Lu'lu' wal-Marjan

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I offered the Eid al-Fitr prayer with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them all). All of them would perform the prayer before the sermon and deliver the sermon afterward. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up (on the pulpit); I can still picture the scene when he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was signaling the people with his hand to sit down. Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed through the rows and came towards the women. Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited this verse: O Prophet! When believing women come to you to pledge allegiance to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, will not steal, will not commit adultery, will not kill their children, will not bring forth any slander they have invented between their hands and feet, and will not disobey you in anything good, then accept their pledge and ask Allah's forgiveness for them. Surely, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful. (: Al-Mumtahanah 12) Then, when he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished the sermon, he said: Are you steadfast on these matters? One woman replied: Yes. No other woman spoke besides her. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered for charity, and Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) spread out his cloth and said: Come forward, may my parents be sacrificed for you. So the women began to throw their rings and bangles into the cloth of Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) offered the Eid al-Fitr prayer; first he performed the prayer, then he delivered the sermon. When he finished the sermon, he descended and came towards the women, then he advised them. At that time, he was holding the hand of Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) for support. Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) had spread out his cloth, in which the women were putting charity.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas and Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them) narrate that for the Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha prayer, (in the time of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and the Rightly Guided Caliphs) the call to prayer (adhan) was not given.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) sent a person to Sayyiduna Abdullah Ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) during the early period of his caliphate (and conveyed to him) that the call to prayer (adhan) is not given for the Eid al-Fitr prayer, and the sermon (khutbah) is delivered after the prayer.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to perform the Eid prayers before the sermon.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would go to the Eidgah (prayer ground outside Madinah) on the days of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the first thing he would do was lead the people in prayer. After finishing the prayer, he (peace be upon him) would stand before the people while all of them remained seated in their rows. He (peace be upon him) would then deliver a sermon, advise them, and command them to do good. If he intended to send an army for jihad, he would separate it (from the congregation), and if he needed to give any other command, he would do so. After that, he (peace be upon him) would return to the city.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the people continued to follow this Sunnah, but during the time of Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), Marwan, who was the governor of Madinah, I went out with him for the Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha prayer. When we reached the Eidgah, I saw a pulpit built by Kathir bin Salt. As soon as we arrived, Marwan wanted to ascend it (to deliver the sermon) before the prayer, so I grabbed his garment and pulled him, but he shook me off and went up and delivered the sermon before the prayer. I said to him, "By Allah, you have changed (the Sunnah of the Prophet, peace be upon him)." Marwan said, "O Abu Sa'id, that time has passed which you know." Abu Sa'id said, "By Allah, the time I know is better than the time I do not know." Marwan said, "In our time, people do not sit after the prayer, so I delivered the sermon before the prayer."