Tirmidhi

1:
There is consensus among the scholars that fasting on these two days is not permissible under any circumstances, whether it is a fast of vow (nazr), a voluntary fast (nafl), an expiatory fast (kaffarah), or any other type of fast.
If someone makes a vow specifically to fast on these two days, then according to the majority, such a vow does not become binding, nor is its fulfillment (qada) obligatory upon him. However, Imam Abu Hanifah says that the vow does become binding, but he will not fast on these two days; rather, he will make up (qada) the fast on another day.

Hadith Footnote: In some manuscripts, there is an additional phrase after this: "Qala Abu Abdullah qala Ibn Uyaynah: Man qala mawla Ibn Azhar faqad asaba wa man qala mawla Abdur Rahman bin Awf faqad asaba," meaning: Imam Bukhari rahimahullah said that Sufyan ibn Uyaynah said, "Whoever calls Abu Abdullah the freed slave (mawla) of Ibn Azhar has spoken correctly, and whoever calls him the freed slave of Abdur Rahman bin Awf radi Allahu anhu has also spoken correctly."

The reason for this is that both Ibn Azhar and Abdur Rahman bin Awf radi Allahu anhu shared ownership of this slave.

Some have said that, in reality, he was the slave of Abdur Rahman bin Awf radi Allahu anhu,

but he used to remain in the service of Ibn Azhar, so he was in fact the slave of one, and metaphorically (majazan) of the other.

(Wahidi)

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: From this hadith, it is understood that fasting on the day of Eid al-Fitr is prohibited because Allah, the Exalted, has designated it as the "Day of Breaking the Fast" after Ramadan—that is, a day for not fasting and for eating and drinking. Therefore, to fast on this day is to oppose the divine will. Fasting on the Day of Sacrifice (Yawm al-Nahr) is prohibited because it is a day for eating the meat of the sacrificial animals.

In other words, Allah, the Exalted, desires that on this day, the sacrifices made for the sake of attaining His pleasure and approval, His servants should eat the meat of those sacrifices, considering it a feast from Allah, the Exalted, and eat joyfully. And indeed, that person would be extremely arrogant and ungrateful who, on the day of Allah’s general invitation, deliberately chooses to fast.

Benefits and Issues:
➊ The sermon (khutbah) of the Eid prayer is delivered after the prayer.

➋ In the Eid sermon, issues related to Eid should be explained.

➌ It is prohibited to fast on the days of the two Eids because fasting on these days amounts to expressing indifference to the collective happiness of the Muslims, which is not befitting for a Muslim.

➍ Fasting on the day of Eid al-Fitr practically expresses that one has not yet completed the fasts; in this way, it is as if one is making a self-imposed addition to the obligation prescribed by Allah, which is a very bad act.

➎ Just as performing sacrifice (qurbani) is in obedience to Allah’s command, similarly, eating and drinking from the meat of the sacrifice is also gratitude for Allah’s blessing. Fasting on this day is neglecting this gratitude and is ingratitude for Allah’s blessing.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[وأخرجه البخاري 1990، ومسلم 1137، من حديث مالك به]

Jurisprudential Understanding
➊ The sermon (khutbah) of Eid after the Eid prayer is Sunnah; therefore, the sermon should not be given before the Eid prayer.
➋ The Rightly Guided Caliphs (khulafa’ al-rashidun) radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in followed the Sunnah of the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
➌ The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to perform the Eid prayer before the sermon. Narrations with this meaning are also reported from the following noble Companions radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in: ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas radi Allahu anhu [صحيح مسلم 885/2، [2045] (see also Sahih al-Bukhari 977), Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah al-Ansari [صحيح بخاري : 961 وصحيح مسلم : 885], ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar [صحيح بخاري : 957، صحيح مسلم : 888], Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri [صحيح بخاري : 956، صحيح مسلم : 889], Bara’ ibn ‘Azib [صحيح بخاري : 983، وصحيح مسلم : 1961[5075], Anas ibn Malik [صحيح بخاري : 984، صحيح مسلم : 1962 [5080], and Jundub [صحيح بخاري : 985، صحيح مسلم : 1960 [5067] radi Allahu anhum ajma‘in.
It is thus known that this hadith is mutawatir (mass-transmitted). Even so, there were some people who used to give the sermon before the Eid prayer. The action of such people is invalid because it is contrary to authentic ahadith.
➍ If Jumu‘ah (Friday) and Eid coincide, i.e., Eid falls on a Friday, then there is an option regarding Jumu‘ah: one may perform Jumu‘ah or offer the Zuhr (noon) prayer instead. Iyas ibn Abi Ramlah narrates that he was present with Sayyiduna Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan radi Allahu anhuma, and he was asking Sayyiduna Zayd ibn Arqam whether, during the blessed era of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, two Eids (Jumu‘ah and Eid) ever coincided on the same day. He replied: Yes! (Mu‘awiyah radi Allahu anhu) asked: So what did you do? (Zayd ibn Arqam radi Allahu anhu) replied: (The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) performed the Eid prayer, then granted a concession regarding Jumu‘ah and said: «مَنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ فَلْيُصَلِّيْ» Whoever wishes to perform it may do so. [سنن ابي داؤد : 1070، وسنده حسن، سنن النسائي : 1592، سنن ابن ماجه : 1310]
It should be noted that performing the Zuhr prayer is obligatory just as it is on other days; therefore, the statement of some people that “when Eid and Jumu‘ah coincide, there is also an option regarding the Zuhr prayer—whether to perform it or not”—is not correct.
➎ The occurrence of two Eids (Jumu‘ah and Eid) on the same day is a combination of two festivals and a cause for increased joy and felicity; to consider it inauspicious is ignorance and innovation (bid‘ah).

Benefit:
In this blessed hadith, fasting on the day of Eid has been prohibited. Some of the important reasons for this are as follows:
(a): Both of these days are days of happiness.
(b): The day of Eid al-Fitr comes at the conclusion of fasting; if someone fasts on this day as well, it is as if he does not accept the end of Ramadan but is rather adding to it.
(c): On the day of Eid al-Adha, sacrifice (qurbani) is performed, and there is an abundance of sacrificial meat. Eating from this meat is tantamount to expressing gratitude for Allah’s blessing; therefore, fasting on this day is also prohibited.
(d): The important point is that it is obligatory upon a Muslim to follow (ittiba‘), whether or not the wisdom behind a command is known. Furthermore, this hadith also shows that if Eid falls on a Friday, the khatib will deliver the Friday (Jumu‘ah) sermon, and the general public has a concession: those who wish to perform it may do so, and those who do not wish to, may leave it. If all the people of a locality agree not to perform Jumu‘ah, then the khatib should also not deliver the Friday sermon.

During the time of Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Zubayr radi Allahu anhu, Eid fell on a Friday, so he led the Eid prayer but did not lead the Friday prayer. When Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhuma was informed of this incident, he said: Their action is in accordance with the Sunnah. (This has been declared sahih by Ibn Khuzaymah (1465) and al-Hakim (1/296) said it is according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs), also see: [البدر المنير: 106/5، القول المقبول، ص: 619ء 620].

In this case, those who do not perform the Friday prayer will perform the Zuhr prayer. In this hadith, it is mentioned that eating sacrificial meat beyond three days is prohibited. It should be remembered that this was the initial ruling, but later permission was granted, and the first ruling was abrogated, as Imam Humaydi himself has clarified. Further clarification is found in Sahih Muslim (1972).