Ruling 1495. The Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer is obligatory during the presence of the Imam (ʿA) and must be performed in congregation. In our time, when the Imam (ʿA) is in occultation, the prayer is recommended and it can be performed in congregation or on one’s own.[3]

Ruling 1496. The time for the Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer is from the start of sunrise to the time of ẓuhr prayers on the day of Eid.

Ruling 1497. It is recommended that one perform the Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer after the sun has risen. After the sun has risen on the day of Eid al-Fiṭr, it is recommended that one eat something, pay the fiṭrah alms tax (zakāt al‑fiṭrah),[4] and then perform Eid prayers.

Ruling 1498.* The Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer consists of two rakʿahs and is performed as follows: after saying takbīrat al‑iḥrām at the start of the prayer and reciting Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah in each rakʿah, one must say a number of takbīrs and perform a qunūt between each takbīr. Based on obligatory precaution, the number of takbīrs and qunūts in each rakʿah is three takbīrs and two qunūts. After the third takbīr, based on obligatory precaution, one must say another takbīr before going into rukūʿ. Therefore, there will be a total of four takbīrs in each rakʿah. However, it is better that in the first rakʿah one says five takbīrs with four qunūts between them, and in the second rakʿah four takbīrs and three qunūts between them. Here also, based on obligatory precaution, one must perform another takbīr before going into rukūʿ. The rest of the prayer must then be performed in the same way one would perform other two rakʿah prayers, i.e. with two sajdahs, tashahhud, and salām.

Ruling 1499. In the qunūt of the Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer, it is sufficient for one to recite any duʿāʾ or say any dhikr. However, it is better that one recites this duʿāʾ:

اَللّٰهُمَّ أَهْلَ الْكِبْرِيَاءِ وَالْعَظَمَةِ، وَأَهْلَ الْجُوْدِ وَالْجَبَرُوْتِ، وَأَهْلَ الْعَفْوِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ، وَأَهْلَ التَّقْوَىٰ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ هٰذَا الْيَوْمِ، اَلَّذِيْ جَعَلْتَهُ لِلْمُسْلِمِيْنَ عِيْدًا، وَلِمُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، ذُخْرًا وَشَرَفًا وَكَرَامَةً وَمَزِيْدًا، أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَأَنْ تُدْخِلَنِيْ فِيْ كُلِّ خَيْرٍ أَدْخَلْتَ فِيْهِ مُحَمَّدًا وَآلَ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَأَنْ تُخْرِجَنِيْ مِنْ كُلِّ سُوْءٍ أَخْرَجْتَ مِنْهُ مُحَمَّدًا وَآلَ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَوَاتُكَ عَلَيْهِ وَعَلَيْهِمْ، اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَ مَا سَأَلَكَ بِهِ عِبَادُكَ الصَّالِحُوْنَ، وَأَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِمَّا ٱسْتَعَاْذَ مِنْهُ عِبَادُكَ الْمُخْلَصُوْنَ

allāhumma ahlal kibriyāʾi wal ʿaẓamah, wa ahlal jūdi wal jabarūt, wa ahlal ʿafwi war raḥmah, wa ahlat taqwā wal maghfirah, asʾaluka biḥaqqi hādhal yawm, alladhī jaʿaltahu lilmuslimīna ʿīdā, wa limuḥammadin ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa ālihi wa sallam, dhukhraw wa sharafan wa karāmatan wa mazīdā, an tuṣalliya ʿalā muḥammadin wa āli muḥammad, wa an tudkhilanī fī kulli khayrin adkhalta fīhi muḥammadan wa āla muḥammad, wa an tukhrijanī min kulli sūʾin akhrajta minhu muḥammadan wa āla muḥammad, ṣalawātuka ʿalayhi wa ʿalayhim, allāhumma innī asʾaluka khayra mā saʾalaka bihi ʿibādukaṣ ṣāliḥūn, wa aʿūdhu bika mimmas taʿādha minhu ʿibādukal mukhlaṣūn

O Allah! Worthy of supremacy and greatness, and worthy of magnanimity and omnipotence, and worthy of pardoning and showing mercy, and worthy of being wary of and forgiving: I beseech You by the right of this day – which You have appointed to be an Eid for the Muslims, and to be for Muḥammad, may Allah shower His blessings upon, and extend His salutations to, him and his progeny, [a source for] accumulating [Your blessings], and [a source of] honour, nobility, and increase [in Your blessings] – that You bless Muḥammad and the progeny of Muḥammad, and that You place me in every goodness in which You placed Muḥammad and the progeny of Muḥammad, and that You remove me from every evil from which You removed Muḥammad and the progeny of Muḥammad, may Your blessings be upon him and upon them. O Allah! I indeed beseech You for the good for which Your righteous servants have beseeched You, and I seek protection in You from all that for which Your purified servants have sought Your protection.

