The two Eid prayers

It is narrated from al-Ala' bin Badr that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) came out (for the prayer) on the day of Eid and saw some people performing (voluntary) prayer. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said (on seeing them): "O people! We were present with the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on a day like this (day of Eid), and (at that time) no one would pray before the Eid prayer, or before the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (came out)." Upon this a man said: "O Commander of the Believers! Will you not forbid these people from praying before the Imam comes out?" He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I do not wish to stop any servant (of Allah from worship) when he is praying; rather, we tell them what we witnessed in the company of the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." (Or however he (may Allah be pleased with him) said it.)
I (Ibn Hajar) say: Imam al-Bazzar narrated it through the route of Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin al-Nu'man al-Ju'fi Abu Ishaq, who said: I heard al-Rabi' bin Sa'id al-Ju'fi say: al-Walid bin Sari', the freed slave of Amr bin Hurayth, narrated this hadith to us with the same chain and text.

It is narrated from Yahya bin Abd al-Rahman bin Hatib that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to go to the Eid prayer on foot. Other narrators, in the narration from his father (Abd al-Rahman bin Hatib), added that he said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) going to the Eid on foot, and on the way back he would change his route, that is, he would go by one route and return by another."
This chain is da'if (weak) because of Khalid bin Ilyas; however, a hadith of Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in Sahih al-Bukhari exists as a supporting report (shahid) for it.

Muhammad bin Ishaq narrates from Nafi' that he asked him how Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to perform (the prayer and other practices of) the day of Eid. He said: "He would attend the Fajr prayer with the Imam, then return to his house and take a (complete) bath like the ritual bath (ghusl) for major impurity, put on his finest clothes and use the best perfume he had. Then he would leave the house until he reached the Eid prayer ground, and sit there until the Imam arrived. When the Imam came, he would perform the Eid prayer with him. Then on the way back he would enter the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (the Prophet's Mosque) and pray two rak'ahs in it, then go to his house."
[Musnad al-Harith: 753]. The chain of this report is hasan (good), and this practice of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) is authentic as a sunnah of the Companions.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that on the day of departure from Mina (Yawm al-Nafr) he would say the takbir aloud and would order all the people around him to "say the takbir (proclaim the greatness of Allah)"; he did all this in obedience to this exalted saying of Allah Almighty: "Then when you have completed your rites (of Hajj), remember Allah" [Surah al-Baqarah: 200].
Imam Musaddad (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated this report in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "When he set out from the mosque to the Eid prayer ground (for the prayer) on the day of Eid, he would raise his voice with the takbirs until he reached the prayer ground, and he would keep saying the takbirs until the Imam arrived (for the prayer)."
The chain of this report is sahih (authentic). Imam al-Daraqutni narrated it in his "al-Sunan" and Imam al-Bayhaqi in "al-Sunan al-Kubra"; this report indicates that saying the takbirs aloud on the way and until the Imam arrives on the occasion of the two Eids is a sunnah.

It is narrated from Hanash (may Allah have mercy on him) that it was said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): Some people are unable to go out (for the Eid prayer); some of them are sick, and for some of them the mosque or prayer ground is very far. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Pray here in your own places as well as in the mosque, and pray four rak'ahs in all: two rak'ahs as the sunnah and two rak'ahs in place of going out (for Eid)."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' narrated this report in his Musnad. The narrator in its chain, Layth bin Abi Sulaym, has been declared da'if (weak) by the imams of narrator criticism because of his poor memory; however, this juristic report is well known in scholarly circles on the basis of other supporting reports, to the effect that whoever misses the Eid prayer should pray four rak'ahs.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he used to say the takbirs from the morning of the Day of Arafah (9th Dhu al-Hijjah) until the last of the days of Tashriq, but he would not say the takbirs at the Maghrib prayer. The words of his takbir were: "Allahu akbaru kabira, Allahu akbaru kabira, Allahu akbaru kabira, wa al-hamdu lillah, Allahu akbar" (Allah is the Greatest, greatly; Allah is the Greatest, greatly; Allah is the Greatest, greatly; and all praise belongs to Allah; Allah is the Greatest), or the narrator said these words: "Allahu akbaru ala ma hadana" (Allah is the Greatest for having guided us).
Imam Ahmad narrated it from Yahya in abridged form.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to wear his red cloak on the two Eids and on Friday."
The narrator Hajjaj in the chain of this report is da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Nafi' (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) "would not eat anything on the day of Eid al-Fitr until he returned from the Eid prayer ground (after performing the prayer)."
Imam Musaddad bin Musarhad narrated this report in his Musnad, and its chain is sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) that before setting out for the Eid prayer he distributed dates among his companions and said: "Eat them before you go to the Eid prayer ground." For Ibrahim bin Abi Qariz narrated to us from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also used to do so."
Imam Ahmad narrated something similar to it through the narration of Ibn Aqil, from Ata' bin Yasar, from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him).

