We discussed last week how the Prophet conducted Friday prayer, which should be offered in congregation, normally in the mosque, but may be arranged at any place where a group of people, three or more, can organize it. A prayer that is akin to Friday prayer is that offered on the two days of the Eid. The Eid is a festive occasion when people feel very happy and sociable. Muslims have two such annual occasions: Al-Fitr, when they have completed their fasting month, Ramadan, and Al-Adha, which falls on the grand day of the pilgrimage, following the day of attendance at Arafat. On both occasions the day starts with a prayer offered about half an hour after sunrise, in addition to the five obligatory prayers. Like Friday prayer, it consists of two rak’ahs and a sermon. However, while the sermon on Friday precedes the prayer, it is the prayer that is first on the Eid occasions. Abdullah ibn Umar reports: “God’s Messenger, Abu Bakr and Umar used to perform the prayer first on both Eid occasions, then they would give the khutbah.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nassaie and Al-Tirmidhi.)
A special feature of the Eid prayer that is not shared by any other prayer is the added glorification of God, in the form of Allah-u akbar, which means, “God is supreme.” Such glorification is part of the prayer on these occasions. While all prayers begin with such glorification which signals the start of prayer and every movement it includes, it has an additional function on the Eid day. A Hadith reported by Amr ibn Awf Al-Muzani says: “The Prophet glorified God in the Eid prayer seven times in the first rak’ah before reciting the Qur’an, and he added five glorifications in the second rak’ah before his recitation.” (Related by Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.) This means that after starting the prayer normally, the imam says Allah-u akbar seven times, followed each time by a brief silence during which the congregation do the same. As he rises for the second rak’ah, he adds five such glorifications. Each time he begins his recitation after he completes this recommended number of glorifications.
As these were special occasions, Muslims were always keen to know the details of how the Prophet conducted their prayer. Hence, in answer to a question about what the Prophet recited in the Eid prayer, Abu Waqid Al-Laythi says: “He used to recite Surahs 50 and 54, Qaf and Al-Qamar.” (Related by Malik and Muslim.) These two surahs are of medium length, which in prayer take around 10 minutes each. When he finished the prayer, the Prophet would give a sermon, or khutbah.
It is important to note that Islam links all occasions to the remembrance of God and glorifying Him. The two Eids, as we have said, are festive occasions in which Muslims are celebrating. On the first one, Al-Fitr, they are marking the end of Ramadan, a month in which they devoted much time and energy to worship. On the second, Al-Adha, they mark the pilgrimage when all pilgrims are celebrating the completion of the major part of their great duty that ensures forgiveness of their past sins. Yet, the Prophet’s guidance is to mark them with a prayer and a sermon. It is indeed an essential aspect of Islam that it links all human activity to religious consciousness.
Buraydah, a companion of the Prophet, says: “On Al-Fitr day of Eid, the Prophet would not leave home until he had something to eat, and on Al-Adha, he would not eat until he has offered the Eid prayer.” (Related by Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi.) A similar Hadith reported by Anas says: “God’s Messenger used not to leave home on the Eid day of Al-Fitr until he had eaten a few dates. He would eat an odd number of dates.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Khuzaymah.)
Whatever the Prophet did in connection with his worship, he did it for a purpose. It is important to understand the purpose behind his actions so that we can follow his example trying to achieve the same purpose. On the Eid of Al-Fitr, we are marking the end of fasting. It is the day when Muslims are rewarded for undertaking such a hard task of worship as fasting from dawn to dusk, for a whole month. Hence, he was keen to demonstrate that there was no virtue in continuing to refrain from eating. He would eat as early as sunrise, beginning with dates that are a quick source of energy. By contrast, on the occasion of Al-Adha, which is the Eid of sacrifice, the Prophet was keen to complete his prayer so that he would attend to his sacrifice. He would then eat, partaking of his sacrifice if possible.
It is well known that the Prophet offered the Eid prayer in an open space outside Madinah, so as to allow all people to gather. He ordered that women should also attend the prayer, including those who were in the period and could not, as a result, offer prayer. He said that they would witness the prayer and participate in its benefit. What was more, the Prophet used to take a different route on his way back from the praying place. This enabled him to meet more people and greet them on this occasion, wishing them happiness and God’s blessings. Abu Hurayrah reports: “When the Prophet went out to the praying place on Eid, he would return taking a route other than that he took on the way out.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Al-Darimi.) Jabir also reports: “On the Eid day, the Prophet would take different routes.” (Related by Al-Bukhari.)
The Prophet was well aware that his role was that of teacher. Therefore, he took care that people should learn how he conducted matters. Thus, Abdullah ibn Umar says, “the Prophet used to slaughter his sacrifice at the place of prayer.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Al-Nassaie, Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah.) As we have said, the Prophet offered the Eid prayer in the open air, outside Madinah. It was there that he slaughtered his sacrifice. Thus people learned how he went about its slaughtering.
Anas reports: “The Prophet used to sacrifice two large male sheep, with horns. He would put his foot on the side of their faces and slaughter them, saying Bism Allah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem,” which means, “in the name of God, the compassionate the most merciful.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
Needless to say that by putting his foot on the side of the animal’s face, he would actually fix its head in position to make the slaughter quick and less painful to the animal.
