Eid prayer for women isSunnah

Is Eid prayer obligatory for women? If it is obligatory, should they
pray at home or in the musalla (prayer place)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is not obligatory for women, but it is Sunnah. Women should offer
this prayer in the prayer-placewith the Muslims, becausethe Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined them to do that.
In al-Saheehayn and elsewhere it is narrated that Umm 'Atiyah (may
Allaah be pleased with her) said: "We were commanded (and in one
report it says, he commanded us – meaning the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)) to bring out to the Eid prayers the
adolescent girls and the women in seclusion, and he commanded the
menstruating women to avoid the prayer-place of the Muslims." Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 1/93; Muslim,890. According to anotherreport: "We were
commanded to come out and to bring out the adolescent girls and
thosein seclusion."
According to a report narrated by al-Tirmidhi: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to bring out the
virgins, adolescent girls, women in seclusion and menstruating women
on the two Eids, but the menstruating women were to keep away from the
prayer place and witness the gathering of the Muslims. One of them
said, "O Messenger of Allaah, what if she does not have a jilbaab?" He
said, "Then let her sister lend her one of her jilbaabs." (Agreed
upon).
According to a report narrated by al-Nasaa'i, Hafsah bint Sireen said:
Umm 'Atiyyah hardly evermentioned the Messengerof Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) but she would say, "May my father be
sacrificed for him." I said, "Did you hear the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say such and such," and
she said, "Yes, may my father be sacrificed for him, and he said, 'Let
the adolescent girls, women in seclusion and menstruating women come
out to attend Eid and witness the gatheringof the Muslims, but let
themenstruating women avoid the prayer place.'" Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 1/84
Based on the above, it is clear that for women to go out and attend
the Eid prayers is a confirmed Sunnah, but that is subjectto the
condition that they do not go out unveiled or making a wanton display
of themselves, as is known from other evidence.
With regard to boys who have reached the age of discretion going out
to Eidprayer, Jumu'ah prayers, etc., this is something which is well
known and is prescribed in Islam, because there is a great deal of
evidence to that effect.
And Allaah is the Source ofstrength.
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas,

3a] Format of takbeer on the two Eids

3a]
"Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar wa Lillahi al-hamd, Allahu
akbar wa ajall, Allahu akbar 'ala ma hadaana (Allah is most Great,
Allah is most Great, Allah is most Great and to Allah be praise; Allah
is most Great and most Glorious, Allah is most Great,as He has guided
us)."
Narrated by al-Bayhaqi, 3/315, from Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allah be pleased
with him); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa' al-Ghaleel, 3/126
Ibn Hajar said: With regard to the format of the takbeer, the most
saheeh that has been narrated concerning it is that which was narrated
by 'Abd al-Razzaaq with a saheeh isnaad from Salmaan who said:
"Proclaim Allah's greatness: Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbaru
kabeeran.
Fath al-Baari, 2/462
Adhering to what was narrated from the Sahaabah concerning thatis more
appropriate.
And Allah knows best.

3] Format of takbeer on the two Eids

3]
In Eid prayer for Eid al-Adha, I hear people repeat Takbeer
(saying"Allah Akbar" in Arabic) the following phrases:
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, wa Lillaahi'l-hamd.
Allaah akbar kabeera, walhamdulillaah katheera, wasubhan Allaahi
bukratan waaseela, Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu fulfilled his promise
wa nasara 'abdah wa a'az jundah wa hazama al-ahzaaba wahdah Laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah wa la na'budu ila Iyah mukhliseena lahu'l-deena wa law
kariha'l-kaafiroon). They repeat this after each prayer (from the
daily 5 prayers),is that true? If wrong, what is the correct phrases
to be repeated instead?.
Praise be to Allaah.
With regard to the formatof takbeer: "Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar,
Allahu akbar laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar, Allaah akbar, wa
Lillaah il-hamd (Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is most Great, Allah is
most Great there is no god but Allaah,Allaah is Most great, Allaah is
most great, and to Allaah be praise)," this is proven from Ibn Mas'ood
(may Allah be pleased with him) and others of the early generation,
whether the first takbeer is said twice or three times.
See al-Musannaf by Abu Shaybah, 2/165-168; Irwa' al-Ghaleel, 3/125
With regard to the formatof takbeer, "Allaahu akbaru kabeera wa
alhamdu Lillaahi katheerawa subhaan Allaahi bukratan wa aseela… (There
is no god but Allaah, Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great, much
praise be to Allaah and glory be to Allaah at the beginning and end of
the day…)," Imam al-Shaafa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If he adds to that and says: "Allaahu akbaru kabeera wa alhamdu
Lillaahi katheera wa subhaan Allaahi bukratan wa aseela, Allahu akbar
wa la na'budu illa Allah mukhliseena lahu al-deena wa law kariha
al-kaafiroon, la ilaaha ill-Allah wahdah, sadaqa wa'dah wa nasara
'abdah wa hazama al-ahzaaba wahdah, laa ilaaha ill-Allah wa Allahu
akbar (Allaah is most Great, much praise be to Allaah and glory be to
Allaah at the beginning and end of the day. Allah is most Great and we
worship none but Allah, and we make our worship purely for Him (alone)
however much the disbelievers may hate that. There is nogod but Allah
alone; He fulfilled His promise and granted victory to His slave and
defeated the Confederates alone. There is no God but Allah and Allah
is most Great)," thenhe has done well. End quote.
Al-Umm, 1/241
Abu Ishaaq al-Shiraazi said in al-Muhadhdhab (1/121):
Because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said
that atop al-Safa. End quote.
The matter is broad in scope, because the command is to say takbeer in
general, and the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
did not single out any particular format of takbeeraat. Allah, may He
be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"and that you must magnify Allâh [i.e. to say Takbîr (Allâhu-Akbar;
Allâh is the Most Great) forhaving guided you"
[al-Baqarah 2:185].
So one may follow the Sunnah by saying any format.
Al-San'aani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In al-Sharh there are
many formats narrated from a number of imams, which indicates that the
matter is broad in scope and the general wording of the verse
indicates that.End quote.
Subul al-Salaam, 2/72
Ibn Habeeb said: The dearest to me is to say: Allahu akbar, Allahu
akbar, la ilaaha ill-Allah wa Allahu akbar, wa Lillahi al-hamd 'ala ma
hadaana, Allahumma aj'alna laka min al-shaakireen (Allah is most
Great, Allah is most Great, there is no god but Allah and Allah is
most Great; praise be to Allah for having guided us; O Allah, make us
among those who give thanks to You).
The format preferred by Yazeed was: "Allaahu akbaru kabeera wa alhamdu
Lillaahi katheerawa subhaan Allaahi bukratan wa aseela, wa lahawla wa
la quwwata illa Billaah (Allaah is most great, much praise be to
Allaah and glory be to Allaah at the beginning and end of the day, and
there is no power and no strength except with Allah)." And he said:
Whatever you add or subtract, or whatever elseyou say, there is
nothing wrong with it. End quote.
'Aqd al-Jawaahir al-Thameenah, 3/242
Sahnoon said: I said to Ibnal-Qaasim: Did Maalik mention any
particular takbeer to you? He said: No. He said: Maalik did notsay
anything specific concerning these matters. End quote.
Al-Mudawwanah, 1/245
Imam Ahmad said: It is broad in scope. Ibn al-'Arabi said: Our
scholarsfavoured the view that takbeer is general in scope, which is
the apparent meaning of the Qur'aan, and I am inclinedto favour this
view.
al-Jaami' li Ahkaam al-Qur'aan, 2/307
Forms of takbeer for the two Eids that are proven from the salaf: :->