Wahb bin Kaysan narrates from a man that he said: "Indeed, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to perform the Eid prayer before delivering the sermon."
Musnad Musaddad: 761. Its chain contains an unnamed narrator; however, this content is established by other sahih and authentic hadith.

It is narrated from a man that he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) "performing the prayer on the day of Eid al-Fitr in the place between the two rocks."
Imam Abu Ishaq (may Allah have mercy on him), explaining this place, said: "It is the place where grain and food provisions used to be sold."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The prayer of the two Eids (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) used to be performed before the sermon."
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' narrated it, and the chain of this report is sahih (authentic) because all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy); moreover, its meaning fully agrees with the hadith of the two Sahihs which state explicitly that in the Prophetic Sunnah (peace and blessings be upon him) the Eid prayer came before the sermon.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "In the prayer of Eid al-Fitr there is one (opening) takbir with which the prayer is begun, then five (additional) takbirs are said, then the recitation is made, then the takbir is said and one bows; then when one stands for the second rak'ah, five takbirs are said, then the recitation is made, and then the takbir is said and one bows."
Imam Musaddad narrated this report through Yahya, Ibn Jurayj and Ata' from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both).
Al-Harith reported a similar narration through Yazid, Abd al-Malik bin Abi Sulayman and Ata' from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both).
Also, Yazid narrated something similar from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) through Humayd and Ammar bin Abi Ammar.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say seven additional takbirs in the first rak'ah on the occasion of the Eid prayer, and five takbirs in the second, that is, the last rak'ah."
In the chain of this report, Faraj bin Fadalah and Abdullah bin Amir al-Aslami are da'if (weak) narrators; however, the evidence for seven additional takbirs in the first rak'ah and five in the second rak'ah of the Eid prayers is provided by other authentic hadith and reports, on the basis of which a large group of imams and jurists hold this method.

It is narrated from Umarah bin Zadhan that he said: We were sitting with Thabit al-Bunani, and an elder was also present there. We mentioned which surahs are recited in the two Eids, and that elder said: On the day of Eid I went with Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) to the place called "al-Zawiyah". There a freed slave of theirs was leading the people in prayer, and in the prayer he recited "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" [Surah al-A'la: 1] and "By the night when it covers" [Surah al-Layl: 1]. Upon this Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "He has certainly recited the very two surahs that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to recite."
Imam Abu Dawud narrated this hadith. The narrator in its chain, Umarah bin Zadhan, although saduq (truthful), has had his memory criticised by some hadith scholars; but the basis of reciting these surahs in the two Eids is also established by other sahih hadith.

It is narrated from the paternal uncle of Sa'd bin Ishaq that he said: "I went out with Sayyiduna Ka'b bin Ujrah (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Eid, and he did not perform any (voluntary) prayer before the Eid prayer. Then when we had finished the Eid prayer, he saw the people rushing in one stream towards the mosque (to pray voluntary prayers), and he said: 'Indeed, this is an innovation (bid'ah) and an abandonment of the Sunnah.'"
[Takhrij: The chain of this report is hasan (good), and it mentions the prohibition of praying voluntary prayer at the Eid prayer ground before or after the Eid prayer, because this is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).]

It is narrated from Ata' bin al-Sa'ib (may Allah have mercy on him) that Maysarah (may Allah have mercy on him) used to perform voluntary prayer on the day of Eid before the Imam came (for the Eid prayer). So I (Ata') asked him: "Did not Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) dislike praying voluntary prayer before the Eid prayer?" He replied: "Yes, (he did dislike it)."
Imam Musaddad reported this narration in his Musnad, and since Imam Shu'bah narrated from Ata' bin al-Sa'ib before his memory became confused, this chain is strong; moreover, this position of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), that there is no voluntary prayer at the Eid prayer ground before or after the Eid prayer, is also established by other reports.

It is narrated from Ayyub al-Sakhtiyani (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "I saw Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) and Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) performing prayer on the day of Eid before the Imam came out (for the prayer)."
The narrator also said: "I saw Imam Muhammad bin Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) come and sit down (without praying); he did not perform any prayer."