Eid prayer fard kifaayah.
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:
Offering Eid namaz and listening Khutba is
sunnath or waajib? One of my friend told that it is sunnath according to Shaafi
Madhab and waajib according to Hanifi Madhab.
Jazak Allah Khair
(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:
Eid prayer fard
kifaayah
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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.147
The prayers of the two Eids was prescribed in
the first year after the migration. The Messenger of Allah (saws) ordered the
(believing) men and women to go out to attend them.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.148a
The Messenger of Allah (saws) guided women
and children to go out and attend the two Eid prayers. This includes married,
single, young, old, or menstruating women.
Umm 'Atiyah reports: "We were ordered to
go out with the single and menstruating women to the two Eids in order to
witness the good and the supplications of the Muslims. The menstruating women
would be separate from the others."
Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The scholars of all the schools of thought in Islam are
absolutely unanimous in their opinion that attending the prayer and sermon of
the two Eids (Fitr and Adha) are ‘fard’ or obligatory for the believers.
The ‘fard’ or obligatory duties can be divided into two
broad categories in Islamic Fiqh (Jurisprudence):
- Fard-Ayn:
Obligatory duties which each individual must do so oneself (prayer,
fasting, being dutiful to one’s parents, etc.)….no person can fulfill
these obligatory duties for another.
- Fard-Kifaayah:
Duties which are obligatory, but each individual is not required to do so
oneself….if a section of the believing Ummah fulfill this obligatory duty,
it would suffice for the Ummah; but if no one in the Ummah fulfills this
obligation, the whole Ummah will bear the sin. Examples of ‘Fard-Kifaayah’ would be the
burial of a believer, the gaining of worldly knowledge, optional ‘Jihaad’
in the Cause of Allah, etc.
The prayers of the two Eids are considered ‘Fard-Kifaayah’
in Islamic Jurisprudence….if a section of the believing community or Ummah
perform these prayers, it would suffice for the whole community; but if none
amongst the believers perform these prayers, the whole community would share in
the sin.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan