Religious guidance on performing Eid prayer in Singapore

1. This is a religious guidance (irsyad) on the performance of Eid prayer for Syawal 1444H in Singapore.

Sunnahs of Eid

2. The day of Eid is a joyous occasion. Muslims mark the end of Ramadan, a month filled with fasting and spiritual activities, with the celebration of Eid or Hari Raya Aidilfitri. There are 6 recommended sunnahs on the day of Eidul Fitr:

i. Recite takbir from after maghrib on the night of Eid until the Imam starts the Eid prayer on the next day. The same applies if you are attending the 2^nd or 3^rd session; you may recite takbir until the Imam starts the Eid prayer in your respective session. The format of the takbir is as follows:

اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَاللهُ أَكْبَرُ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ وَللهِ الْحَمْدُ

“Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha illallah, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, wa Lillaahil-hamd.” Which means: “Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, there is no god except Allah, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, and all praise be to Allah.”¹

ii. Eat something before leaving for the Eid prayer. Anas ibn Mālik reported: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not proceed on the day of Eid al-Fitr until he had eaten some dates.”²

iii. Wear your best clothes to the Eid prayer as the Prophet ﷺ would only wear his best clothes on the days of the two Eids.³

iv. Give charity. The Prophet ﷺ encouraged congregants to make ṣadaqah (charity).⁴

v. Congratulate others and offer a supplication by saying “taqabballahu minna wa minkum” which means: “May Allah accept (good deeds) from us and from you.” The companions would greet each other on the day of Eid with this supplication.⁵

vi. Return back home using a different route. Jābir ibn Abdullah reported: “The Prophet ﷺ would return on the day of Eid by using a different route from which he came.”⁶ Amongst the reasons the Prophet ﷺ walked a different route was to greet as many people with peace who lived on both routes, and the two different pathways will testify to his obedience to Allah.⁷

Performing the Eid prayer

3. Plan early and plan well in the selection of where and which session to pray in, so that you could observe your Eid prayers comfortably. In Singapore, there are usually 13 mosques with a relatively smaller population of Muslims residing in their vicinities, and therefore, tend to be less congested (Refer to Annex A). You may wish to perform your prayer in these mosques.

4. All mosques will organize multiple prayer sessions to provide additional spaces for congregants. Due to the multiple sessions, the first prayer session will commence slightly earlier than usual, at 7:15am. This is permissible in the Shariah, as the sun would have already completely arisen by the time the prayer commences and at least 15 minutes have passed since its rise on the day of Eid, although it is generally preferable to delay the prayer for a while longer (according to some juristic opinions).⁸

5. According to the Shāfiʿī mazhab, the time for Eid prayer commences as soon as the sun has risen above the horizon. In fact, Imam al-Nawawi in al-Majmū‘ considers this opinion as the mu‘tamad (i.e. official position) of the Shāfiʿī mazhab.⁹ The Eid prayer is considered a valid occasion (dhāt al-sabab).¹⁰ On that basis, performing the Eid immediately after sunrise is permissible according to the Shāfiʿī mazhab.

Maintaining good adab

6. In the spirit of social responsibility and observing adab as taught by Islam, please play your part in observing good etiquettes as you perform the Eid prayer. These include parking responsibly and only in designated spaces, pray in the allocated spaces in mosques, and above all, embody the spirit of kindness and rahmah throughout your interactions with everyone, and especially with mosque staff and volunteers as they manage the prayers.

7. If the first session is already filled to capacity, please wait for the following session without overcrowding the mosque entrance or exit areas. If you have to wait in public areas, please ensure that you do so by observing the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ in a hadith: “…Allah's Messenger ﷺ said: If you must sit there (paths), then observe the rights of the way. They said: What are its due rights? He said: Lowering one’s gaze, not harming anything or anyone, spreading good greetings, commanding of good and forbidding from evil.”¹¹

Conclusion

8. In summary, please (i) plan well for your Eid prayer, (ii) maintain good adab throughout the Eid prayer, and (iii) observe the Sunnahs of Eid. We would like to wish all Muslims in Singapore a fulfilling and blessed Hari Raya. May Allah s.w.t. accept our fasts, supplications, and good deeds, and grant us the opportunity to witness the next Ramadan in good health.

