Eid Celebrations in Asr al Saadah

In Asr al Saadah, people started celebrating the Eid of Ramadan and the Eid Al Adha¹ during the second year of  hijra.² The first Eid, which was celebrated by Muslims, was Eid al Fitr.³ In the month of Shaban, fasting was made obligatory and the believers who had spent the month of Ramadan by fasting celebrated the first three days of the next month, Shawwal, as Eid. They also celebrated Eid al Adha for four days, starting the tenth day of Zualhijje . 

Determination of The Eids

Enes (God’s good pleasures be upon him) who was one of the kids who experienced the enthusiasm and excitement of Eid, tells us how the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) determined it: 

“When the Prophet of God came to Madina, the public had been celebrating and having fun during two days of the year.⁴ He asked them, ‘What are these two days?’ They said ‘We used to celebrate on those days during Jahiliyyah (the period of time and state of affairs in Arabia before the advent of Islam).’ He then said ‘You also have two days for enjoyment. Allah has granted you  better days than the days in Jahiliyyah.These are the days of  Al Fitr and Al Adha Eids.⁵

These two Eids were designated in connection to two important worships; one to the month of Ramadan during which believers fasted, the other to the days of Hajj when people performed pilgrimage. Thus, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) described Eid al Fitr as the days Muslim’s compled fasting days together, and Eid al Adha as the day they sacrificed together.⁶

The Muslims who have fasted and prayed during the month of Ramadan, who became integrated with Quran, were eliminating the troubles of the poor by giving zakat and charity (if they were able financially), who in short, spent all their time with worship and hoping the forgiveness and mercy of Allah would reach the Eid. We can only imagine such a day as overflowing with happiness and joy. Then they experienced a second happiness in the Pilgrimage season, namely, Eid al-Adha, during which they revive the obedience of Abraham’s son to his father and their loyalty to God.

A Day of Eid In Asr Al Saadah

Eid Prayer in Musalla and Exchanging Eid Greetings

The days of Eid would start with the Eid prayer performed by Muslims with the participation of men, women, kids in the Musalla[10].⁷ Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said during Eid,  “Today, the first thing we are going to do is pray.”⁸ He would perform Ghusl (full ablution) on the first day of  Eid al Fitr and Eid al Adha and he advised his companions to do the same. [14]⁹

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) would perform the morning prayer in Masjid Al Nabavi. He would come out of his house when the sun came to a certain distance and go to Musalla reciting takbirs.¹⁰ He would eat a few dates as dessert before leaving home during Eid al Fitr. On the other hand, he would not eat anything until he returned from prayer during Eid al Adha.¹¹

A staff or spear (aneze) gifted by Necaşi would be taken and erected as a cover in front of the place where the Eid prayer would be performed The Messenger of Allah (pbuh and God) would recite the supplementary takbirs in addition to normal prayers during the Eid prayer: ¹² read the A’la and Gaşiye surahs out loud during the prayer¹³, give the Eid sermon¹⁴, and then pray for all Muslims.¹⁵

The first Eid wishes would take place after the prayer.  In addition to being a place of worship, Musalla was a place where Eid was celebrated in joy, unity, and solidarity with the participation of everybody; women, men, young, and old.  Muslims would greet each other and wish each other Merry Eid by saying, “May Allah accept from us as well as you [our good deeds and prayers” (تَقَبَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنَّا وَمِنْكَ)

The Messenger of Allah used different paths while going  and coming to Musalla.¹⁶  For this reason, it is the Sunnah to walk to the Eid prayer and take a different way to return and to recite takbirs along the way.

Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh) would sacrifice his Kurban near Musalla after Eid prayer in the morning of the Eid al-Adha.¹⁷

He would not perform any other prayers before the Eid prayer and would perform two rakat prayers after returning home from the Eid prayer.¹⁸

Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh) gave importance to everyone attending the Eid prayer; he did not want any individual of the society to be deprived of the blessings of such an important day.  He would ask women who did not have any festive dresses to come to Musalla by borrowing a dress from a friend.¹⁹

Umm Atiyye (God’s good pleasure be upon her), one of the women of Ansar(local inhabitant of Medina, describes those days: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh), would want all of the women young and old, married and single, to come to Musalla where the Eid prayer is performed on the first day of the Eid. He would like, even those women who were on their period , to come here and stand aside without praying, listen to the sermon, and pray for goodness and blessings and prayers from there.”²⁰

Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh) Exchanging Eid Greetings With Lady Companions

After the prayer, Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh) with one of his male companions would come to the place where the lady companions were and greet them. After an Eid prayer, he took Bilal with him and came to the place where the ladies were, and said to them, “O the ladies community!  Give charity, and know that charity is better for you!”, asking for them to help the poor. The women responded to the call of the Messenger of Allah by donating their rings and various jewelry. ²¹

Gathering Charity

The Prophet of God (pbuh), with the advice “give charity”, encouraged not only the female companions but also all Muslims. Ebu Said El Hudri, who was famous for his generosity, conveys that, after performing two rakat of prayer on Eid days, the Prophet of God stood up, turned to the community that had been sitting down and said “give charity.” He also reports that the people who had given the most charity were the women.

