THE TWO ‘EIDS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE
Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and
blessings be upon our Prophet
Muhammad and upon all his family and
companions.
DEFINITION OF ‘EID:
The Arabic word “Eid” refers to something habitual, that
returns and is repeated, thus stands
literally for a recurrent event. It also implies a place
often visited by people, and the period of
time in which a particular act is regularly performed.
Likewise, each gathering that assembles
regularly comes under the category, ‘Eid’. Eids or
festivals are symbols to be found in every
nation, including those that are based on revealed
scriptures and those that are idolatrous, as
well as others, because celebrating festivals is
something that is an instinctive part of human
nature. All people like to have special occasions to
celebrate, where they can come together
and express their joy and happiness.
THE UNBELIEVERS’ RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
There are numerous religious festivals and fairs of the
unbelievers. Islam prohibits the
Muslims to celebrate their festivals and fairs. The
Prophet (!) had prohibited his companions
from sports and enjoyment on two particular days on
which the pre-Islamic Arabs used to
hold sports. Likewise, he forbade them to sacrifice
their animals at the places where the
polytheists used to celebrate their
festivals.
The festivals of the kaafir nations may be connected to
worldly matters, such as the beginning
of the year, the start of an agricultural season, the
changing of the weather, the establishment
of a state, the accession of a ruler, and so on. They
may also be connected to religious
occasions, like many of the festivals belonging
exclusively to the Jews and Christians, such
as the Thursday on which they claim the table was sent
down to Jesus, Christmas, New
Year’s, Thanksgiving, and holidays on which gifts are
exchanged. These are celebrated in all
European and North American countries nowadays. And in
other countries where Christian
influence is prevalent, even if the country is not
originally Christian, some so-called Muslims
join in these holidays, out of ignorance or hypocrisy.
The Magians (Zoroastrians) also have
their own festivals, such as Mahrajaan, Nowruz and so
on.
Muslims are strictly prohibited from joining these
religious festivals of the People of the
Book and other unbelievers on two grounds; (1): it
represents a resemblance to the
unbelievers and (2): these are acts of innovations. All
such festivals and fairs which have
come into vogue as a result of innovation are to be
treated in the same way, whether these
resemble the practice of the unbelievers or
not.
ISLAMIC ‘EIDS
Muslims must celebrate only three ‘Eids:
(1): ‘Eid-ul-Fitr,
(2): ‘Eid-ul-Adh-haa,
(3): Friday is the day of ‘Eid for Muslims [See
ETIQUETTE OF MUSLIMS ON
FRIDAY:BY ‘ABDUL MAJEED ‘ALI HASAN]
These three Eids are exclusively for the Muslims, and
that it is not permissible for Muslims to
imitate the kuffaar and mushrikeen in anything that is a
distinctive part of their celebrations,
whether it be food, dress, bonfires or acts of
worship.
THE DECREES OF AL-‘EID:
There are three opinions among the
scholars:
(1): Some say it is waajib (obligatory);
(2): Some say it is Fardul Kifaayah (if some offered the
prayer then it is enough and it is not
obligatory upon all); and
(3): Some say it is Sunnatul Muakkadah
(recommended)
The evidence of those who say it is
waajib:
Some of the scholars say that ‘Eid prayers are waajib
(obligatory) – this is the view of the
Hanafee scholars and of Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah
(may Allaah have mercy on him).
They say that the Prophet (!) always prayed the ‘Eid
prayer and never omitted to do it, not
even once. They take as evidence the aayah
(interpretation of the meaning), “Therefore turn
in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only)”
[al-Kawthar 108:2], i.e., the ‘Eid prayer
and the sacrifice after it, which is an instruction, and
the fact that the Prophet (!) ordered that
the women should be brought out to attend the ‘Eid
prayers, and that a woman who did not
have a jilbaab should borrow one from her sister. [See
Tamaamul Minnah: by Al-Albaanee:
p.344. Refer to Al-Mughnaee by Imaam ibn Qudaamah: vol.
2, p. 223.]
The evidence of those who say it is Fardul Kifaayah:
Some scholars say that Eid prayer is
Fardul Kifaayah. This is the view of the Hanbalees.
Refer to Al-Mughnaee by Imaam ibn
Qudaamah: vol. 2, p. 223.
The evidence of these who it is sunnatul Muakkadah: A
third group say that ‘Eid prayer is
sunnah mu’akkadah. This is the view of the Maalikis and
Shaafa’is. They take as evidence
the hadeeth of the Bedouin which says that Allaah has
not imposed any prayers on His slaves
other than the five daily prayers. Refer to Al-Mughnaee
by Imaam ibn Qudaamah: vol. 2, p.
223.
SIGNIFICANCE OF MUSLIMS’ ‘EIDS:
So the Muslim should be keen to attend ‘Eid prayers,
especially since the opinion that it is
waajib is based on strong evidence. The goodness,
blessings and great reward one gets from
attending ‘Eid prayers, and the fact that one is
following the example of the Prophet (!) by
doing so, should be sufficient
motivation.
