Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Mr. Burhan, Assalamualaikum;

Is there any fasting on Eid Day? I mean getting early and eating nothing and going to Eid prayer after having some sweets like dates etc.

How many extra takbeer are there in Eid prayer. I believe Eid prayer performed at Mosque differs than the one performed at Eid Gah.

What is the benefit of fasting 6 days after Ramadan. Any hadith about these fastings.

Regards,

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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

salam

we celebratee Eid on thur but some people celebrated on fri,so i didnt fast as they were celebrating could u telme when do i start keeping my 6 fasts ?

the 6 that u keep after ramadhan?

and why do we keep these? s it true u get sawaab for the whole year as if u were fasting? 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Fasting on Eid day and 6 shawwal fasts

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: Is there any fasting on Eid Day? I mean getting early and eating Nothing and going to Eid prayer after having some sweets like dates etc.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 2534 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade to observe fast on these two days. Id al-Adha and Id al-Fitr.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 2538 Narrated by Aisha

The Prophet (saws) forbade to observe fast on two days--the day of Fitr, and the day of Adha.

Yahya related from Malik that he used to hear the people of knowledge say, "There is no harm in fasting continuously as long as one breaks the fast on the days on which the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade fasting, namely, the days of Mina, the day of Adha and the day of Fitr.”

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.211 Narrated by Abu Ubaid

I witnessed the 'Id with 'Umar bin Al-Khattab who said, "Allah's Messenger (saws) has forbidden people to fast on the day on which you break fasting (Eid-ul-Fitr) and the day on which you eat the meat of your sacrifices (Eid-ul-Adha)."

In light of the above authentic narrations, the Messenger of Allah (saws) forbade the believers from fasting on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, and the Day of Eid-ul-Adha.

Q-1A: I mean getting early and eating nothing and going to Eid prayer after having some sweets like dates etc.

Hadrat Anas ibn Maalik (r.a.) said: "The Prophet (saws) would not go out on the festival of breaking the fast (Eid ul-Fitr) until he had eaten an odd number of dates."

Related by Ahmad and Bukhari.

Buraidah said: "The Prophet (saws) would not go out on the day of breaking the fast (Eiid-ul- Fitr) until he had eaten, and on the day of sacrifice (Eid-ul-Adha) he (saws) would not eat until he had returned [from salah]."

This is related by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, and Ahmad

The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was that on the Day of Eid-ul-Fitr he would not leave the house until he had eaten an odd number of dates. But on the Day of Eid-ul-Adha, his Sunnah was that he would not eat till he had returned from the Eid-prayer.

Q-2: How many extra takbeer are there in Eid prayer. I believe Eid prayer performed at Mosque differs than the one performed at Eid Gah.

Amr ibn Shu'aib reports from his father on the authority of his grandfather that the Prophet (saws) would make twelve takbeers during the 'id prayer, seven in the first rak'ah and five in the second. He did not pray before or after the 'id.

Related by Ahmad and Ibn Majah.

Abu Dawud and ad-Daraqutni report that the Prophet (saws) said: "The takbeers during the 'id of breaking the fast are seven in the first rak'ah and five in the second, and the Qur'anic recital comes after them in both the rak'at."

The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) was that he would perform seven takbeers before the recitation of the Quran in the first rakah, and five before the recitation of Quran in the second.

Q-2A: I believe Eid prayer performed at Mosque differs than the one performed at Eid Gah.

Salatul Eid can be performed in the mosque, but it is preferred to perform in a place outside the city as long as there is no excuse or reason to do otherwise (e.g., rain and so on) as the Prophet would pray the two Eids in the outskirts of Medinah and he never prayed it in his mosque, except once and because it was raining.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 1156 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

The rain fell on the day of 'Id (festival) , so the Prophet (saws) led them (the people) in the 'Id prayer in the mosque.

Although it is preferred to pray the Eid prayers at the Musalla or Eid-Gah, there is absolutely no difference in the prayer itself nor in its reward if prayed in the mosque.

Q-3: What is the benefit of fasting 6 days after Ramadan. Any hadith about these fastings.

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari reported that the Prophet (saws) said: "Whoever fasts during the month of Ramadan and then follows it with six days of Shawwal, will be [rewarded] as if he had fasted the entire year."

Related by Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ahmad, Abu Dawood.

According to Ahmad, one may fast on these days consecutively or non-consecutively, as neither practice is preferred over the other.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan