do what he can, so that he may perform as much worship as he is able on this day. He therefore prays four rak‘ahs, two of which take the place of the sermon that did not accompany his prayer, just as the Friday sermon takes the place of two rak‘ahs. The Eid takbīrs are prescribed only in the two-rak‘ah prayer accompanied by a sermon, and the same applies to reciting aloud. Just as the imam recites aloud in the two-rak‘ah Friday prayer, while someone praying four rak‘ahs does not, so too on Eid someone praying four rak‘ahs does not recite aloud.

Thus, a prisoner, a sick person, and someone who set out to pray but missed the prayer with the imam pray on Eid, unlike someone who deliberately neglected it. This is a major principle established by the Sunnah concerning the distinction between the Friday and Eid prayers.

Three different views are reported from Ahmad concerning someone who misses the Eid prayer: whether he should pray four rak‘ahs, two rak‘ahs, or be given the choice between them.