The expression “taking a different route” (mukhālafat al-ṭarīq) means to set out for the act of worship by one path and return by another—for instance, leaving along the right-hand road and coming back along the left. This practice is firmly established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the two Eids. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) related: “When it was the day of Eid, the Prophet would take a different route,” meaning he would depart by one way and return by another.

The scholars have differed over why the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did this. One view holds that both roads will testify for him on the Day of Resurrection, for on that Day the earth will bear witness to every deed—good or bad—performed upon it, as Allah the Exalted says: “On that Day it will relate its news, for your Lord will have inspired it” ⦗Quran 99:4–5⦘. The earth will declare, “So-and-so did such-and-such upon me.” Thus, if a person goes by one road and returns by another, both roads will testify that he performed the Eid prayer.

Another opinion is that it serves to make the Eid rite manifest, so that the marketplaces become filled with worshippers here and there. It is well known that people do not all depart and return by the same route: one person leaves by this road, another by that. When the populace spreads throughout the streets of the city, the observance becomes more visible, for the Eid prayer is one of the public symbols of the religion—and the evidence