeeth ul-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'maan ibn Basheer which was narrated by
Muslim in hisSaheeh. 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 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 prayTahiyyat 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.
9 – People should greet one another, but that results in haraam
actions on the part of many people, such as men entering houses and
shaking hands with unveiled women without any mahram being present.
Some of these evils are worse than others.
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.

Imam Hassan Askari (as) and philosopher Ishaq al-Kindi:

Our 11th Imam, Imam Hassan Askari (as) lived a short life of 28 years.
In this short life, Imam Hassan Askari (as) had to endure great
sufferings at the hands of the Abbasid Caliphs. But in spite of all
that suffering and confinement in Samarra, Iraq, many students
benefited from his God gifted knowledge and later became scholars in
their fields. Imam Hassan Askari (as) discussed with agnostics of that
age many times about the existence of God and the reasons for the
necessity of the Prophets and Imams and many atheists changed their
minds and converted to Islam.
One of those was Ishaq al-Kindi. This man was a great philosopher of
Iraq. He collected such verses of Noble Qur'an whose meanings were
apparently contradictory, in a book called as "self-contradictions".
He wanted to prove thereby that it was not the word of Almighty Allah
(SWT).
When the news reached Imam Hassan Askari (as), he waited for an
opportunity to refute him. One day, by chance some of his disciples
(students) came to Imam Hassan Askari (as).
Imam Hassan Askari (as) asked them: "Is there anyone among you who can
stop Ishaq al-Kindi from wasting his time in this useless effort
fighting the Noble Qur'an?" The students said: "Sir, we are his
students: how can we object to his teaching?" Imam Hassan Askari (as)
urged that they could at least convey to their teacher what he had to
tell them. They replied that they would be ready to cooperate as much
as they could in that respect.
Imam Hassan Askari (as) then recited a few verses from the Noble
Qur'an, which the philosopher Ishaq al-Kindi thought as contradictory
of one another. Imam Hassan Askari (as) then explained to them thus:
"Your teacher thinks that some of the words in these verses have only
one meaning. But according to the Arabic language, these words have
other meanings too which, when taken into consideration, indicate no
contradiction in the overall meaning. Thus, your teacher is not
justified for basing his objections and claim of contradictions on the
premises of the 'wrong meaning' he himself selects such verses". Imam
Hassan Askari (as) then put up some examples of such words before them
so clearly that the students conceived the whole discussion and the
precedents of more than one meaning.
When these students visited Ishaq al-Kindi and after routine talk,
reproduced the disputed points, he was surprised. He was a fair-minded
scholar and he listened to his students' explanations. Then he said:
"What you have argued is beyond your capacity: tell me truly who has
taught you these points?" The students said that it was their own
reflection, but when he insisted that they could never have conceived
those points, they admitted that, it was explained to them by Abu
Muhammad Imam Hassan Askari (as). The teacher said: "Yes: this level
of knowledge is the heritage of that House and only that House Ahlul
Bayt (as)". Then he asked the students to set fire to all such works
of his.
Ishaq al-Kindi was not alone in benefiting from Imam Hassan Askari
(as). Several high-ranking scholars benefited from his ocean of
knowledge. There were a host of others who later developed into
leading scientists, jurisprudents, exegetes, theologians and masters
of different fields when they came into contact with Imam Hassan
Askari (as).

Imam Hassan Askari (as) and fear of Allah (SWT) in His childhood:

The Ahlul Bayt (as)who carries the most wisdom and knowledge of the
seen and unseen are they who most fear Allah (SWT) and pass their
every second in life reflecting and pondering about the most important
subjects.
It is written by the scholars that once our 11th Imam, Imam Hassan
Askari (as) who was still a child was standing between some other
children who were playing and having fun. Suddenly a lover of the
Ahlul Bayt (as) was passing by. But he was trapped with this scene
that all the children were playing but a beautiful child was standing
alone crying. He decided to approach this child to ask what was wrong,
maybe he could help him. He said: "My dear, are you crying because you
don't have the toys other children have. If you like I can bring some
toys to you." Imam Hassan Askari (as) replied: "Do you think I'm
crying for the toys. We are not created to play with toys and have fun
but to worship Allah (SWT) and seek for knowledge. This lover of the
Ahlul Bayt (as) asked him that how he was sure about that and the
young Imam Hassan Askari (as) answered: Have you not read the verse of
the Noble Qur'an which guides us saying:
"What! Did you then think that We had created you in vain and that you
shall not be returned to Us?" (Noble Qur'an 23:115)
This lover of the Ahlul Bayt (as) was impressed with the answer and
said: "But why are you so troubled in such a young age. You have not
committed any sins. Imam Hassan Askari (as) replied: "Age does not
matter. I watch my mother every day when she set fire to the large
twigs she uses the small first. I am afraid that may not the young
children of this world be used to light the fire of Hell." Allahu
Akbar, the Holy Imam Hassan Askari (as) who is an infallible
personality and a Hujjat of Allah (SWT) reflects so deeply, this
answer was only a lesson to His followers to ponder over. This
capturing story of Imam Hassan Askari (as) is a great learning lesson
for us all.

What Happened While the Prophet (saas) Was Receiving Revelation

Allah tells us that He told our Prophet (saas) to get up in the night
and prepare to receive a revelation, a"weighty Word":
The hadiths inform us about how extraordinary it is to receive a
revelation and of the marvellous spiritual things the Prophet (saas)
experienced in his room. We learn that when the revelations came,
those who were with him heard a sound like a bee buzzing around his
face. Sahih al-Bukhari states:
Aisha narrated: "Al-Harith ibn Hisham asked the Prophet (saas): 'How
does the revelation come to you?' He replied: 'In all of that the
angel comes to me, sometimes with a voice that resembles the sound of
a ringing bell. When this state abandons me, I remember what the angel
has said. This type of revelation is the hardest on me. Sometimes the
angel comes to me in the shape of a man and talks to me, and I
understand and remember what he says.'" 3
Aisha narrated: "I saw the Prophet (saas) receive revelation on a very
cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead." 4
Zayd ibn Thabit narrated: "I wrote down Allah's revelations to the
Prophet (saas). When the revelation came to him, he felt a great
weariness and had beads of sweat like pearls. When the state of
revelation ended, he recited and I would write." 5
Abu Hurayrah narrated: "When the revelation came from Allah to the
Prophet (saas), it was as if he had fainted." 6
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Footnotes
1. Sahih Al-Bukhari, vol. 9, book 87, hadith no. 111
2. Sahih Al-Bukhari
3. Al-Bukhari
4. Al-Bukhari and al-Tirmidhi
5. At-Tabarani
6. Abu Nu'aym