Once more, on the Eid Al Adha, many poor people came to pray. The Messenger of God (pbuh) who knew their being in need asked: “Save the meat of the sacrificied animal  enough for three days and hand out the remainder as charity.” Since the number of the poor were high, he had  requested the meat to be distributed.

Joyful Eid Days

In Asr-ı Saadat,  Eid days were the days of charity, blessings, joy and happiness that all believers celebrated together. The most beautiful and cleanest dresses were worn. Horse and camel races were held. Children played games and all Muslims had fun.

It was Eid Al Adha in Medina. Two little girls from Ensar with Aisha were playing tambourine and singing the songs that included poems about the day of Buas before Medina’s being honoured with Islam. These two girls were not singers. The Messenger of God had been sleeping under his cover; just then Abu Bekr entered inside and probably with the thought that they had been bothering the messenger of God,  got angry with his daughter,  Aisha, and said “What a Satan’s job in the home of Messenger of God, huh!²² Upon Abu Bakr’s reaction, the messenger of God opened his face and said” O Abu Bakr! do not tease them! Because these days are the days of Eid”²³ and added “Every society has a festive and these days are our festive”²⁴ By saying those sentences he underlined that Eids are special and exceptional days.

Muslims used to spend the holidays in joy and happiness. Another time of the Eid day when the little girls sang songs, the Messenger of Allah watched the spear shield games of the Abyssinians in the masjid together with his wife, Hazrat Aisha.²⁵ He prevented Hazrat Omar,²⁶who wanted to intervene the performances and made the performers relaxed.²⁷

During the Eids, the tradition of organizing entertainment was continued later, even when Iyaz İbn-i Amr el-Eş’ari from the Companions witnessed a joyless festive day in Enbar (one of the cities on the left bank of the Euphrates) he needed to ask in the face of such an unusual situation” Why I can not see that you are not playing games just like girls and boys accompanied by instruments in the presence of the Messenger of Allah?²⁸ Because, according to him, entertaining in Eid days was a habit of Muhammad(pbuh)²⁹

Spirit of Unity, Solidarity and Brotherhood in the Eid

Eids are when the idea of unity and solidarity stands out; they are when the Muslims, who are resembled as a human body in loving and  having mercy with each other:³⁰ opening their hearts each other, and they are when Muslim’s brotherhood  is emphasized and felt strongly.

As a matter of fact, Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh ) described the Eid al-Fitr as the day when the Muslims completed the fast all together and the Eid al-Adha as the day when the Muslims sacrified the qurbani all together³¹

These days, there should be no room for any behavior that is contrary to the spirit of brotherhood, that will evoke distrust, and contrary to the spirit of the Eid.  For example, it is forbidden to carry weapons due to the possibility of causing any accident during the day of Eid³²

For the sake of the Eid,  the sulks are reconciled, the hearts of the offenders are mended, the elders are visited, the kinship and friendship ties are renewed.

Eating , Drinking and Treating Days

The Eids are for eating, drinking and treating all together.³³ For Eids, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who said “These are the days of eating and drinking”, forbade fasting on the days of Eids.³⁴ People used to exchange smiling, help the poor and treat kith and kin.

In the Asr-ı Saadet, after the Eid prayers, the congregation was served dessert or food.  On a Eid Al Adha, the Eid prayer was performed and a tirit meal(a kind of brewis) was brought to the center.  People immediately gathered around the meal. However, when the number of residents increased and got stuck, the Messenger of Allah, who did not hesitate to sit at the meal with everyone, had to kneel. A bedouin, who found strange such a sitting, asked “what is this sitting,” reflecting his shock. As an answer, the Messenger of Allah said, “Surely Allah created me as a humble servant, not a bully and stubborn person!”³⁵

Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) Modesty on the Eid

Prophet Muhammad never lost his modesty; he always lived as an ordinary person among his honorable companions. He did not want to look different from other people, neither in his clothes, nor the way he acted. He refused to be treated differently. He did not want to show himself as someone different from them and he expressed at every opportunity that he was a servant.  One day, as he was sitting on the ground while eating, he said, “I eat like a servant eats and sit like a servant.”³⁶ While he was with his friends, he could not be differentiated by his clothes or attitudes; he would rather look like one of them.

While the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) accepted advice from his companions about different subjects, he rejected the proposal of Omar (God’s goodpleasures be upon him) on “wearing silk clothes” during the Eid while they visited delegates. 

