for the imam to hold Friday prayer so that whoever wishes may attend. As reported in the Sunan collections:

“Eid and Friday coincided during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He offered the Eid prayer, then granted permission not to attend Friday prayer.”

In another wording, he offered the Eid prayer and addressed the people, saying:

“O people, you have received much good. Whoever among you wishes to attend Friday prayer may do so, for we shall be holding it.”

This hadith is narrated in the Sunan collections through two routes of transmission: he offered the Eid prayer, then gave the people the choice of whether to attend Friday prayer.

There is also a third report on this matter in the Sunan collections: Eid and Friday coincided during Ibn al-Zubayr’s time, so he combined them at the beginning of the day and thereafter prayed only ‘Asr. He mentioned that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, had done the same. This was mentioned to Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, “He has followed the Sunnah correctly.”

What is thus transmitted is established from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, his caliphs, and his Companions. It is also the view of those imams whom these reports reached, such as Ahmad and others. Those who disagreed had not received the Prophetic reports and accounts from the early generations concerning this matter. And Allah knows best.