Prescribed Time for Eid Prayer and Its Boundaries
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Time for Eid Prayer Begins After the Sun Rises Above the Horizon by a Spear’s Length and Ends at Zenith
➊ Narrated by ʿAbdullah ibn Busr (رضي الله عنه):
“He went out with the people on the day of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Aḍḥā, and expressed surprise at the Imam’s delay, saying: ‘We would have already finished (the prayer) at this hour—and that was during the time of glorification (tasbīḥ)’.”
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1040, Book of Ṣalāh: Chapter on Time of Going Out for Eid Prayer; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl: 3/101; Abū Dāwūd: 1135; Ibn Mājah: 1317; Bukhārī (Muʿallaq): 968; Tamām al-Minnah: p. 348; al-Taʿlīqāt al-Marḍiyyah ʿala al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/387]
➋ Narrated by Jundub (رضي الله عنه):
“The Prophet ﷺ used to lead us in Eid al-Fitr prayer when the sun had risen to the height of two spears, and the Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer when it had risen to the height of one spear.”
📚 [Ḍaʿīf: Talkhīṣ al-Khabīr: 2/167 — the narrator Muʿallā ibn Ḥilāl is a known liar, hence the narration is weak. See: al-Albānī (رحمه الله); al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿala al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/386; Tamām al-Minnah: p. 347]
✔ (Shawkānī رحمہ الله) remarked that the narration of Jundub is the most well-reported concerning the timing of Eid prayers.
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/592]
➌ Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) narrated in mursal form:
“The Prophet ﷺ wrote to ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm, who was in Najrān, saying: ‘Offer the Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer early and delay the Eid al-Fitr prayer slightly.’”
📚 [Badāʾiʿ al-Minan: 1/272, 1/490 — the chain contains Ibrāhīm ibn Muḥammad, Shaykh of Shāfiʿī, who is weak. See: al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/365]
Although these ḥadīths contain some weakness, the rulings derived from them are agreed upon.
📚 [See details in: Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/357; al-Mawʿiẓah al-Ḥasanah: pp. 43–44; Zād al-Maʿād: 1/442; Mawsūʿah al-Ijmāʿ fī al-Fiqh al-Islāmī: 2/654]
❖ Last Time for Eid Prayer: Until Zenith (Zawāl)
The Prophet ﷺ instructed the people to head for Eid prayer the next morning after sunset, upon receiving the news of moon-sighting after Zawāl (zenith), indicating that the Eid prayer cannot be delayed beyond Zawāl.
📚 [Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 1026; Abū Dāwūd: 1157]
✔ There is no known disagreement among scholars regarding this final boundary.
📚 [For detailed references: al-Baḥr al-Zakhkār: 5532; Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/592; al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/365]
🟢 Summary:
✔ Eid prayer begins: After the sun rises a spear’s length above the horizon (roughly 15–20 minutes after sunrise).
✔ Eid prayer ends: Before Zawāl (zenith).
✔ Eid al-Aḍḥā is preferred earlier to allow time for sacrifice.
✔ Eid al-Fitr is delayed slightly to allow for the giving of Ṣadaqat al-Fiṭr.
