As for the view of those who maintain that it is not obligatory, that opinion is exceedingly far-fetched. This rite is one of the greatest hallmarks of Islam; people congregate for it even more than they do for Friday Prayer, and the takbir has been prescribed for the occasion.

Equally untenable is the claim that it is merely a collective obligation (fard kifayah), for if only forty men were to attend it in a large metropolis the objective would not be realized. That purpose is fulfilled only when all the Muslims are present, just as with Jumuʿah.

As for the sacrificial offering (udhiyah), the more apparent view is that it too is obligatory, for it is among