Description of Eid prayer

What is the description of the Eid prayer?
Praise be to Allaah.
The Eid prayer is one where the imam attends and leads the people in
praying two rak'ahs. 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "The
prayer of al-Fitr is two rak'ahs and the prayer of al-Adha is two
rak'ahs, complete and not shortened, on the tongue of your Prophet,
and the one who fabricates lies is doomed." Narrated by al-Nasaa'i,
1420 and Ibn Khuzaymah. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh
al-Nasaa'i.
It was narrated that Abu Sa'eed said: The Messenger of Allaah
SAWS(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to come out on
the day ofal-Fitr and al-Adha to the prayer place, and the first thing
he would do was to offer the prayer. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 956
In the first rak'ah he should say Takbeerat al-ihraam (say "Allaahu
akbar" to start the prayer), after which he should say six or seven
more takbeers, because ofthe hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her), "The takbeer of al-Fitr and al-Adha is seven
takbeers in the first rak'ah and five takbeers inthe second, apart
from the takbeer of rukoo'." Narrated by Abu Dawood and classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa' al-Ghaleel, 639.
Then he should recite al-Faatihah, and recite Soorat Qaf in the first
rak'ah. In the second rak'ah he should stand up saying takbeer, and
when he has stood up completely he should say takbeer five times, and
recite Soorat al-Faatihah then Soorat al-Qamr. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite these two soorahs
during the two Eids. Or if he wishes he can recite Soorat al-A'la in
the first rak'ah and Soorat al-Ghaashiyah in the second, because it
was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) used to recite al-A'la and al-Ghaashiyah in the Eid prayer.
The imam should revive the Sunnah be reciting these soorahs so that
the Muslims will become familiar with the Sunnah.
After the prayer, the imam should address the people. Part of the
khutbah should be addressed specifically to the women, telling them of
the things that they should do and warning them against the things
that they should avoid, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) used to do.
See Fataawa Arkaan al-Islam by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him), p. 398; Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah,
8/300-316). The prayer comes before the khutbah
One of the rulings of Eid isthat the prayer comes before the khutbah,
because of the hadeeth ofJaabir ibn 'Abd-Allaah who said, The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cameout on the day of
al-Fitr and started with the prayer before the khutbah. Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 958; Muslim, 885.
Another indication that the khutbah comes after the prayer is the
hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed (may Allaah be pleased with him) whosaid: The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used
to come out to the prayer place onthe day of al-Fitr and al-Adha, and
the first thing he would start with was the prayer, then he would go
and stand facing the people, while the people were sitting in their
rows, and he would preach to them and advise them and command them.
If he wanted to send out a military expedition he would do so and if
he wanted to tell the people to do something he would do so, then he
would leave.
Abu Sa'eed said: The people continued to do that until I went out with
Marwaan – who was the governor of Madeenah – on Eid al-Adha or Eid
al-Fitr, and when we came to the prayer-place, there was a minbar that
had been built by Katheer ibn al-Salt. When Marwaan wanted to ascend
it before he prayed, I grabbed his garment and he pushed me away and
climbed up and delivered the khutbah before the prayer. I said, "You
have changed it by Allaah."
He said, "O Abu Sa'eed, what you knew has gone."
I said, "What I know, by Allaah, is better than whatI do not know."
He said, "The people will not sit and listen to us after the prayer,
so we didit before the prayer." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 956.