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How
to Offer `Eid Prayer
Ibn
`Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “I participated in
the `Eid al-Fitr Prayer with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings
be upon him, Abu Bakr, `Umar and `Uthman, and all of them held `Eid
Prayer before Khutbah, and then the Prophet Muhammad, peace and
blessings be upon him, delivered the Khutbah (sermon).” (Narrated
Muslim)
Who
should go to the prayer ground & offer `Eid Prayer:
Umm
`Atiyah reported: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon
him, commanded us to bring out on `Eid al-Fitr and `Eid al-Adha, young
women, hijab-observing adult women and the menstruating women. The
menstruating women stayed out of actual Salah but participated in good
deeds and Du`a’ (supplication). I (Umm `Atiyah) said to the Prophet,
peace and blessings be upon him: ‘Oh! Messenger of Allah, one does not
have an outer garment.’ He replied: ‘Let her sister cover her with
her garment.’” (Narrated Muslim)
On
the `Eid day, every believing man, woman and child should go to the
prayer ground and participate in this joyous occasion.
Structure
of `Eid prayer:
`Eid
prayer is wajib (strongly recommended, just short of obligatory). It
consists of two Rak`ahs (units) with six or thirteen additional
Takbeers. It must be offered in congregation. The prayer is followed by
the Khutbah.
The
Khutbah is part of the worship and listening to it is Sunnah. During the
Khutbah, the Imam must remind the community about its responsibilities
and obligations towards Allah, fellow Muslims and the fellow human
beings. The Imam must encourage the Muslims to do good and ward off
evil. The Muslim community must also be directed to the state of the
community and the Ummah at large and the feelings of sacrifice and Jihad
should be aroused in the community. At the conclusion of the prayer the
Muslims should convey greetings to each other, give reasonable gifts to
the youngsters and visit each other at their homes. Muslims should also
take this opportunity to invite their non-Muslims neighbors, co-workers,
classmates and business acquaintances to `Eid festivities to expose them
to Islam and Muslim culture.
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