The reason for coming back via a different route from the Eid prayer

I read that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
used to go to the Eid prayer viaone route and come back via a
different route. Whatis the reason for that?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Bukhaari (986) narrated that Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said:On the day of Eid, the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) would vary his route, i.e., he would
go viaone route and come back via a different route.
The believer is required tofollow the example of theProphet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) even if he doesnot know the reason
why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
something.Allaah says (interpretationof the meaning):
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good
exampleto follow for him who hopes for (the Meeting with) Allaah and
the Last Day, and remembers Allaah much"
[al-Ahzaab 33:21]
Ibn Katheer said (3/756): This verse points to an important principle,
namely following the example of the Messengerof Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in word and deed.
The scholars differed greatly as to the reason for this (i.e.,
returning via a different route).
Al-Haafiz said:
The scholars differed greatly as to the reason for this. I have
collected more than twenty different opinions, which Ihave summed up
and highlighted those that areweak. Al-Qaadi 'Abd al-Wahhaab
al-Maaliki said: Several opinions have been mentioned concerning that,
some of which are likely to be correct but most of which are
far-fetched.
For example:
1- He did that so that the two routes would bear witness for him,
or it was said: so that their inhabitants, jinns and humans, would
bear witness for him
2- It was said that it was so as to make them equal because they
are blessed by his passing through.
3- It was said that his route to the prayer-place was to his
right, and if he came back the same way he would be coming to the
left, so he went back by a different route. This requires evidence.
4- It was said that it was to make manifest thesymbols of Islam on
both routes, or to make manifest the remembrance of Allaah.
5- It was said that it was to annoy the hypocrites or the Jews, or
to alarm them by showing the large number of those who were with him.
Ibn Battaal thought this was most likely to be correct.
6- It was said that it was a precaution against the plots of the
two groups, or one of them. This needs verification.
7- It was said that he did that in order to make more people happy
or bring blessing to them by his passing through or by their seeing
him, and so that he might attend to their needs, answer their
questions, teach them, give them charity, greet them with salaam, etc
8- It was said that it was in order to visit his relatives and
uphold the ties of kinship.
9- It was said that it was in order to have a change of scene.
10-It was said that that when he went he gave charity and when he
cameback he had nothing left, so he came back via a different route so
that he would not have to refuse anyone who asked of him.This is a
very weak view as well as one that requires proof.
11-It was said that that route by which he went was longer than the
routeby which he came back, and he wanted to increase his reward by
taking more steps to get there, but on the way back he was hastening
to go home. This is the view favoured by al-Raafi'i, but he stated
that it requires evidence and that the reward for taking steps also
applies to the way back, as was proven in thehadeeth of Ubayy ibn
Ka'bwhich was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others.
12-It was said that the angels stand on the roads and he wanted two
groups of angels to bear witness for him.
Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned some of these reasons in Zaad al-Ma'aad
(1/449), then he said:
The most correct view is that he did this for these and other reasons.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said: If it is said, what is the reason for
coming back by a different route?
The answer is: to follow the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger
have decreed a matter that they should have anyoption in their
decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed
strayed into a plain error"
[al-Ahzaab 33:36 – interpretation of the meaning]
This is the reason… Then he mentioned some of the reasons quoted
abovefrom al-Haafiz.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen,

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: :->