Ruling 1500.* During the period of occultation of the Imam (ʿA), if the Eid al-Fiṭr and Eid al-Aḍḥā prayer is performed in congregation, the obligatory precaution is that two sermons must be delivered after the prayer, and the imam must sit down a little between them. It is better that in the sermon of Eid al-Fiṭr the laws of zakat of fiṭr be mentioned, and in the sermon of Eid al-Aḍḥā the laws of sacrificing animals be mentioned.

Ruling 1501. The Eid prayer does not have a specified surah [to be recited], but it is better that in the first rakʿah Sūrat al-Shams (the ninety-first chapter) be recited, and in the second rakʿah Sūrat al-Ghāshiyah (the eighty-eighth chapter) be recited; or, in the first rakʿah Sūrat al-Aʿlā (the eighty-seventh chapter) be recited, and in the second rakʿah Sūrat al-Shams be recited.

Ruling 1502. It is recommended that Eid prayers be performed in the desert [or in open fields, etc.]. However, in Mecca, it is recommended that they be performed in Masjid al-Ḥarām.

Ruling 1503. It is recommended to walk barefooted and in a dignified manner to Eid prayers, perform ghusl before the prayer, and place a white turban (ʿamāmah) on one’s head.

Ruling 1504. It is recommended in Eid prayers to perform sajdah on earth, raise one’s hands when saying the takbīrs, and recite Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah aloud, whether one is the imam of the congregation or performing the prayer on his own.

Ruling 1505. After maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers on the eve of Eid al-Fiṭr, and after ṣubḥ prayers, and after the Eid al-Fiṭr prayer, it is recommended that one say these takbīrs:

اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ، لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلِلّٰهِ الْحَمْدُ، اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ عَلَىٰ مَا هَدَانَا

allāhu akbar, allāhu akbar, lā ilāha illal lāhu wal lāhu akbar, allāhu akbar wa lillāhil ḥamd, allāhu akbar ʿalā mā hadānā

Allah is greater;[5] Allah is greater; there is no god but Allah and Allah is greater; Allah is greater and all praise is for Allah; Allah is greater for having guided us.

Ruling 1506. It is recommended that on Eid al-Aḍḥā after ten [consecutive] prayers – the first of which being the ẓuhr prayer on the day of Eid and the last being the ṣubḥ prayer on the twelfth day [of Dhū al-Ḥijjah] – a person say the takbīrs that were mentioned in the previous ruling, and that after each one he say:

اَللهُ أَكْبَرُ عَلَىٰ مَا رَزَقَنَا مِنْ بَهِيْمَةِ الْأَنْعَامِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلَىٰ مَا أَبْلَانَا

allāhu akbaru ʿalā mā razaqanā min bahīmatil anʿām, wal ḥamdu lillāhi ʿalā mā ablānā

Allah is greater for having sustained us with [the produce of] cattle livestock, and all praise is for Allah for having tested us.

However, if one is in Mina on Eid al-Aḍḥā, it is recommended that one say these takbīrs after fifteen [consecutive] prayers, the first of which being the ẓuhr prayer on the day of Eid and the last being the ṣubḥ prayer on the thirteenth day of Dhū al-Ḥijjah.

Ruling 1507. The recommended precaution is that women should avoid going to Eid prayers; however, this precaution does not apply to elderly women.

Ruling 1508. In Eid prayers, just like in other prayers, the follower must say everything except the recitation of Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah.

Ruling 1509. If a follower joins [the Eid prayer] when the imam has already said some of the takbīrs, then after the imam goes into rukūʿ, he must say all the takbīrs and perform all the qunūts that he missed and then perform rukūʿ. It is sufficient if in every qunūt he says ‘subḥānal lāhi wal ḥamdu lillāh’. If there is not enough time, he must only say the takbīrs; and if there is not enough time to perform the takbīrs, it is sufficient if he follows the imam and goes into rukūʿ.

Ruling 1510. If a person joins the Eid prayer when the imam is in rukūʿ, he can make the intention [of performing the prayer] and say the first takbīr of the prayer and then go into rukūʿ.

Ruling 1511. If a person forgets a sajdah in the Eid prayer, it is necessary that he perform it after the prayer. Similarly, if something happens [in the Eid prayer] that would necessitate sajdatā al‑sahw to be performed were it to happen in a daily prayer, then it is necessary to perform sajdatā al‑sahw for it.