Pivotal Quote
“So in our situation, we receive the news of the moon sighting, we continue to say this in our homes, otherwise, we would say it wherever we were. Since we are at home, we continue to say this in our homes to the extent that Allāh wills throughout the night. Then in the morning, we pray Fajr and after the Fajr prayer, eat seven dates to make a distinction between the previous days when we were fasting and did not eat after Fajr.”
سؤال وجواب – عربي – ٢:٥٩ دقائق
Question and Answer – English [3:22]
Question:
Since we will be doing the ʿEid prayer at home, when would we need to recite the Takbīr for ʿEid? We know that the Salaf would begin to do this once they left their homes. When is the best time for us to begin and end the Takbīr?
Answer:
From the Sunan of ʿEid is to begin the Takbīrah whenever the new moon is sighted. So whenever the Muslim sights the new moon or receives the news thereof, he says the duʿāʾ of sighting the new moon and then begins his Takbīrah. Takbīrah was well known amongst the Salaf. They would say, Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar, Lā ilāha illa Allāh, Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar, wa Lillāhil-Ḥamd, continually saying this.
So in our situation, we receive the news of the moon sighting, we continue to say this in our homes, otherwise, we would say it wherever we were. Since we are at home, we continue to say this in our homes to the extent that Allāh wills throughout the night. Then in the morning, we pray Fajr and after the Fajr prayer, eat seven dates to make a distinction between the previous days when we were fasting and did not eat after Fajr.
Then the Takbīrah is to end when Ṣalāh al-ʿEid starts. So continue saying the Takbīr up until the time of Ṣalāh al-ʿEid. And even though we are at home, the person should prepare for the ṣalāh as it is one of our two celebrations. Prepare for the ṣalāh [by] bathing, putting on your best clothes, wearing perfume and getting ready for the occasion, as it is a special occasion, even though we are at home. A person should continue saying the Takbīrah up until the sun rises and then around fifteen minutes after the sun rises, when the sun has risen the height of a spear, then we establish Ṣalāh al-ʿEid, praying it two rakʿāt with our families, just as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did.
And in the first rakʿah of the ṣalāh, making seven takbīrāt, saying Allāhu Akbar seven times and Takbīrah al-Iḥrām (the beginning takbīr) is one of those seven. In the second rakʿah we would say Allāhu Akbar five times, not including Takbīrah al-Intiqāl (the time that we said Allāhu Akbar when standing up from the ground). Then in the two rakʿāt of Ṣalāh al-ʿEid, in the first we should recite either Sūrah Qāf or Sūrah al-Aʿlá and in the second rakʿah, we should recite either Sūrah al-Qamar or Sūrah al-Ghāshiyah. And the time for Ṣalāh al-ʿEid is any time after the sun has risen the height of a spear, which is around fifteen minutes after sunrise, up until high noon.