Chapter: The Prayer of the Two Eids
It is called an ʿEid because it comes back and recurs. Festivals are old among nations: for every major occasion they designate a celebration in which they revive its memory and display various forms of joy and delight. Since these celebrations arise solely from their own initiative, their expression is purely material.
Allah, however, honored the community of Muhammad ﷺ with two festivals: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. On those days they widen the scope of what is permissible while drawing near to their Lord through acts of obedience, thanking Allah Most High for His favors—making the fast of Ramadan easy and granting hope of its acceptance at Eid al-Fitr, and facilitating the performance of the rites and the offering of sacrificial livestock at Eid al-Adha.
He prescribed that they gather for prayer on these two days so that they might come to know one another, strengthen their ties, exchange congratulations, grow in mutual love, and develop harmony.
The religious and worldly benefits realized by these Islamic gatherings testify that Islam is the divine constitution Allah sent down for the happiness of humanity.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Hadi, in summary: The Prophet ﷺ always performed the two Eid prayers in the open prayer-ground (muṣallā) and did not pray them in the mosque except once, when rain had fallen. He would wear his finest clothes when going out for the Eid prayers. On Eid al-Fitr he ate an odd number of dates before leaving; on Eid al-Adha he did not eat until he returned from the muṣallā and then ate from his sacrifice. He would bathe for the Eid, go out on foot, and upon reaching the muṣallā begin the prayer without adhān (call to prayer), iqāmah (immediate call), or the announcement “al-ṣalātu jāmiʿah” (“prayer is about to begin”). After completing the prayer he would stand facing the people while they were seated and admonish them, opening the sermon with praise of Allah.
He ﷺ granted a concession to anyone who attended the Eid prayer either to sit for the sermon or to leave, and he would go by one route and return by another.
Ibn Daqīq al-ʿId said: There is no disagreement that the two Eid prayers are a rite required by the Law. The transmission about them is mass-narrated (mutawātir), eliminating every excuse and dispensing with solitary reports. The first Eid prayer the Messenger of Allah ﷺ offered was the Eid al-Fitr prayer in the second year after the Hijrah.
Hadith One
Abd Allah ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported: The Prophet ﷺ, Abu Bakr, and ʿUmar used to perform the two Eid prayers before delivering the sermon.