The Book of the Prayer for the Two 'Eids

‘Ali ibn Hujr narrated to us; he said: Isma‘il informed us; he said: Humayd narrated to us, from Anas ibn Malik, who said: In pre-Islamic times, people had two days each year on which they would play. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to Medina, he said: “You had two days on which you would play, but Allah has replaced them for you with two better days: the day of al-Fitr and the day of al-Adha.”

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us; he said: Shu‘bah narrated to us; he said: Abu Bishr narrated to us, from Abu ‘Umayr ibn Anas, from some of his paternal uncles, that some people saw the crescent and came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He instructed them to break their fast after the day had grown bright and to go out for the Eid prayer the following day.

‘Amr ibn Zurarah narrated to us; he said: Isma‘il narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Hafsah, who said: Whenever Umm ‘Atiyyah mentioned the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), she would say, “May my father be sacrificed for him.” I said, “Did you hear the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say such-and-such?” She replied, “Yes, may my father be sacrificed for him.” He said: “Let the young women, women in seclusion, and menstruating women go out and attend the Eid and the supplication of the Muslims. The menstruating women should keep away from the prayer place.”

Qutaybah narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from Ayyub, from Muhammad, who said: I met Umm ‘Atiyyah and asked her, “Did you hear anything from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?” Whenever she mentioned him, she would say, “May my father be sacrificed for him.” He said: “Bring out the young women and women in seclusion so that they may attend the Eid and the supplication of the Muslims. Let menstruating women keep away from the place where the people pray.”

Sulayman ibn Dawud narrated to us, from Ibn Wahb, who said: Yunus ibn Yazid and ‘Amr ibn al-Harith informed me, from Ibn Shihab, from Salim, from his father, who said: ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) found a robe of thick brocade in the market. He took it and brought it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), saying, “O Messenger of Allah, buy this and adorn yourself with it for Eid and when delegations visit.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “This is the clothing of one who has no share [in the Hereafter]”—or, “Only one who has no share [in the Hereafter] wears this.” ‘Umar remained for as long as Allah willed. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him a brocade cloak. ‘Umar brought it to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, you said, ‘This is the clothing of one who has no share [in the Hereafter],’ and then you sent this to me.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Sell it and use the proceeds to meet your needs.”

Ishaq ibn Mansur narrated to us; he said: ‘Abd al-Rahman informed us, from Sufyan, from al-Ash‘ath, from al-Aswad ibn Hilal, from Tha‘labah ibn Zahdam, that ‘Ali appointed Abu Mas‘ud to oversee the people, then went out on the day of Eid and said: “O people, it is not part of the Sunnah to pray before the imam.”

Qutaybah narrated to us; he said: Abu ‘Awanah narrated to us, from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman, from ‘Ata’, from Jabir, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Eid prayer before the sermon, without an adhan or iqamah.

Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman narrated to us; he said: Bahz narrated to us; he said: Shu‘bah narrated to us; he said: Zubayd informed me; he said: I heard al-Sha‘bi say: Al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib narrated to us beside one of the mosque’s pillars: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon on the Day of Sacrifice and said: “The first thing we begin with on this day of ours is prayer, then sacrifice. Whoever does that has followed our Sunnah; whoever slaughters before that has only provided meat for his family.” Abu Burdah ibn Niyar had slaughtered and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I have a jadha‘ah that is better than a musinnah.” He said, “Slaughter it, but it will not suffice anyone after you.”

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: ‘Abdah ibn Sulayman informed us; he said: ‘Ubaydullah narrated to us, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to perform the two Eid prayers before the sermon.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: ‘Abd al-Razzaq informed us; he said: Ma‘mar informed us, from Ayyub, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would have a short spear carried out on the days of al-Fitr and al-Adha, plant it in the ground, and pray facing it.

‘Imran ibn Musa narrated to us; he said: Yazid ibn Zuray‘ narrated to us; he said: Sufyan ibn Sa‘id narrated to us, from Zubayd al-Ayyami, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla—he mentioned it, from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The prayer of al-Adha is two rak‘ahs, the prayer of al-Fitr is two rak‘ahs, the traveler’s prayer is two rak‘ahs, and the Friday prayer is two rak‘ahs, complete and not shortened, as spoken by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

Muhammad ibn Mansur narrated to us; he said: Sufyan informed us; he said: Damrah ibn Sa‘id narrated to me, from ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah, who said: ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) went out on an Eid day and asked Abu Waqid al-Laythi, “What did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recite on this day?” He replied: “Qaf” and “The Hour has drawn near.”

Qutaybah narrated to us; he said: Abu ‘Awanah narrated to us, from Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Muntashir, from his father, from Habib ibn Salim, from al-Nu‘man ibn Bashir, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite at the two Eids and on Friday: “Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High” and “Has the account of the Overwhelming reached you?” Sometimes Eid and Friday coincided on one day, and he would recite both of them.

Muhammad ibn Mansur narrated to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us; he said: I heard Ayyub reporting from ‘Ata’, who said: I heard Ibn ‘Abbas say: “I testify that I attended the Eid with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He began with the prayer before the sermon, then delivered the sermon.”

Qutaybah narrated to us; he said: Abu al-Ahwas narrated to us, from Mansur, from al-Sha‘bi, from al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed us on the Day of Sacrifice after the prayer.

Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Ayyub narrated to us; he said: al-Fadl ibn Musa narrated to us; he said: Ibn Jurayj narrated to us, from ‘Ata’, from ‘Abdullah ibn al-Sa’ib, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed the Eid prayer and said: “Whoever wishes to leave may leave, and whoever wishes to stay for the sermon may stay.”

Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us; he said: ‘Abd al-Rahman narrated to us; he said: ‘Ubaydullah ibn Iyad narrated to us, from his father, from Abu Rimthah, who said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering a sermon while wearing two green cloaks.

Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: Ibn Abi Za’idah narrated to us; he said: Isma‘il ibn Abi Khalid informed me, from his brother, from Abu Kahil al-Ahmasi, who said: I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) delivering a sermon atop a she-camel, while an Ethiopian man held the camel’s reins.

Isma‘il ibn Mas‘ud narrated to us; he said: Khalid narrated to us; he said: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Simak, who said: I asked Jabir, “Did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) deliver the sermon standing?” He replied: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would deliver the sermon standing, then sit for a while, then stand again.”

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us; he said: Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrated to us; he said: ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Sulayman narrated to us; he said: ‘Ata’ narrated to us, from Jabir, who said: I attended the prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on an Eid day. He began with the prayer before the sermon, without an adhan or iqamah. When he had finished praying, he stood leaning on Bilal, praised and glorified Allah, exhorted the people, reminded them, and urged them to obey Him. Then he turned and went to the women, with Bilal accompanying him. He instructed them to be mindful of Allah, exhorted and reminded them, praised and glorified Allah, and urged them to obey Him. Then he said: “Give charity, for most of you are fuel for Hell.” A woman with darkened cheeks, described in the source as being among the lower-ranking women, said: “Why, Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “You complain much and are ungrateful to your husbands.” The women began taking off their necklaces, earrings, and rings, casting them into Bilal’s garment to give them in charity.