397 – Ibn Buraydah narrates from his father (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not go out on the day of Eid al-Fitr until he had eaten, and he would not eat on the day of Eid al-Adha until after he had prayed.” Reported by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Ḥibbān declared it authentic.⦗1⦘
Status of the ḥadith
This narration is ṣaḥīḥ (sound).
Imam Ahmad recorded it through two chains, both from Buraydah al-Aslamī. In Balūgh al-Amānī it is noted that one of these chains is the version transmitted by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Mājah, while the other was transmitted by al-Bayhaqī (3/283), Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim (1/433), and al-Dāraquṭnī (2/45); Ibn al-Qaṭṭān also graded it sound.
Al-Ḥākim said, “Its chain is sound,” and al-Dhahabī concurred.
Points derived from the two ḥadiths
- It is recommended to eat a few dates on the morning of Eid al-Fitr before heading to the prayer-ground. Ibn Qudāmah said, “We know of no disagreement concerning the desirability of eating early on this day before the prayer.”
- The dates should be an odd number; in this context the minimum odd number is three.
- It is preferable to eat them one by one, in succession, because that is healthier, tastier, and easier to digest.
- If no dates are available, one may eat something else, and it is better if it is sweet. This brings both religious and health benefits: religious, because it hastens the breakfast on a day whose fast Allah has forbidden, and because it distinguishes this day by eating from the days that preceded it,