Eid al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr is the first Muslim Eid, which Muslims celebrate on the first day of the month of Shawwal. It is followed by Eid al-Adha in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. It is forbidden to fast on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, and the feast continues for three days.

Eid al-Fitr is the last day before which the obligatory Zakat al-Fitr can be paid by Muslims. On the morning of Eid, Muslims perform the Eid prayer, about a third of an hour after sunrise, and Muslims meet on Eid, exchange greetings, and visit their families and relatives; this is what is known as the kinship bond. A Muslim also visits his friends, receives his friends and neighbors, and sympathizes with the poor. It has been customary in many Islamic countries for Muslims to eat some dates or good holiday cakes stuffed with dates during the feast.

Eid is an opportunity for joy and pleasure and a divine gift so that the believers feel that they have performed the acts of worship and have won the approval of God Almighty. During it, people dress more beautifully. Clothes, and they strive to show a way to express their joy, whether they are old or young, as showing joy on the feast is a purifying prophetic Sunnah, which all believers must act upon. Many wonderful festive rituals are held during Eid that begin even before his arrival, such as buying clothes and preparing the most delicious types of sweets.

The first day of Eid al-Fitr celebrated by Muslims was in the second year of the Hijrah, when Ramadan was imposed in that year and the Muslims celebrated Eid.

It is enacted to say the takbeer on Eid, and its formula is Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, and this takbeer is not restricted to prayers but rather is desirable in mosques, homes, roads, and markets. Ibn Qudamah said in Al-Mughni: They show the takbeer on the nights of the two Eids, and it is in Al-Fitr. For God’s saying: (وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ) and his sentence is that it is desirable for people. Showing the takbeer on the two nights of Eid in their mosques, homes, and roads while traveling or residing, due to the apparent meaning of the aforementioned verse. As for the wording of the takbeer: Some of the people of knowledge think that he is saying takbeer three times in succession, so he says: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. Al-Nawawi said in Al-Majmoo that the shy takbeer formula is Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. This is the well-known version from the texts of al-Shafi’i, and he said it in Minhaj al-Talibeen with its beloved formula: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. La elah ela allah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, alhamdulillah.