Evidence from the Qur’an and Hadith
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 544
What do the esteemed scholars of Islam say regarding the number of takbīrs in the two Eid prayers? Are twelve takbīrs Sunnah or six? Please issue a fatwa in light of the Qur’an and authentic Hadith.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
In the case under discussion, the clarification is that twelve takbīrs are Sunnah in the Eid prayers.
To call six takbīrs Sunnah is incorrect, because the authentic and reliable aḥādīth clearly prove that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pronounce twelve takbīrs:
◈ In the first rakʿah — seven takbīrs before recitation.
◈ In the second rakʿah — five takbīrs before recitation.
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، «أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُكَبِّرُ فِي الْفِطْرِ وَالْأَضْحَى، فِي الْأُولَى سَبْعَ تَكْبِيرَاتٍ، وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ خَمْسًا»
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Bāb al-Takbīr fī al-ʿĪdayn, vol. 1, p. 446, ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd)
Translation:
Umm al-Muʾminīn ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say seven takbīrs in the first rakʿah and five takbīrs in the second rakʿah of the Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayers.
Imām al-Nawawī, al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī, and others have recorded this narration through multiple sound chains.
Shaykh Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله said:
“Ṣaḥīḥ — reported by Abū Dāwūd, al-Firyābī (Aḥkām al-ʿĪdayn 1/134), al-Ḥākim (1/298), and al-Bayhaqī (3/282).”
عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: التَّكْبِيرُ فِي الْفِطْرِ سَبْعٌ فِي الْأُولَى، وَخَمْسٌ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَالْقِرَاءَةُ بَعْدَهُمَا كِلْتَيْهِمَا۔
(ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd, vol. 1, p. 446; Nayl al-Awṭār, vol. 3, p. 297)
Translation:
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“In the Eid al-Fiṭr prayer there are seven takbīrs in the first rakʿah and five takbīrs in the second, and the recitation is after these in both.”
This ḥadīth is considered authentic by Imām al-Bukhārī, Imām al-Tirmidhī, and Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī رحمهم الله.
عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، «أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَبَّرَ فِي الْعِيدَيْنِ فِي الْأُولَى سَبْعًا قَبْلَ الْقِرَاءَةِ، وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ الْقِرَاءَةِ»
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 376)
Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله stated:
“I asked Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl (al-Bukhārī) regarding this ḥadīth, and he said: There is nothing more authentic in this chapter than this narration, and this is my view as well.”
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 379)
◈ Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:
“This ḥadīth is the strongest in the chapter of the takbīrs of Eid, and it should be acted upon.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī رحمه الله said:
“This is the view of the majority of scholars among the Companions, the Tābiʿīn, and the Imāms.”
Among those holding this view are:
ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Abū Hurayrah, Abū Saʿīd, Jābir, Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Ayyūb, Zayd ibn Thābit, ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنهم, the Seven Jurists of Madīnah, Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and many other eminent scholars.
(Nayl al-Awṭār, vol. 3, p. 336; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 376)
◈ Shaykh Muḥammad Sābiq al-Miṣrī رحمه الله (Fiqh al-Sunnah, vol. 1, p. 270):
“The opinion that there are twelve takbīrs in the Eid prayers is the stronger and more correct view.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله stated:
“Multiple authentic and good ḥadīths establish this number — seven in the first rakʿah and five in the second — and there exists no sound or even weak ḥadīth that contradicts it.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله wrote:
“There is not a single authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ proving six takbīrs in the Eid prayers. Although some sayings from the Companions exist, when a sound prophetic ḥadīth is available, the statement of a Companion or an Imām cannot serve as evidence against it.”
◈ The Sunnah in the Eid prayers is to pronounce twelve takbīrs in total.
◈ In the first rakʿah, seven takbīrs before the recitation.
◈ In the second rakʿah, five takbīrs before the recitation.
◈ The opinion of six takbīrs belongs to the scholars of Kūfah, but no authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth supports it.
◈ The majority of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and Imāms of Islam affirm the view of twelve takbīrs.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 544❖ Question:
What do the esteemed scholars of Islam say regarding the number of takbīrs in the two Eid prayers? Are twelve takbīrs Sunnah or six? Please issue a fatwa in light of the Qur’an and authentic Hadith.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
In the case under discussion, the clarification is that twelve takbīrs are Sunnah in the Eid prayers.
