COVID-19: ʿEid Prayer At Home

By Shaykh Sulaymān Ar-Ruhaylī

ʿEīD PRAYER AT HOME
1. Majority of the jurists are of the opinion that it is Mustahabb (recommended) to perform the ʿEīd prayer at home for the one who has missed the congregational ʿEīd prayer, and this is also the opinion of Ibn Bāz and Al-Fawzān. This ruling applies more so to the one who is not capable of performing the ʿEīd prayer with the Muslims in congregation, and yet to a greater degree if the congregational ʿEīd prayer is not held at all due to a [legitimate] excuse such as our situation today with the Coronavirus Pandemic if the curfew is ongoing. And whosoever performs the ʿEīd prayer at home, he should do so without delivering the sermon after the prayer because the sermon is from the duties of the ruler or whoever the ruler has entrusted this task to.

2. The proof presented by the majority of the scholars is that if [the Companion] Anas b. Mālik (Allāh be pleased with him) missed the ʿEīd prayer with the Imām, he would gather his family and perform the ʿEīd prayer with them in the same manner the Imām leading the congregation would do so[This narration of Anas b. Mālik is from the Muʿallaqāt of Imām Al-Bukhārī which he reported using a decisive and assertive form, and it has been reported by Ibn Abī Shaybah with a connected chain of narrators, and it is Sahīh (aunthentic). [This is the speech of the Shaykh].
[TN] – A Hadīth which is Muʿallaq is a narration that has one or more successive narrators omitted from the beginning of its chain which in our case is the part closest to Al-Bukhārī.] Also, in this situation[{TN} – I sought further clarification from the Shaykh regarding his statement “this situation”. He said it means, “In the case when one has missed the congregational ʿEīd prayer according to the Hanbalī Madhhab or unrestrictedly (at all times) according to the Mālikī and the Shāfiʿī Madhhabs”.] (i.e. when one misses the congregational ʿEīd prayer), the ʿEīd prayer is considered to be a Nafl (supererogatory) prayer which is allowed to be performed at home just like all the other supererogatory prayers. Please note that Al-Albānī is of the view that the ʿEīd prayer can be performed (made up) if it missed due to a [legitimate] excuse.

3. According to the Hanafīs and a group of jurists, the ʿEīd prayer cannot be performed except with the Imām, so if one misses the ʿEīd prayer, he should not make it up since praying it with the Imām is a condition for performing the ʿEīd prayer. And this is also the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn ʿUthaymīn (Allāh have mercy on them both). This is because the ʿEīd prayer was legislated to be performed with the Imām to the extent that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (commanded the women to attend the ʿEīd prayer even those who were menstruating and even those who could not find a Jilbāb, then it was said to them let your sister lend you a Jilbāb and attend.

4. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (did not say that the women should pray in their homes nor did he say that the menstruating women should be left at home, so this shows that the ʿEīd prayer is legislated with the congregation.

What is apparent to me – and Allāh knows best – is that this affair is one in which there is flexibility. And I would like to point out that the speech of the jurists in the books of Islamic Jurisprudence is concerning the case where the ʿEīd prayer has already been performed in congregation in one’s country[(TN) – The Shaykh further clarified that this also applies to Non-Muslim countries where the congregational ʿEīd prayer is normally established], so in this situation is it permissible for the one who has missed the congregational ʿEīd prayer to make it up? As for the situation where the ʿEīd prayer is not established in congregation at all (which may be the case for most Muslims due to the Coronavirus), then the legal rulings concerning this matter are to be derived based on the aforementioned speech of the jurists.

5. What remains unclear is whether or not the Khutbah (sermon) after the ʿEīd prayer should be delivered in the case that the congregational ʿEīd prayer is not established due to the ongoing curfew, and a person therefore performs the ʿEīd prayer in congregation with his family.
This matter is unclear because the scholars of the past ruled that he should not deliver the sermon in the context where the Imām has already delivered it. As for the situation where the congregational ʿEīd prayer is not held at all, then I have not come across any statement from our scholars concerning this issue. And we do not make a statement except if an Imām from our scholars has preceded us, so this issue requires further research.

6. [The Shaykh continues with further explanation of Tweet 5 and says]: What I am uncertain about is those countries in which the congregational ʿEīd prayer will not be held (this year). So in this context if a person prays the ʿEīd prayer at home with his family in congregation, should he deliver the sermon (after the prayer) or not? I therefore refrain from issuing a verdict concerning this issue until I come across a statement from one of our scholars. We do not make a statement unless we have an Imām who has preceded us. As for the countries where the congregational ʿEīd prayer shall be established even if it is with a limited number of people, then in this scenario the speech of the past scholars is to be applied.

Translator: Yasar A. Rahmān 15 Ramaḍān 1441/ 8 May 2020

Shaykh Sulaymān Ar-Ruhaylī (Professor at the Islamic University of Al-Madina, Teacher at Masjid Nabawī, Imām&Khatib of Masjid Qubā) May Allāh preserve him.