The Sunnah of Delivering the Eid Khutbah After the Prayer
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
➊ Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه), and ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) used to perform the Eid prayer before the sermon.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 963, Muslim: 888, Tirmidhī: 929, Ibn Mājah: 1276, Bayhaqī: 3/296, Aḥmad: 2/12]
➋ Narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
“All of them (the Prophet ﷺ and his rightly guided successors) would perform the Eid prayer before the sermon.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 962, Muslim: 884, Abū Dāwūd: 1147, Ibn Mājah: 1274, Aḥmad: 1/227, Ibn Khuzaymah: 1458]
➌ Narrated by Jābir (رضي الله عنه):
“On the day of Eid al-Fiṭr, the Prophet ﷺ came out and offered the prayer before delivering the sermon.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 958, Muslim: 885, Abū Dāwūd: 1141, Ibn Khuzaymah: 1459]
➍ Narrated by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه):
“The Prophet ﷺ would proceed to the Eid place on the days of Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā. The first thing he would begin with was the prayer. After finishing, he would turn to face the people while they remained in their rows, and then he would admonish and advise them.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 956, Muslim: 889, Nasāʾī: 3/187, Aḥmad: 3/36, Abū Yaʿlā: 1343, Bayhaqī: 3/297]
What Can Be Derived From These Narrations:
It is established that the first person to oppose this Sunnah was Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam. When he reversed the order and gave the sermon before the prayer, a man stood and said:
“O Marwān! You have opposed the Sunnah!”
[Muslim: 49, Abū Dāwūd: 1140, 4340, Tirmidhī: 2172, Nasāʾī: 8/111, Ibn Mājah: 1275, Aḥmad: 3/20, Bayhaqī: 3/296]
Another narration states:
“The first to introduce the Eid sermon before the prayer was Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه).”
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 5646]
The authentic and established Sunnah is:
✔ To pray first,
✔ Then deliver the Khutbah,
✔ And to include reminders for both men and women.
Any reversal of this order, as practiced by Marwān or Muʿāwiyah in later times, is a clear deviation from the Prophetic tradition.
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
✿ The Imam Should Deliver the Khutbah After the Eid Prayer
➊ Narrated by Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abū Bakr (رضي الله عنه), and ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) used to perform the Eid prayer before the sermon.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 963, Muslim: 888, Tirmidhī: 929, Ibn Mājah: 1276, Bayhaqī: 3/296, Aḥmad: 2/12]➋ Narrated by Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
“All of them (the Prophet ﷺ and his rightly guided successors) would perform the Eid prayer before the sermon.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 962, Muslim: 884, Abū Dāwūd: 1147, Ibn Mājah: 1274, Aḥmad: 1/227, Ibn Khuzaymah: 1458]➌ Narrated by Jābir (رضي الله عنه):
“On the day of Eid al-Fiṭr, the Prophet ﷺ came out and offered the prayer before delivering the sermon.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 958, Muslim: 885, Abū Dāwūd: 1141, Ibn Khuzaymah: 1459]➍ Narrated by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه):
“The Prophet ﷺ would proceed to the Eid place on the days of Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā. The first thing he would begin with was the prayer. After finishing, he would turn to face the people while they remained in their rows, and then he would admonish and advise them.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 956, Muslim: 889, Nasāʾī: 3/187, Aḥmad: 3/36, Abū Yaʿlā: 1343, Bayhaqī: 3/297] What Can Be Derived From These Narrations:- The Eid prayer should be offered before the sermon.
- After the prayer, the Prophet ﷺ would address the people with a sermon that included admonition and reminders.
- He would also approach the women separately to advise and remind them, as reported by Jābir (رضي الله عنه):
“Then he stood leaning on Bilāl (رضي الله عنه), commanded Taqwā, encouraged obedience, advised and reminded the people, then went to the women and did the same.”
[Muslim: 885, Nasāʾī: 3/186]
◈ Innovation: Delivering the Khutbah Before the Prayer
It is established that the first person to oppose this Sunnah was Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam. When he reversed the order and gave the sermon before the prayer, a man stood and said:
“O Marwān! You have opposed the Sunnah!”
[Muslim: 49, Abū Dāwūd: 1140, 4340, Tirmidhī: 2172, Nasāʾī: 8/111, Ibn Mājah: 1275, Aḥmad: 3/20, Bayhaqī: 3/296]Another narration states:
“The first to introduce the Eid sermon before the prayer was Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه).”
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 5646] Scholarly Verdict
- Imām al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله):
“The prayer should precede the sermon.”
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/593]
Conclusion
The authentic and established Sunnah is:
✔ To pray first,
✔ Then deliver the Khutbah,
✔ And to include reminders for both men and women.
Any reversal of this order, as practiced by Marwān or Muʿāwiyah in later times, is a clear deviation from the Prophetic tradition.
