Is the Eid Prayer Fard (Obligatory) or Sunnah? Scholarly Verdict
Question: Is the Eid prayer Sunnah or Fard (obligatory)? Explain with arguments…? Will the one who abandons the Eid prayer be a sinner?
Answer..!
Alhamdulillah..!
There is a difference of opinion among the scholars regarding this issue, but the preponderant view is that the Eid prayer is Fard (obligatory) upon all Muslims; abandoning the Eid prayer without a compulsion is a sin.
There are three opinions among the scholars regarding the ruling of the Eid prayers:
First Opinion:
It is Sunnah Mu’akkadah (confirmed Sunnah). This is the school of thought of Imam Malik and Imam Shafi’i.
Second Opinion:
It is Fard Kifayah (communal obligation); meaning if some people perform it, the obligation is lifted from the rest. This is the school of thought of Imam Ahmad (Rahimahullah).
Third Opinion:
It is Wajib (obligatory) on every Muslim; therefore, it is Wajib on every male, and one who abandons it without any excuse will be a sinner. This is the school of thought of Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahimahullah), a narration from Imam Ahmad, and this implies the view chosen by Sheikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and Al-Shawkani (Rahimahumallah). Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, Imam Al-San’ani, Sheikh Ibn Baz, and Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen (Rahimahumallah) also hold this position that the Eid prayer is Wajib.
(See: Al-Majmoo (5/5), Al-Mughni (3/253), Al-Insaf (5/316), Al-Ikhtiyarat (82))
According to our knowledge as well, the stance of those holding the third view—Imam Abu Hanifa (Rahimahullah) and others—is correct, that the Eid prayer is Wajib. They present several arguments for this, a few of which are as follows:
First Argument
The command of Allah Almighty is:
"So pray to your Lord and sacrifice."
(Surah Al-Kawthar – 2)
Ibn Qudamah (Rahimahullah) states in “Al-Mughni”:
The well-known interpretation of this is: It refers to the Eid prayer.
Some scholars say: This verse refers to prayer in general, and is not specific to the Eid prayer.
See: Tafsir Ibn Jarir (12/724) and Tafsir Ibn Kathir (8/502).
However, according to our knowledge, no specific proof regarding the obligation of Eid prayer is found in this verse, nor is this verse specific to the Eid prayer.
Second Argument
The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) ordered the people to go out to the Eid Gah (prayer ground) for the Eid prayer, to the extent that he even ordered women to go there.
Umm Atiyah (Radi Allahu Anha) narrates:
(In the time of the Holy Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) we were ordered to go to the Eid Gah on the day of Eid. The virgins and menstruating women also used to come out in veils. They would stay behind the men in veils. When the men said Takbeer, they would also say it, and when they prayed, they would also do so. They hoped for the blessing and purity of that day.
(Sahih Bukhari, Hadith Number – 971)
Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim (Rahimahumallah) have narrated from Umm Atiyah (Radi Allahu Anha) that:
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) ordered us to go out (to the Eid Gah) on Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha, including the girls nearing puberty, the menstruating women, and the virgins. However, the menstruating women were to stay away from the prayer, but they were to participate in the goodness and the supplications of the Muslims. She says, I asked: O Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam): What if one of us does not have a jilbab (outer garment)?
The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: Let her sister lend her a jilbab.
(Meaning, she should borrow one from her neighbor etc.)
Hafsa says, I asked, “Even the menstruating woman?” He replied, “Does she not attend Arafat and such and such places?” Meaning, when they attend all those holy places, why should they not go to the Eid Gah…?
(Sahih Bukhari Hadith Number – 324)
(Sahih Muslim Hadith Number – 890)
Al-Awatiq: Plural of ‘Atiq’, and it means a girl who is nearing puberty or has reached puberty, or is of marriageable age.
Dhawat al-Khudoor: Refers to virgin girls (who stay in seclusion).
The deduction of the obligation of Eid prayer from this Hadith is strong; when women have been ordered to go out, to the point that one who does not have a scarf should borrow one from her neighbor but must go for Eid, then the command applies a fortiori (even more so) to men that they must go out for the Eid prayer in any case.
Third Argument
The concession for Friday prayer is given to the one who prays Eid only because he has prayed the Eid prayer. If Eid were a Sunnah prayer, would the ruling of a Fard (obligatory) prayer be dropped?
Iyas bin Abi Ramlah Ash-Shami says:
I was with Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan (Radi Allahu Anh) and he was asking Zaid bin Arqam (Radi Allahu Anh): “Did you witness two Eids falling on the same day with the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)?”
He said: “Yes.”
Muawiyah asked: “Then how did he (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) do?”
He said: “He (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) prayed the Eid prayer, then gave a concession for Friday prayer and said: Whoever wishes to pray Friday prayer may do so.”
(Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith Number – 1070) Sahih
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith Number – 1310) Sahih
Fatwas of Scholars
Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen (Rahimahullah) says in “Majmoo al-Fatawa”:
“In my view, the Eid prayer is Fard Ayn (individual obligation), and it is not permissible for men to abandon it; rather, it is necessary for them to be present for the Eid prayer because the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) ordered the girls nearing puberty, the virgins, and other women to be present as well. In fact, he ordered even menstruating women to go out for Eid prayer, but they were to remain away from the prayer area (Musalla), and this indicates its emphasis.” End quote.
(Majmoo al-Fatawa by Ibn Uthaymeen (16/214))
And in another place, he writes:
“What is preponderant to me based on the evidence is that the Eid prayer is Fard Ayn, and it is Wajib upon every male to be present at the Eid prayer, but if someone has an excuse, then it is not.” End quote.
See: Majmoo al-Fatawa (16/217)
And Sheikh Ibn Baz (Rahimahullah) says regarding it being Fard Ayn:
“This opinion is apparent from the evidence, and this is closer to the truth.” End quote.
See: Majmoo Fatawa Ibn Baz (13/7)
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah has also declared the prayer of the two Eids as Fard Ayn.
(Majmoo al-Fatawa, Pg 161, Vol 23)
The point understood from all these Ahadith and the Fatwas of the scholars is that the prayer of the two Eids is Fard.
- The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) resided in Madinah Munawwarah for ten years and offered the prayers of the two Eids consistently for ten years. After him, the Rightly Guided Caliphs also performed the Eid prayers with great consistency and arrangement; the abandonment of Eid prayers is not proven even once.
- The purpose of the Eid prayers is to demonstrate the glory and grandeur of Islam; on this basis, like the Friday prayer, it is also Wajib. Those who do not perform it at all will be sinners.
- The performance of Eid prayer and attendance at the great gathering on that day is necessary even for women. The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) ordered women to go out into the open field on that day, to the extent that even she who does not have her own sheet for covering was ordered to attend.
- If Friday and Eid fall on the same day, there is a concession regarding Friday, as stated in the Hadith above, that whoever prays the Eid prayer may skip the Friday prayer if they wish, even though Friday prayer is Wajib. If Eid prayer were not Fard, how could it lift another Fard?
This is also proof of the matter that the prayer of the two Eids is Fard Ayn like the other five daily prayers, and the one who abandons it without excuse is a sinner.
The summary is that the prayer of the two Eids is among the obligations (Fara’id); abandoning it without an excuse is a sin.
(And Allah Almighty knows best what is correct)
Reference: https://alfurqan.info/problems/962
