It is also related (1) by Abū Saīd al-Khudrī (2) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would go out on Eid and lead the people in two units of prayer. He would then conclude the prayer with the salutation of peace and stand upon his mount, facing the people while they (3) remained seated, and say: “Give charity.” Most of those who gave charity were women, who donated earrings, rings, and other items. If he had some matter to address, such as dispatching a military expedition, he would mention it to them; otherwise, he would leave.
I had thought that this was an error, since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would go out to the Eid prayer only on foot, with a short spear carried before him, and had delivered a sermon from his mount only on the Day of Sacrifice at Minā. This was my view until I found that the hadith scholar Baqī ibn Makhlad had included this hadith in his Musnad (4), on the authority of Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah: Abd Allāh ibn Numayr narrated to us; Dāwūd ibn Qays narrated to us; Iyād ibn Abd Allāh ibn Saad ibn Abī Sarh narrated to us, from Abū Saīd al-Khudrī, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would go out on the day of Eid and on the day of Eid al-Fitr (5), and lead the people in those two units of prayer (6), then