406 – Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “When the day of Eid arrived, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would take a different route.” Recorded by al-Bukhari (1).

Abu Dawud also narrates a similar report from Ibn ʿUmar (2).

— Degree of authenticity:
The hadith is ṣaḥīḥ (sound).
Regarding Abu Dawud’s version, its chain includes ʿAbd Allah b. ʿUmar al-ʿUmari, about whom there is some criticism, yet it is supported by several corroborating chains:
– From Abu Hurayrah, related by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi; al-Bukhari said, “The report of Jabir is more authentic.”
– From Saʿid al-Qarazi and Abu Rafiʿ, related by Ibn Majah.
– From ʿAbd al-Rahman b. Hatib, related by Ibn Qaniʿ and Abu Nuʿaym.

— Vocabulary notes:
• “When the day of Eid arrived” (idha kāna yawmu ʿīd): here kāna is a complete verb; “the day of Eid” is its subject and no predicate is required. Idha functions as a conditional particle.
• “He would take a different route”: the apodosis of the conditional, meaning he would go to the prayer-ground by one road and return by another.