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.

2a] Ruling on Eid and the Sunnahs of Eid

2a]
" 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 pray Tahiyyat 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 isthat 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 weshould 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 itshould be paid before the Eid
prayer. It is permissible to pay it one or two days before that,
because of the hadeeth ofIbn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him)
which was narrated by al-Bukhaari: "They used togive 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 ofthe hadeeth of Ibn
'Abbaas: "Whoever pays itbefore 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
onedelays 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 togive 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 sinon 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 themand 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 certainway 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 thehadeeth 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 arein 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
Messengerof 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.
Majmoo' Fataawa Ibn 'Uthaymeen,

2]Ruling on Eid and the Sunnahs of Eid

2]
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 imamcomes 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 oddnumber 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 themgo out looking decent" i.e., in
regular clothes that are not fancy. It is haraamfor 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
prayeris 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
keepaway 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 passthrough but not to stay there.
It seems to me, based on the evidence, that it is fard 'ayn (an
individual obligation) and that everymale 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 recite Sabbih isma rabbika
al-A'ala (Soorat al-A'la 87) and in the second rak'ah he should recite
Hal ataaka hadeeth ul-ghaashiyah (al-Ghaashiyah 88). Or he may recite
Soorat Qaaf (50) in the first and Sooratal-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 his Saheeh. But those who attend the Eid prayer withthe 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 amosque. 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." :->

Is it permissible to give salaams to someone who is praying?

Is it permissible for a Muslim to give salaams toa Muslim when he is
praying or he is making dhikr or du'aa'?
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly, it is prescribed for a Muslim to initiate the greeting of
salaam to his Muslim brother when he is praying, but the one who is
praying should notreturn the salaams whilst praying, except by making
a gesture in a manner that will maintainthe validity of his prayer,
because it was narrated that Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said:
"I asked Bilaal, How did the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) return their salaam when they greeted him
whilst he was praying? He said, With a gesture of his hand."
(Narrated by Ahmad, 6/12; Abu Dawood, 1/569,no. 927; al-Tirmidhi,
2/204, no. 368; al-Bayhaqi, 2/262; also narrated by the five).
It was also narrated fromhim that Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: "I passed by theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) whilst he was praying. I greeted him with salaam
and he responded with a gesture." And he said: I am not sure whether
he said "a gesture with his fingers". (Narrated by the five, apart
from Ibn Maajah. Al-Tirmidhi said: both hadeeths are saheehin my
view).
It was reported that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
forbidding us to pray two rak'ahs after 'Asr, then I saw him praying
them when he prayed 'Asr. She said, he entered and there were some
women from Bani Haraam, from among the Ansaar, with me. He started to
pray them [these two rak'ahs after 'Asr], so I sent a young girlto
him, and I told her, 'Stand beside him and sayto him, Umm Salamah is
saying to you, O Messenger of Allaah, I heard you forbidding us to do
these two rak'ahs and now I see you praying them. If he makesa gesture
with his hand then leave him and go back.' So the young girl did that
and he made a gesture with his hand, so she left him and went back.
When he finished praying, he said: 'O daughter of Abu Umayyah, you
asked about the two rak'ahs after 'Asr. Some people from Banu 'Abd
al-Qays came to me and kept me from doing the two rak'ahs after Zuhr,
and that is what these were.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
These ahaadeeth indicatethat it is prescribed to say salaams to a
person whilst he is praying, and that he should respond tothe greeting
with a gesture, because this is what the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) approved of initiating the salaam, and he
returned the greeting with a gesture only.
Secondly, it is prescribed for the Muslim to initiate the greeting to
one who is engaged in making dhikr or du'aa', because it was reported
that Abu Waaqid al-Laythi (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
"Whilst the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
sitting in the mosque and there were some people with him, three
people came in. Two of them came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and one went away. When they came up
to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), they greeted him with salaam. One of them found a space in the
circle and sat down, and the other sat down behind him. The third one
turned and went away. When the Messenger (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) had finished (his talk), he said: 'Shall I tell
you about these threepeople? One of them turned to Allaah so Allaah
accepted him; the second felt shy so Allaah will feel shy (to punish
him); and the third turned away so Allaah turned away from him."
(Narrated by Maalik in al-Muwatta', 2/960; Ahmad, 5/219; al-Bukhaari,
1/24, 122; Muslim, 4/1713, no. 2176;al-Tirmidhi, 5/73, no. 2724; Abu
Ya'laa, 3/33, no. 1445).
And in al-Saheehayn it is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that a Bedouin entered the mosque and prayed, but he
did not do the rukoo' and sujood properly. Thenhe came and greeted the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with salaam. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) returned his
greeting then said, "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed."
And Allaah is the Source ofstrength.