There are two Eids, or holy days, in Islam: Eid al-Fitr and Eid-Adha. The Prophet ﷺ stated,
الْفِطْرُ يَوْمَ يُفْطِرُ اَلنَّاسُ, وَالْأَضْحَى يَوْمَ يُضَحِّي اَلنَّاسُ
“[Eid] al-Fitr is the day on which the people break the fast, and [Eid] al-Adha is the day the people offer sacrifices.” — related by al-Tirmidhī
For Eid al-Fitr, one must pay his Zakāh al-Fitr before the Eid prayer (to pay your zakah, click here) and should also remember to eat or drink something in the morning of Eid so one’s fast is broken. It is not permissible to fast on either of the Eids.
Eid Prayer
Eid prayer consists of two parts: the prayer (ṣalāh) and the sermon (khuṭbah). Unlike Jumu’ah prayer, where the khuṭbah is delivered first and followed by the khuṭbah, Eid prayer comes before the khuṭbah. Its characteristics are as follows:
- Ghusl: one should shower for Eid just as one would do for Jumu’ah.
- No adhan: there is no call to prayer (adhan or iqamah) for Eid ṣalāh.
- Two raka’at: like Jumu’ah prayer, there are two units (two raka’at).
- The takbirat (saying Allāhu Akbar) – raka’ah number one: the prayer begins with the imam (and if you’re praying by yourself follow the same rules) saying “Allāhu Akbar” (takbir al-iḥram). This is what begins the prayer. Then, for the first raka’ah, you will pronounce seven more takbirat (Allāhu Akbar) in succession, one after another with only a short pause between pronunciations. After the seventh takbir, begin reciting Sūrah al-Fatiḥah as you would normally do for any other prayer, followed by another sūrah of your choosing *. When finished the second sūrah, proceed in the prayer as you would any other time.
- The takbirat (saying Allāhu Akbar) – raka’ah number two: once you have completed the first raka’ah, stand up and pronounce another takbir (Allāhu Akbar). After this, pronounce another five takbirat in succession, just as you did in the first raka’ah, only this time the number is five. Then proceed again to recite Sūrah al-Fatiḥah followed again by another sūrah of your choosing *.
- Once the prayer is complete (as you would finish another other pray), this completes the Eid prayer (ṣalāh). The khuṭbah is to immediately follow the ṣalāh. If you are planning to watch the khuṭbah by Imam Marc on Sunday morning, you may follow the link here.
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقْرَأُ فِي الْعِيدَيْنِ وَفِي الْجُمُعَةِ بِسَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْأَعْلَى وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ الْغَاشِيَةِ قَالَ وَإِذَا اجْتَمَعَ الْعِيدُ وَالْجُمُعَةُ فِي يَوْمٍ وَاحِدٍ يَقْرَأُ بِهِمَا أَيْضًا فِي الصَّلَاتَيْنِ
* al-Num’an ibn Bashir reported, “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would recite in the two Eid prayers and in the Friday prayer the chapters Sūrah al-Ghāshiyah #87 and Sūrah al-A’lā #88. If the Eid and Friday prayers occurred on the same day, he would recite them in both prayers.” — related by Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
Eid Takbirat
Allah is Great, Allah is Great, Allah is Great, There is no Deity but Allah
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illa Allāh
الله أكبر الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله
Allah is Great, Allah is Great, and praise is due to Him.
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lillahil Hamd**.
الله أكبر الله أكبر ولله الحمد
Allah is the Greatest, and an abundance of praise is due to Him, and glory and praise be to him morning and evening.
Allahu akbar kabiran, wal hamdulillahi kathiran, wa subhanAllahi bukratan wa asilan
الله أكبر كبيرا والحمد لله كثيرا
وسبحان الله بكرة وأصيلا
There is no Deity but Allah, Alone, He was True to His promise,
and He granted victory to His Worshipper, and He supported His troops,
and He conquered the allied parties of the enemies all by Himself.
La ilaha illa Allah, wahdah, sadaqa wa’dah, wa nasara abdah, wa a’azza jundahu wa hazamal Ahzaba wahdah
لا إله إلا الله وحده وصدق وعده ونصر عبده وأعز جنده وهزم الأحزاب وحده
There is no Deity but Allah, and we worship no one but Him,
and we will sincerely follow the religion for Him, even against the wishes of the disbelievers.
La ilaha illa Allāh, wa la na’budu illa iyyah, mukhlisinah lahudina wa law karihal kafirun
لا إله إلا الله ولا نعبد إلا إياه مخلصين له الدين ولو كره الكافرون
May Allah send send prayers upon our master Muhammad.
Allahumma salli ala sayyidina Muhammad
اللهم صلى على سيدنا محمد
And upon the Family of our master Muhammad.
Wa ala ali sayyidina Muhammad
اللهم صلى على آل سيدنا محمد
And upon the Companions of our master Muhammad.
Wa ala ashabi sayyidina Muhammad
اللهم صلى على أصحاب سيدنا محمد
And upon the Supporters of our master Muhammad.
Wa ala ansari sayyidina Muhammad
اللهم صلى على أنصار سيدنا محمد
And upon the Wives of our master Muhammad.
Wa ala azwaji sayyidina Muhammad
اللهم صلى على أزواج سيدنا محمد
And upon the Descendants of our master Muhammad.
Wa ala dhurriyati sayyidina Muhammad
اللهم صلى على ذرية سيدنا محمد
And may Allāh grant abundant peace and blessings upon him.
Wa sallim tasliman kathiran
وسلم تسليما كثيرا
You can listen to an example of the Eid Takbirat being recited:
** the first two lines of this takbirat are often repeated.