405 – Abu Waqid al-Laythi (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “On the days of al-Adha and al-Fitr the Prophet ﷺ would recite Surah Qaf and ‘The Hour has drawn near.’” Reported by Muslim (1).

What is taken from the hadith:

1. It is recommended to recite Surah Qaf after al-Fatiha in the first rakʿa, and Surah al-Qamar after al-Fatiha in the second rakʿa of the two Eid prayers; this is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
2. In the Musnad of Ahmad and the Sunan of Ibn Majah, Samura b. Jundub narrates that “the Prophet ﷺ used to recite in the two Eid prayers, ‘Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High’ (87:1) and ‘Has there come to you the account of the Overwhelming Event?’ (88:1).” Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr said: reports of this from the Prophet ﷺ are mutawātir (mass-transmitted).
3. The wisdom—Allah knows best—behind reciting Surah Qaf and Surah al-Qamar is that they encompass accounts of the beginning of creation, resurrection, revival, the Hereafter, the Day of Judgment, the reckoning, Paradise, Hell, encouragement and warning, the histories of past nations and the destruction of the deniers, while likening people’s emergence for the Eid prayer to their emergence at the Resurrection, coming forth from their graves “as though they were scattered locusts.” Other benefits are also included.