Issues Related to the 'Eed Khutbah and Prayer

27/08/2018| IslamWeb

-      Listening to the Khutbah is optional: ‘Abdullah ibn As-Saa’ib reported that he attended the ‘Eed prayer with the Prophet, and when he finished the prayer, he said: ‘Whoever wishes to leave, can leave, and whoever wishes to sit and listen to the Khutbah, can do so.’” ‎[An-Nasaa’i (Al-Albaani: Saheeh)]‎

-      If one decided to sit and listen to the Khutbah, then he must listen carefully, and avoid speaking, as Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet, , said: “If you say to your companion, ‘Listen attentively’ when the Imaam is delivering the Khutbah, then you have engaged in idle speech.”‎[An-Nasaa’i (Al-Albaani: Saheeh)]‎

-      If the ‘Eed occurrs on a Friday, it becomes optional for men to attend the Friday Prayer, as the Prophet, said, on such occurrence, “Two ‘Eeds have coincided on this day of yours(‘Eed Al-Fitr or ‘Eed Al-Adh-ha and Friday); thus, whoever wishes is exempted from attending the (Friday) Prayer. Yet, we shall hold it.”[Ibn Maajah (Al-Albaani: Saheeh)]

-      Whoever misses the ‘Eed prayer should perform two Rak’ahs. In his Saheeh, Imaam Al-Bukhari reported that ‘Ataa’ said, "When one misses the ‘Eed prayer, he prays two Rak‘ahs." 

1-    Urging women to give alms on the day of ‘Eed is prescribed my Sharee’ah (Islamic legislation): it is permissible for the Imaam to urge women in his Khutbah to give alms, as Jaabir said,

“I observed prayer with the Messenger of Allah on the ‘Eed day. He commenced with prayer before the sermon without 'Athaan (call for prayer) or Iqaamah. He then stood up leaning on Bilaal, and he commanded (them) to be on guard (against evil for the sake of) Allah, and he exhorted (them) on obedience to Him, and he preached to the people and admonished them. He then walked on until he came to the women and preached to them and admonished them, and asked them to give alms, for most of them are fuel for Hell. A woman having a dark spot on her cheek stood up and said, ‘Why is it so, Messenger of Allah?’ He said:'For you grumble often and show ingratitude to your spouse. And then they began to give alms out of their ornaments such as their earrings and rings which they threw on to the garment of Bilaal.”[Muslim]

2-    Congratulations on ‘Eed: in Majmoo‘ Al-Fataawa, Ibn Taymiyyah was asked about the common words used in congratulations on the ‘Eeds such as “‘Eed Mubaarak” (“Have a blessed ‘Eed”) and the like, and whether or not this has origins in Sharee’ah, and he answered,

“As for the congratulations of the ‘Eed, people say to each other after offering the ‘Eed prayer, “Taqabbal Allahu Minna wa Minkum (may Allah accept from us and you)” or “Ahaalahu Allahu ‘Alayk (may Allah make you witness it again)” and other similar phrases. It was reported that a group of the Companions of the Prophet used to say so, and the Imams such as Ahmad and others permitted saying them but Ahmad said, "I do not address people with them, but if any one addresses me with them I would return the greetings for returning greetings is an obligatory duty but to initiate them is neither an enjoined Sunnah nor was it forbidden. So, whoever does so is following the example of the righteous predecessors who did so, and whoever leaves it is also following the example of those who left it.” 

3-    Manifestations of joy and fun on the occasion of ‘Eed: It is permissible for women to enjoy themselves through lawful singing, like the Nasheeds (songs) that are good in terms of words and meanings. On the day of ‘Eed, it is also permissible to use the tambourine like the case with weddings.

As for the immoral singing of obscene or impolite words or that which is accompanied by musical instruments, it is prohibited on ‘Eed and at all times, as Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without knowledge and who takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.}[Quran 31:6] Ibn Mas‘ood swore by Allah The Almighty that “amusement of speech”in this Aayah (Verse) refers to singing.

With regard to the evidence of the permissibility of women singing Nasheeds on ‘Eed, it is a Hadeeth reported by ‘Aa’ishah . She said,

“Abu Bakr came to see me and I had two girls with me from among the girls of the Ansaar and they were singing what the Ansaar recited to one another at the Battle of Bu‘aath. They were not, however, singers. Upon this Abu Bakr said, ‘This wind instrument of Satan in the house of the Messenger of Allah!’ This was on ‘Eed day. Upon this the Messenger said:‘Abu Bakr, every people have a festival and this is our festival (so let them play on).”[Muslim]

‘Aa’ishah also said that Abu Bakr entered upon her and there were two girls with her during the days of Mina beating a tambourine, and the Prophet, , was covering himself with his garment. Abu Bakr rebuked them, and the Prophet, , uncovered his face and said:“Leave them alone, O Abu Bakr, for these are the days of ‘Eed and these days are the days of Tashreeq.”[Al-Bukhari]

It is also recommended for one to entertain his wife and children on the occasion of ‘Eed with some lawful amusement.

‘Aa’ishah said, “It was the day of ‘Eed, and the black people were playing with shields and spears; so either I asked the Prophet or he asked me whether I would like to watch. When I said yes, he made me stand behind him and my cheek was touching his cheek and he was saying: "Carry on! O Banu Arfidah,"until I got bored. The Prophet asked me:"Have you had enough?" I said yes and he told me to leave.”[Al-Bukhari]

According to Muslim’s narration, ‘Aa’ishah said, “By Allah, I saw the Messenger of Allah covering me with his cloak so that I could watch their games, then he stood there for my sake until I was the one who had had enough. So, you should perceive the fact that young girls like to have fun.”