The Feast Prayer

Among the social phenomena of nations is that they should have a feast; that is; one or more days wherein they show their joy and happiness.

Inss Ibn Malek, may God bless him - said [The Prophet (Peace be upon him) came to Medinah, at a time wherein they had two days in which they played around. He said: What are those two days? They answered: They are two days in which we used to play around in the pre-Islamic age. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) then said: Allah has substituted for you two better days: The Day of Al-Adha and the Day of Al-Fitr] [1]

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The feast was called (Eid) due to its meaning in Arabic; that is: it recurrs (ya'uud) every year.

The purpose of the fast breaking (Al-Fitr) feast is to show the Muslim's joy in completing the obligation of fasting; that Almighty Allah, glory to His name, had prescribed for them, and whereby they obeyed His command, and benefited and were blessed by His gratification.

While the purpose of the Al-Adha feast is to show their joy in (Al-Hajj) the pilgrimage that reminds them of sacrifice, redemption, and equality among people.

The prayers of the two feasts, Al-Fitr and Al-Adha, are a confirmed Sunnah for all those who are obliged to perform the Friday prayer. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) had prayed them – and performed them perseverantly. They are performed with neither a call to prayer (Adhan) nor a second call to prayer (Iqamah). Referring to Jaabir Ibn Abd Allah; may God bless him; he said: I performed the two feasts' prayers with the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) more than once and more than twice, and all the time they were performed neither with a call to prayer, nor with a second call to prayer.[2]

The periods of these prayers start from the time the superogatory performance prayer is free to be done; on the feast day; that is when the sun reaches three meters high, before its sunset. It is preferrable that the prayer of the Al-Adha feast be performed beforehand; so that the Muslims would be able to slaughter their sacrifices, while the prayer of the Al-Fitr feast be delayed a little so that people would be able to give their Al-Fitr alms beforehand.

The feast prayer is performed in two prostrations; Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may God bless him - said: The Al-Adha prayers are two prostrations and the Al-Fitr prayers are two prostrations.[3]

In these two prostrations, the prayer; leader (Imam) recites the Surah (The Opening) aloud and then a short Surah or a verse (Ayah) during each prostration.

In the first prostration, after the Al-Ihram laudation, and before reciting the Surah (The Opening), he says the laudation (Allah Akbar) six times. And in the second prostration after the (Al-Qiyam) laudation and before the recitation, he says the laudation five times. The laudations should be consecutive and continuous, and its pronunciation is: (Allah Akbar). After the Imam terminates his prayer in front of the people, he goes up the Minbar to perform the feast sermon (Khitbat Al-Eid), which should include; device, guidance, illustrating the wisdom of the feast, inducing people to be forgiving, fraternal, and loving.

The nature of the feast sermon is like that of the Friday sermon, it is composed of two sermons. There is no objection if the Imam starts the sermon by a laudation to God or a thank to Him as in the Friday sermon.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the feast prayer be performed in open places and public squares, except if this was inconvenient due to rain falls or so; then it would be performed in mosques. In the feast, it is preferable that the praying person goes to the place of praying through one street, and returns home through another.

Furthermore, it is likeable for the person who wants to perform the feast prayer to go walking, and to eat before he goes out for the Al-Fitr feast prayer.

Referring to Abi Hurayrah, may God bless him, his saying: “The Prophet (Peace be upon him) on the feast day used to return from the mosque travelling back along a different road from the one he went from”. [4]

According to Ali, may God bless him: It is a Sunnah of the feast to go walking, and to eat before going out.[5]

It is also desirable in both feasts; that the praying person be: clean, perfumed, and wearing his best clothes. In reference to Inss, may God bless him, he said: “The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) commanded us in the two feasts, to wear the best of what we have, and to be perfumed with the best perfumes, and to sacrifice the best of what we have”.[6]

It is a desired matter that the Muslim congratulates his Muslim brother by saying unto him: May Allah receives (the prayers) from us and you.

On the day of the feast; the Muslim should remember his relatives and visit them, and should honor his parents, and make them joyful and happy together with the folk of his house.