'Abd-Allah ibn Bishr, the companion of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), went out with the people on the day of Fitr or al-Adha, and objected to the fact that the imam came very late. He said, "At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) we would have finished by now," and that was at the time of al-Tasbeeh ." (Reported by al-Bukhaari )

Naafil prayers in the prayer-place

There are no naafil prayers to be done either before or after the Eid prayer, as Ibn 'Abbaas reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to come out on the day of Eid and pray two rak'ahs, with nothing before or after them.

This is the case if the prayer is offered in a prayer place or public place. If, however, the people pray the Eid prayer in a mosque, then they should pray two rak'ahs for Tahiyat al-Masjid ("Greeting the mosque") before sitting down.

If people did not know about Eid until the next day

Abu 'Umayr ibn Anas reported from his paternal uncles among the Ansaar who said: "It was cloudy and we could not see the new moon of Shawwaal, so we started the day fasting, then a caravan came at the end of the day and told the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that they had seen the new moon of Shawwaal the day before, so he told the people to stop fasting, and they went out to pray the Eid prayer the next day." (Reported by the five. It is saheeh; al-Irwaa', 3/102)

If someone misses the Eid prayer, the most correct view is that he may make it up by praying two rak'ahs.

Hafsah said: "We used to prevent prepubescent girls from attending Eid prayers. Then a woman came and stayed at the fort of Banu Khalaf, and told us about her sister. Her sister's husband had taken part in twelve campaigns with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and [she said], 'my sister was with him on six of them. She said, "We used to treat the wounded and take care of the sick. My sister asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) whether there was anything wrong with her not going out [on Eid] if she did not have a jilbaab. He said, 'Let her friend give her one of her jilbaabs so that she may witness the blessings of Eid and see the Muslims gathering.'"'

The 'young girls' ('awaatiq, sing. 'aatiq) are girls who have reached adolescence or are close to it, or have reached the age of marriage, or are very precious to their families, or who are spared from having to do humiliating work. It appears that they used to prevent these young girls from going out because of the corruption that arose after the first generation of Islam; but the Sahaabah did not approve of that and they thought that the ruling should remain in their time as it had been during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Where it says "My sister was with him" it seems that there is something omitted, probably "the woman said". [This is reflected in the translation above. Translator]....

"Her jilbaabs" - she should lend her some of her clothes that she does not need.

"Secluded" - they would have a curtain in the corner of the house behind which virgins would stay.

"Menstruating women" - huyyad, sing. haa'id - this may refer either to girls who have reached the age of puberty, or women who are having their period and are not taahir (pure). (cont)

The hadeeth urges everyone to attend Eid prayer, and to co-operate with one another in righteousness and piety. The menstruating woman should not forsake the remembrance of Allah or places of goodness such as gatherings for the purpose of seeking knowledge and remembering Allah - apart from mosques. The hadeeth also indicates that women should not go out without a jilbaab.

This hadeeth tells us that it is not proper for young women and women in seclusion to go out except for a valid reason. It states that it is preferable (mustahabb) for a woman to wear a jilbaab, and that it is permissible to lend and borrow clothes. It also indicates that Eid prayer is obligatory (waajib).

Ibn Abi Shaybah also narrated that Ibn 'Umar used to take whoever he could of his household out to the Eid prayers.

The hadeeth of Umm 'Atiyah also states the reason for the ruling, which is so that women may witness the blessings of Eid, see the gathering of the Muslims, and share the blessings and purification of this day.

Al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Sunan, after quoting the hadeeth of Umm 'Atiyah: "Some of the scholars referred to this hadeeth and allowed women to go out to the Eid prayers, and some of them disliked this. It was reported that 'Abd-Allah ibn al-Mubaarak said: 'I do not like for women to go out to Eid prayers nowadays.

If a woman insists on going out, her husband should let her, if she goes out wearing her shabbiest clothes and not adorning herself. If she insists on adorning herself, then she should not go out. In this case the husband has the right to stop her from going out. It was reported that 'Aa'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: 'If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had seen what has happened to women, he would have stopped them from going to the mosques, just as the women of Bani Israa'eel were stopped.' It was reported that Sufyaan al-Thawri did not like women to go to the Eid prayers in his day." (Al-Tirmidhi, 495).

Umm 'Atiyah gave her fatwa in the hadeeth mentioned above a while after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had died, and it is not reported that any of the Sahaabah disagreed with this. The words of 'Aa'ishah, "If the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had seen what has happened to women, he would have stopped them from going to the mosques", do not contradict this (provided that women are meeting the Islamic conditions attached to their going out)... It is better if permission is given only to those women who are not who are not going to look at men or be looked at, whose attendence will not lead to anything undesirable and who are not going to rub shoulders with men on the street or in the mosque. (i.e., women whose going out will not cause fitnah or temptation to her or to men).

Men should check on their womenfolk when they going out for the prayer to make sure that their hijaab is complete, because they are the "shepherds" who are responsible for their "flocks". Women should go out in shabby clothes, not adorned or wearing perfume. Menstruating women should not enter the mosque or prayer-place; they can wait in the car, for example, where they can hear the khutbah.

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