Preparation For Eid-ul-Adha

Eid-ul-Adha is just a few days away and to make this day of joy a complete success, we should learn about this days' Sunnahs and how the Eid Salah has to be performed.

Sunnahs of Eid-ul-Adha
The following ten Sunnahs count for both Eids of the year:

1. To adorn oneself according to the Shariah.
2. To have a bath.
3. To use miswaak.
4. To wear the best of clothing which one possesses.
5. To apply perfume.
6. To wake up very early in the morning.
7. To go early to the eid-gaah.
8. To offer the Eid salaat in the eid-gaah. That is, one should not offer Eid salaat in the musjid without any valid reason.
9. To return from the eid-gaah taking a route that is different from the one that he had taken when going towards the eid-gaah.
10. To go to the eid-gaah on foot.

But still there are some differences: Before going to the eid-gaah it is preferable to eat something on Eid ul-Fitr. But this is not the case in Eid ul-Ad'haa. On Eid ul-Fitr, it is sunnah to say the takbeers softly while going towards the eid-gaah. But on Eid ul-Ad'haa the takbeers should be said in a loud voice. It is preferable to offer the salaat of Eid ul-Fitr a little late. But for Eid ul-Ad'haa it should be offered early. For Eid ul-Ad'haa there is no sadaqatul fitr. Instead, there is the sacrificing of animals for those who can afford it.

Takbeer-e-Tashreek
Takbeer-e-tashreeq is wajib after every fard salaat. It is wajib to recite this takbeer in a loud voice. However, women should recite it in a soft voice. The takbeer-e-tashreeq is as follows:

Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. La ila-ha ill-lal-lah. Allahu-Akbar, Allahu-Akbar. Wa-lilahill hamd.
(Allah is greater, Allah is greater. There is no god but Allah. Allah is greater, Allah is greater. And all praises are for Allah.)

This takbeer will be wajib on the condition that the fard salaat has been offered with jama'at and the place is a city. This takbeer is not wajib on a woman and a musafir. But if they are muqtadis of a person on whom this takbeer is wajib, then it will be wajib on them as well. However, if a munfarid, a woman or a musafir recites this takbeer, it will be better for them because according to Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yusuf rahmatullahi alayhima it is wajib on them as well. If the imam forgets to recite the takbeer, the muqtadis should immediately commence reciting it. They should not wait for the imam to commence.

This takbeer should be recited after the fajr salaat of the ninth of Zil Hijjah till after the asr salaat of the thirteenth of Zil Hijjah. This totals 23 salaats after which this takbeer is wajib. The takbeer should be recited immediately after the salaat. According to some ulama, it is also wajib to say this takbeer after the salaat of Eid ul-Ad'haa.

Performance of the Eid Salah
On this day of festivity and celebration it is wajib to offer two rakaats of salaat as a form of gratitude. The method of offering Eid ul-Adha salaat is as follows:

The following intention should be made: "I intend offering two rakaats wajib of Eid ul-Adha salaat with six wajib takbeers." After making this intention, he should commence his salaat. He must recite the thanaa' and then say Allahu Akbar three times. Each time that he says Allahu Akbar, he should raise his hands to his ears just as he does for the takbeer-e-tahreemah. After making the takbeer, he should let his hands rest at his sides. In-between each takbeer, he should pause to such an extent that he can read Sub'haanallah three times. After the third takbeer, he should not rest his hands but tie them. He should then read the ta'awwudh and bismillah, Surah Fatihah and another Surah. Thereafter, he should make his ruku and sajdahs and stand up as he normally does. In the second rakaat, he should first recite Surah Faatihah and another Surah. Thereafter, he should make three takbeers but after the third takbeer he should not tie his hands but leave them at his sides. He should then make one more takbeer and go into ruku.

It is makruh to offer any other salaat on that day at the place where eid salaat is offered - not before the salaat nor after it. However, it is not makruh to offer any salaat after the Eid salaat at home. But to do so before the Eid salaat is makruh at home as well. It is makruh for women and those people who do not offer Eid salaat to offer any nafl salaat before the Eid salaat. If a person misses his Eid salaat and all the other people have already completed their salaat, this person cannot offer his salaat alone. This is because jama'at is a prerequisite for the Eid salaats. In the same way, if a person joins the jama'at but for some reason or the other his salaat becomes invalid, then he cannot make qada of it nor will qada be wajib on him. However, if a few other people also join him, qada will become wajib. If for some reason the Eid salaat is not offered on the first day, then Eid ul-Fitr salaat could be offered on the second day. And Eid ul-Ad'haa salaat could be offered till the twelfth of Zil Hijjah. If the Eid ul-Ad'haa salaat is delayed till the twelfth without any excuse, it will still be valid. But it is makruh to do so. If the Eid ul-Fitr salaat is delayed without any excuse, the salaat will not be valid at all. Examples of excuses:

(i) the imam does not come to perform the salaat for some reason or the other, (ii) it is raining heavily, (iii) the date of the moon has not been established and it only becomes established after mid-day when the time for the salaat has already expired, (iv) salaat was offered on a cloudy day, and after the disappearance of the clouds it is realized that the salaat was not offered in its correct time.

If a person joins the Eid salaat at a time when the imam has already completed saying the takbeers, then if he joined the jama'at while they were still in the standing posture, he should immediately make the takbeers even if the imam is busy with his qira'at. If he joins the salaat while the imam is in ruku, he should make his takbeers only if he feels that he will be able to catch up with the imam in his ruku. But if he fears that he will not be able to catch up with the imam, he should go straight into ruku. Instead of reading the tasbeehs in the ruku, he should recite the takbeers. However, when he makes the takbeers in his ruku, he should not raise his hands. If the imam stands up from the ruku before he can complete his takbeers, he should not try to complete them. Instead, he should stand up with the imam. The takbeers which he missed will be forgiven.

If a person misses the first rakaat of Eid salaat, when he stands up to complete it, he should first recite Surah Faatihah, another Surah and then make the takbeers. Although, according to the rule, he ought to have made the takbeers first, he should not do this. Because if he does this, then the takbeers of both the rakaats will come one after the other. And this is not the method of any Sahabi. Therefore, the rule has been given contrary to this. If the imam forgets to say the takbeers and only remembers this while in ruku, he should say the takbeers in his ruku and should not return to the standing posture. But if he returns to the standing posture, it will still be permissible, i.e. the salaat will not become invalid. However, because of the large crowd, sajdah-e-sahw should not be made.

The Eid-ul-Adha Khutbah
The prerequisites and conditions that apply for the validity and compulsion for jumu'ah, apply for the Eid salaat as well. With the exception that for the jumu'ah salaat the khutbah is a prerequisite and fard, while for the Eid salaats it is not fard but sunnah. Furthermore, the jumu'ah khutbah is delivered before the salaat while for the Eid salaats, the khutbah is delivered after the salaat. However, listening to the khutbah of Eid is wajib just as it is wajib for the khutbah of jumu'ah, i.e. while the khutbah is being delivered, it is haraam to talk, walk about or offer salaat.

The khutbahs of Eid should commence with the takbeers. The takbeer should be said nine times in the first khutbah and seven times in the second khutbah. The rules related to qurbaani and takbeer-e-tashreeq should be mentioned in the khutbah of Eid ul-Ad'haa.

Du'a
Dua should be made after the Eid salaat, or even after the khutbah. Although this dua has not been established from the life of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Sahabah, Taabi'een and even the Tabe Taabi'een, but because it is sunnah to make a dua after every salaat, it will be preferable to make it after the Eid salaat as well.

[Information taken from "Juma and Eid Salahs" by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (r.a.)]