Home Visits and Trade Advice

The messenger of God used to visit different homes with some of his companions during Eid. One Eid, he had started his visits along with his companions. When they arrived at Abu Kesir’s house, he saw that they were gathered in the courtyard with butchers and were reminiscing the days of Jahiliyya. The Messenger of Allah asked them “How do you do your trading?”  They said, “We buy it in such a way , we sell it in such a way…” explaining their commercial procedures: “The Messenger of God said to them, “Buy as you wish, but do not mix the meat of a dead animal with the meat of the slaughtered animal!”  He said and continued his words as follows: “O people!  Remember what I am about to say well: Do not get involved in black markets. Do not increase your prices to incite customers. Do not buy the goods of the foreign trader, who brings goods to the market for sale, without entering the market and learning the prices yourself. The person who lives downtown (who knows the market) should not sell on behalf of the peasant (who does not know the market). No one should offer a new price to the customer before his brother’s bargain ends!”³⁷

Worships On Eids

Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh) desired that we increase our takbirs(Allahu akbar), tahlils (la ilaha illallah), and tahmids(Alhamdulillah) on Eid days.³⁸ As a matter of fact, during Eid al-Adha, starting from the morning prayer of Arafa Day to the afternoon prayer on the fourth day of this holiday, it is obligatory to recite the the takbir prayers after every fardh prayers. He encouraged the Muslims to revive the Eid nights with prayer, worship, dhikr, saying “Whoever revives the nights of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha with prayer and dhikr, asking only for Allah’s response, their heart will not die on the day the hearts die.” ³⁹

1. It is called, idü’l-fıtr ve idü’l-adha in Arabic.
2. Bozkurt, Nebi, “Eid” DIA, 5/259
3. Prophet Muhammad  (pbuh) set the Eids of Ramadan and Qurban towards the end of the first year of the Migration, but both Eids were celebrated for the first time in the second year of the Migration.  Because after the Eids were set, the months of Ramadan and Zilhicce were passed that year.
4. Also see about these days: Süyuti, Şerhu Süneni İbn Mace, 123
5.  Nesai, Salatu’l-ideyn 1;Abu Dawud, Salat 239
6. Abu Dawud, Sıyam 5
7. Musalla means ” place for prayer”.  It is used for open, wide places outside the settlement centers, where Eid, rain prayer (istiskā) and funeral prayers are performed.  According to the narration of Abu Hurai, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who performed the Eid prayers almost always at the time, was not able to go to the mosque due to the heavy rain falling on Eid, and he made the prayer in the masjid. (Abu Dawud, Salat 248, 251)
8. Bukhari, ideyn 3; Muslim, Edahi 7
9. Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Müsned 4/79 (16840), İbn Mace, İkametü’s-salavat 169
10. Musalla of the Eid was in Buthan, one of the three valleys of Madinah, and it is approximately 500 m away from the Prophet’s Mosque.
11. İbn Mace, Sıyam 49
12. Darimi, Salat 220; İbn Mace, İkametü’s-salavat 156
13. Abu Dawud, Salat, 234, 236; Nesai, Salatu’l-ideyn 13
14. Bukhari, ideyn 8, Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 8
15.  Bukhari, ideyn 12
16. Bukhari, ideyn, 24, Tirmidhi, Cum’a 30; Tirmidhi, Cum’a 37; İbn Mace, İkametü’s-salavat 161,162
17. Bukhari, ideyn 24
18. İbn Mace, İkametü’s-salavat 160
19. Abu Dawud, Salat 238, 241
20. Bukhari, Salat 2, ideyn 15; Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 12
21. Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 2
22. Bukhari, ideyn 2; Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 16
23. Bukhari, ideyn 25; Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 17
24. Bukhari, ideyn 3;Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 16
25. He (pbuh) took Hazrat Aisha on his shoulder, and let her watch the Abyssians who were performing.Muslim, Salatu’l-ideyn 19; Bukhari, ideyn 2
26. Bukhari, Menakıb 15
27. Bukhari, ideyn 25
28. İbn Mace, İkametü’s-salavat 163
29. Beyhaki, es-Sünenü’l-kübra 10/366
30. Muslim, Birr ve sıla 66
31. Abu Dawud, Sıyam 5
32. İbn Mace, İkametü’s-salavat 168
33. Muslim, Sıyam 138
34. Bukhari, Savm 66, 67; Muslim, Sıyam 138, 142
35. Abu Dawud, Et’ıme 17
36. Abdürrezzak, Musannef 10/ 415 (19543)
37. Taberani, el-Mu’cemü’l-kebir, 22/382 (19472)
38. Şevkani, 3/354, Darekutni 2/49
39. İbn-i Mace, Zakat 68