To call six takbīrs Sunnah is incorrect, because the authentic and reliable aḥādīth clearly prove that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pronounce twelve takbīrs:
◈ In the first rakʿah — seven takbīrs before recitation.
◈ In the second rakʿah — five takbīrs before recitation.
❖ Evidences from Ḥadīth:
① Ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، «أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُكَبِّرُ فِي الْفِطْرِ وَالْأَضْحَى، فِي الْأُولَى سَبْعَ تَكْبِيرَاتٍ، وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ خَمْسًا»
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Bāb al-Takbīr fī al-ʿĪdayn, vol. 1, p. 446, ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd)
Translation:
Umm al-Muʾminīn ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنها reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say seven takbīrs in the first rakʿah and five takbīrs in the second rakʿah of the Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayers.
Imām al-Nawawī, al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī, and others have recorded this narration through multiple sound chains.
Shaykh Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله said:
“Ṣaḥīḥ — reported by Abū Dāwūd, al-Firyābī (Aḥkām al-ʿĪdayn 1/134), al-Ḥākim (1/298), and al-Bayhaqī (3/282).”
② Ḥadīth of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنهما
عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ شُعَيْبٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: التَّكْبِيرُ فِي الْفِطْرِ سَبْعٌ فِي الْأُولَى، وَخَمْسٌ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَالْقِرَاءَةُ بَعْدَهُمَا كِلْتَيْهِمَا۔
(ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd, vol. 1, p. 446; Nayl al-Awṭār, vol. 3, p. 297)
Translation:
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr رضي الله عنهما narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“In the Eid al-Fiṭr prayer there are seven takbīrs in the first rakʿah and five takbīrs in the second, and the recitation is after these in both.”
This ḥadīth is considered authentic by Imām al-Bukhārī, Imām al-Tirmidhī, and Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī رحمهم الله.
③ Ḥadīth of ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf al-Muzanī رضي الله عنه
عَنْ كَثِيرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، «أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَبَّرَ فِي الْعِيدَيْنِ فِي الْأُولَى سَبْعًا قَبْلَ الْقِرَاءَةِ، وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ خَمْسًا قَبْلَ الْقِرَاءَةِ»
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 376)
Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله stated:
“I asked Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl (al-Bukhārī) regarding this ḥadīth, and he said: There is nothing more authentic in this chapter than this narration, and this is my view as well.”
(Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 379)
❖ Opinions of the Muḥaddithīn and the Imāms:
◈ Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:
“This ḥadīth is the strongest in the chapter of the takbīrs of Eid, and it should be acted upon.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī رحمه الله said:
“This is the view of the majority of scholars among the Companions, the Tābiʿīn, and the Imāms.”
Among those holding this view are:
ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Abū Hurayrah, Abū Saʿīd, Jābir, Ibn ʿUmar, Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Ayyūb, Zayd ibn Thābit, ʿĀʾishah رضي الله عنهم, the Seven Jurists of Madīnah, Imām Mālik, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and many other eminent scholars.
(Nayl al-Awṭār, vol. 3, p. 336; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī, vol. 1, p. 376)
❖ Views of the Scholars and Researchers:
◈ Shaykh Muḥammad Sābiq al-Miṣrī رحمه الله (Fiqh al-Sunnah, vol. 1, p. 270):
“The opinion that there are twelve takbīrs in the Eid prayers is the stronger and more correct view.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله stated:
“Multiple authentic and good ḥadīths establish this number — seven in the first rakʿah and five in the second — and there exists no sound or even weak ḥadīth that contradicts it.”
◈ Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī رحمه الله wrote:
“There is not a single authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth from the Prophet ﷺ proving six takbīrs in the Eid prayers. Although some sayings from the Companions exist, when a sound prophetic ḥadīth is available, the statement of a Companion or an Imām cannot serve as evidence against it.”
❖ Summary:
◈ The Sunnah in the Eid prayers is to pronounce twelve takbīrs in total.
◈ In the first rakʿah, seven takbīrs before the recitation.
◈ In the second rakʿah, five takbīrs before the recitation.
◈ The opinion of six takbīrs belongs to the scholars of Kūfah, but no authentic marfūʿ ḥadīth supports it.
◈ The majority of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and Imāms of Islam affirm the view of twelve takbīrs.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