21 April 2023
Office of the Mufti
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore

Annexe A

[1] Al-Tirmidhī, Sunan Al-Tirmidhī, hadith no. 536.

[2] Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī, hadith no. 953.

[3] Al-Bayhaqī, Sunan al-Kubrā, hadith no. 6143.

[4] Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, hadith no. 889.

[5] Al-Bayhaqī, Sunan al-Kubrā, hadith no. 6294, Ṭabrānī, Al-Mu'jam al-Kabīr, hadith no. 1096.

[6] Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī, hadith no. 986.

[7] Ibn al-Qayyim, Zād al-Ma'ād, (Beirut: Mu'assasah al-Risālah, 1994), vol. 1, pg. 433.

[8] Ibn Nujaim, Al-Baḥr Rā'iq Sharḥ Kanz al-Daqā'iq, Dār al-Kutub al-Islamī, n.d., vol. 2, pg. 173.

قال ابن نجيم: "ووقتها من ارتفاع الشمس إلى زوالها، أما الابتداء فلأنه عليه الصلاة والسلام كان يصلي العيد والشمس على قِيد رُمحٍ أو رمحين."

Which means: “The time for Eid prayer begins from the rising of the sun till it has passed its zenith. As for its beginning, it begins when the sun has risen by a lance or two because the Prophet ﷺ, used to perform Eid prayer while the sun has risen by a lance or two.”

[9] Imam Al-Nawawī stated that the Shāfiʿī school holds the view that Eid prayer begins when the sun has risen above the horizon. But it is encouraged to delay the Eid prayer until the sun is as high as the height of a lance or two lances (Qīd al-Rumḥ/al-Rumḥain).

قال النووي: "اتَّفق الأصحابُ على أنَّ آخر وقت صلاة العيد زوال الشمس، وفي أول وقتها وجهان: أصحهما- وبه قطَع المصنِّف، وصاحب الشامل، والروياني، وآخرون-: أنَّه من أول طلوع الشمس، والأفضل تأخيرها حتى ترتفعَ الشمس قدْرَ رُمح."

Imam Al-Nawawī stated, which means: “The companions agreed that the end-time for the Eid prayer is after the sun has passed its zenith. As for the beginning of Eid prayer time, there are two views, the more correct view, which the author holds, Ibn Ṣibāgh, Al-Ruwaynī, and other Shāfiʿī scholars: that it is begins when the sun has risen above the horizon, but it is encouraged to delay the Eid prayer till the sun is as high as the height of a lance.” See: Imam Al-Nawawī, al-Majmū Sharḥ al-Muhazzab, (Jordan: Bait al-Afkār al-Dauliyyah, 2005), vol. 5, pg. 1039. See also: Al-Bājūrī, Ḥāsyiah al-Bājūrī 'ala Sharḥ Fath al-Qarīb al-Mujīb, (Saudi Arabia: Dār al-Minhāj, 2016), vol. 1, pg. 641.

[10] Al-Dimyāṭī mentioned:

قال: "لأنها الصلاة ذات سبب فلا تراعى فيها الأوقات التي لا تجوز فيها الصلاة."

Which means: “Because Eid prayer is one that has a reason ˹to be exempted from the general ruling˺. Thus, it is not categorised under the forbidden time for prayer.” Please see: Al-Dimyāṭī, al-Mausū'ah al-Fiqh 'alā al-Madhāhib al-Arba'ah, (Cairo: Dār al-Taqwā, 2015), vol. 2, pg. 489.

[11] Al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī, hadith no. 2465, Muslim, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, hadith no. 2121.