Sharʿī Ruling on Offering Eid Prayer on Roads
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 552
What do the scholars of Islam say about offering Eid prayer by blocking a road inside the city? Please explain the ruling in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā are among the great symbols (shaʿāʾir) of Islam.
They are public demonstrations of the faith, expressing the majesty of Islam and the unity of the Muslim community.
Among their etiquettes and Sunnah practices is that the Eid prayers should be performed in an open field (ʿEidgāh) outside the main city area.
If, however, there is a legitimate excuse such as rain or other valid necessity, it is permissible to perform the prayer in a mosque.
But in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there is no authentic proof that he or his Companions ever offered Eid prayers inside the city, in a mosque, or on roads, without a valid excuse.
صلاة العيدين يجوز أن تؤدى في المسجد، ولكن أداءها في المصلى خارج البلد أفضل ما لم يكن هناك عذر كمطر ونحوه لأن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصلي العيدين في المصلى۔
(Fiqh al-Sunnah, vol. 1, p. 267)
Translation:
Although it is permissible to perform the Eid prayers in a mosque, it is better and more virtuous to perform them in the open Eidgāh outside the city — as long as there is no excuse such as rain or similar hardship.
This is because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ always performed the Eid prayers in an open field (Eidgāh) located outside the eastern gate of Madinah.
He states:
“Eid prayers should be offered in an open field, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ always performed both Eid prayers in the open ground, as established by authentic ḥadīths.”
(Minhāj al-Muslim, Bāb Ṣalāt al-ʿĪdayn)
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يخرج يوم الفطر والأضحى إلى المصلى۔
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1/387; also in al-Bukhārī and Mishkāt, 1/125, Bāb Ṣalāt al-ʿĪdayn)
Translation:
Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to go out to the open place (Eidgāh) for the prayers of Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā.”
كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا كان يوم عيد خالف الطريق۔
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; Mishkāt, 1/126)
Translation:
Jābir رضي الله عنه reported:
“When it was the day of Eid, the Prophet ﷺ used to take a different route on his return (from the Eidgāh) than the one he took when going to it.”
◈ Performing the Eid prayer in an open field (Eidgāh) outside the city is Sunnah.
◈ The practice of the entire Muslim Ummah for over fourteen centuries has been in accordance with this Sunnah.
◈ To abandon this Sunnah without necessity is a loss and deprivation, for Allah says:
مَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it.”
(Al-Ḥashr: 7)
◈ If there is rain or any other legitimate excuse, it is permissible to pray in the mosque.
◈ However, offering Eid prayers on public roads or blocking streets for this purpose has no basis in the Sunnah, is not permissible, and no authentic scholar has approved of it.
It is unfortunate that some imams and preachers restrict Eid prayers to cramped places instead of establishing proper Eidgāhs in open grounds, while others—especially from different schools of thought—are organizing large open-air Eidgāhs and mosques in parks and wide public areas.
Indeed, the earth of Allah is vast, and reviving the Sunnah is always better than abandoning it.
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. 552❖ Question:
What do the scholars of Islam say about offering Eid prayer by blocking a road inside the city? Please explain the ruling in the light of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā are among the great symbols (shaʿāʾir) of Islam.
They are public demonstrations of the faith, expressing the majesty of Islam and the unity of the Muslim community.
Among their etiquettes and Sunnah practices is that the Eid prayers should be performed in an open field (ʿEidgāh) outside the main city area.
If, however, there is a legitimate excuse such as rain or other valid necessity, it is permissible to perform the prayer in a mosque.
But in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, there is no authentic proof that he or his Companions ever offered Eid prayers inside the city, in a mosque, or on roads, without a valid excuse.
❖ Opinions of Scholars:
① Imām al-Sayyid Muḥammad Sābiq رحمه الله (Egypt)
صلاة العيدين يجوز أن تؤدى في المسجد، ولكن أداءها في المصلى خارج البلد أفضل ما لم يكن هناك عذر كمطر ونحوه لأن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصلي العيدين في المصلى۔
(Fiqh al-Sunnah, vol. 1, p. 267)
Translation:
Although it is permissible to perform the Eid prayers in a mosque, it is better and more virtuous to perform them in the open Eidgāh outside the city — as long as there is no excuse such as rain or similar hardship.
This is because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ always performed the Eid prayers in an open field (Eidgāh) located outside the eastern gate of Madinah.
② Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Jazāʾirī رحمه الله
He states:
“Eid prayers should be offered in an open field, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ always performed both Eid prayers in the open ground, as established by authentic ḥadīths.”
(Minhāj al-Muslim, Bāb Ṣalāt al-ʿĪdayn)
❖ Evidences from Ḥadīth:
① Ḥadīth of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يخرج يوم الفطر والأضحى إلى المصلى۔
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 1/387; also in al-Bukhārī and Mishkāt, 1/125, Bāb Ṣalāt al-ʿĪdayn)
Translation:
Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه said:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to go out to the open place (Eidgāh) for the prayers of Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā.”
② Ḥadīth of Jābir رضي الله عنه
كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا كان يوم عيد خالف الطريق۔
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī; Mishkāt, 1/126)
Translation:
Jābir رضي الله عنه reported:
“When it was the day of Eid, the Prophet ﷺ used to take a different route on his return (from the Eidgāh) than the one he took when going to it.”
❖ Summary of the Ruling:
◈ Performing the Eid prayer in an open field (Eidgāh) outside the city is Sunnah.
◈ The practice of the entire Muslim Ummah for over fourteen centuries has been in accordance with this Sunnah.
◈ To abandon this Sunnah without necessity is a loss and deprivation, for Allah says:
مَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it; and whatever he forbids you, abstain from it.”
(Al-Ḥashr: 7)
◈ If there is rain or any other legitimate excuse, it is permissible to pray in the mosque.
◈ However, offering Eid prayers on public roads or blocking streets for this purpose has no basis in the Sunnah, is not permissible, and no authentic scholar has approved of it.
❖ Important Note:
It is unfortunate that some imams and preachers restrict Eid prayers to cramped places instead of establishing proper Eidgāhs in open grounds, while others—especially from different schools of thought—are organizing large open-air Eidgāhs and mosques in parks and wide public areas.
Indeed, the earth of Allah is vast, and reviving the Sunnah is always better than abandoning it.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
