Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 544❖ Question:
In which books is the evidence for the twelve takbīrs in the two Eid prayers mentioned?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
① First Narration
عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ:
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَبَّرَ فِي عِيدٍ ثِنْتَيْ عَشْرَةَ تَكْبِيرَةً، سَبْعًا فِي الْأُولَى، وَخَمْسًا فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَلَمْ يُصَلِّ قَبْلَهَا، وَلَا بَعْدَهَا۔
(Musnad Aḥmad; also in Nayl al-Awṭār, Sunan Ibn Mājah, commentary of al-Sindī, vol. 1, Bāb Mā Jāʾa Kam Yukabbiru al-Imām fī Ṣalāt al-ʿĪdayn, p. 387)
Translation:
ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb narrates from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet ﷺ said twelve takbīrs in the Eid prayer — seven in the first rakʿah and five in the second — and he did not pray before it nor after it.
② Second Narration
عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ،
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَبَّرَ فِي العِيدَيْنِ فِي الأُولَى سَبْعًا قَبْلَ القِرَاءَةِ، وَفِي الآخِرَةِ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ القِرَاءَةِ۔
وَفِي البَابِ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، وَابْنِ عُمَرَ، وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو.
حَدِيثُ جَدِّ كَثِيرٍ حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ، وَهُوَ أَحْسَنُ شَيْءٍ رُوِيَ فِي هَذَا البَابِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ۔
(Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī with Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 376; al-Taʿlīq al-Mughnī ʿalā al-Dāraquṭnī, vol. 2; Sharḥ al-Sunnah, vol. 2, p. 605)
Translation:
Kathīr ibn ʿAbdillāh narrated from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet ﷺ pronounced seven takbīrs in the first rakʿah before recitation and five takbīrs in the second rakʿah before recitation.
Imām al-Tirmidhī said:
“This ḥadīth of the grandfather of Kathīr is ḥasan (sound), and it is the best narration reported in this chapter concerning the takbīrs of the Eid prayers.”
Opinion of Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله:
He further stated:
“This practice was followed by some of the people of knowledge among the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ and others. It is the view of the scholars of Madīnah, and it is also the opinion of Imām Mālik ibn Anas, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, and Imām Isḥāq.”
(Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī with Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī)
Views of Other Imāms:
Shaykh Salāmullāh al-Mahallī said:
“This is the proof of Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, and Imām Mālik, and this is also narrated from Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, and Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنهم.”
Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī stated:
“This practice was adopted by Abū Bakr and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما.”
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 377)
Summary of the Practice:
Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, and Imām Mālik all used this ḥadīth as their primary evidence.
This narration is also supported by the practice of the following Companions:
- ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
- ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما
- Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه
- Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq رضي الله عنه
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه
All of them performed the Eid prayers with twelve takbīrs (seven in the first rakʿah, five in the second).
The Second View — (Narration from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه):
According to one narration attributed to Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه:
- In the first rakʿah: including takbīrat al-iḥrām and takbīr al-rukūʿ, there are five takbīrs; after recitation, he bowed for rukūʿ.
- In the second rakʿah: after recitation, he performed rukūʿ after four takbīrs.
(ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd with Sunan Abī Dāwūd)
This method is also attributed to some other Companions, but no authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth exists to substantiate it.
Preference and Stronger View:
The first method (twelve takbīrs) is stronger and more authentic, because it was also the practice of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq and ʿUmar al-Fārūq رضي الله عنهما.
Imām Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Ḥāzimī wrote in his book al-Iʿtibār:
الحادي والثلاثون في ترجيح الأخبار أن يكون أحد الحديثين قد عمل به الخلفاء الراشدون دون الثاني...
(al-Iʿtibār, p. 19)
Translation:
“One of the criteria for preferring among conflicting ḥadīths is that the ḥadīth acted upon by the Rightly Guided Caliphs takes precedence over the other. Therefore, the ḥadīth of twelve takbīrs is given preference because it was the practice of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما.”
For further detail, see: Nayl al-Awṭār, vol. 3, pp. 338–340.
Additional Benefit:
After the sighting of the moon of Eid al-Aḍḥā, the takbīrāt should begin immediately and continue until the Imām comes out for the prayer.
(al-Umm by Imām al-Shāfiʿī, vol. 2, p. 205)
Note:
In Rasūl Akram kī Namāz by Mawlānā Muḥammad Ismāʿīl Salafī (p. 122), the name “Kathīr ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Kathīr” is printed erroneously — the correct name is Kathīr ibn ʿAbdillāh.
For reference:
- Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 377
- Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, vol. 2, p. 48
- Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, vol. 3, p. 4
- al-Bayhaqī, vol. 3, p. 258
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
