3.1.8 The ‘Id Prayers

There are, in Islam, two great festivals having a religious sanction, and in connection with both of them a congregational service of two rak‘ahs is held, followed by a sermon. Both these festivals go under the name of ‘Id which means a recurring happiness. The first of these is called the ‘Id al-fitr, and takes place immediately after the month of fasting. The other is called ‘Id al-Adzha. Both these festivals are connected with the performance of some duty, in the first case the duty of fasting, and in the second the duty of sacrifice. A day of happiness following the performance of duty is intended to show that true happiness lies in the performance of duty. One characteristic of the Islamic festivals, therefore, is that they have, underlying them, a deep spiritual meaning. But they have another characteristic as well. In the moment of their greatest joy, the Muslims gather in as vast a congregation as possible and fall prostrate before their great Maker, giving thanks to Him that He has enabled them to perform their duty or to make a sacrifice. The spiritual significance of both festivals is thus brought out in the Divine service which is the chief feature of the day of festival.

The preparation for ‘Id is similar to the preparation for the Friday service. One must take a bath, put on one’s best clothes, use scent, and do everything possible to appear neat and tidy. The gathering in the ‘Id should preferably be in an open place, but if necessary, a mosque may also be used for holding the Divine service. An open space is preferable on account of the size of the congregation, which a mosque might not be able to hold. No adhan is called out for the ‘Id prayers, nor an iqamah for the arranging of the lines (Bu. 13:7). Though women take part in all the prayers and the Friday service, they are specially enjoined to be present at the ‘Id gathering, for the Holy Prophet is reported to have said that “the young girls and those that have taken to seclusion and those that have their menses on, should all go out (for the ‘Id) and be present at the prayers of the Muslims” (Bu. 13:15; 6:23). The time of ‘Id prayers is any time after sunrise and before noon.

The ‘Id service consists only of two rak‘ahs in congregation. The Imam recites the Fatihah and a portion of the Holy Qur’an in a loud voice, as in the Friday service. As already noted, there is neither adhan nor iqamah for the ‘Id prayer, but there is a number of takbirs in addition to those that are meant to indicate the changes of position. On the best authority, the number of these additional takbirs is seven in the first rak‘ah and five in the second before the recital of the Fatihah in both rak‘ahs (Tr. 5:5). The takbirs are uttered aloud by the Imam, one after another, as he raises both hands to the ears and then leaves them free in the natural position. Those who stand behind him raise and lower their hands similarly.

The ‘Id sermon is delivered after Divine service is over. As regards the manner and the subjects dealt with, it is similar to the Friday sermon, except that it is not necessary to break it up into two parts by assuming the sitting posture in the middle of it. It was the Holy Prophet’s practice to address the women separately, who were all required to be present whether they joined in the service or not.

While celebrating the great ‘Id festivals, a Muslim not only remembers God (by attending Divine service) but he is also enjoined to remember his poorer brethren. The institution of a charitable fund is associated with both ‘Ids. On the occasion of the ‘Id al-Fitr, every Muslim is required to give sadaqa al-Fitr (lit., the Fitr charity) which amounts to three or four seers of wheat, barley, rice or any other staple food of the country, or its equivalent in money, per head of the family, including the old as well as the youngest members, males as well as females (Bu. 24:70). The payment is to be made before the service is held, and it is obligatory (fardz). Like zakat, the Fitr charity was an organized institution, as expressly mentioned in a hadith: “They gave this charity to be gathered together, and it was not given away to beggars” (Bu. 24:77). According to another Hadith, Abu Hurairah said that “the Holy Prophet gave me charge of the zakat of Ramadzan” (Bu. 40:10). The principle of gathering the Fitr charity, so clearly laid down in these hadith, has now been abandoned by the Muslims, and the result is that a most beneficial institution of Islam for the uplift of the poor and needy has been thrown into neglect, and considerable amounts which could strengthen national funds, thrown away.

‘Id al-Adzha also furnishes an occasion for the exercise of charity. The sacrifice of an animal on that day (for which see the next paragraph), not only makes the poorest members of the community enjoy the festival with a good feast of meat but national funds for the amelioration of the poor or the welfare of the community can be considerably strengthened if the skins of the sacrificed animals are devoted to this purpose. In addition to this, in places where the number of sacrificed animals is in excess of the needs of the population, the surplus meat may be preserved and sold, and the proceeds thereof used for some charitable object. Islam does not allow the wastage of natural resources, and it has organized all its charities in such a manner that they can be turned to the best use.

Besides these obligatory charities at the two ‘Ids, the Holy Prophet used to exhort people in his ‘Id sermons to contribute whatever they could, voluntarily, for the national cause; and there is mention of women giving away their jewelry at such times (Bu. 13:8). The two ‘Id festivals of Islam could thus be made occasions for strengthening national funds and for the relief of the poor, if the directions of the Holy Prophet were followed faithfully.

At the ‘Id al-Adzha, every Muslim who can afford to do so sacrifices an animal. In the case of a goat or a sheep, one animal suffices for one household (Tr. 18:8). In the case of a cow or a camel, seven men may be partners (Tr. 18:7). The animal is sacrificed after the ‘Id prayers are over. It may be sacrificed on the day of ‘Id or during the two or three days that follow, called the tashriq days, the time during which pilgrims stop in Mina (MM. 4:49-iii). The two days’ limit is preferable, because the pilgrims are allowed to leave after two days. The animal sacrificed must be free from apparent physical defects, and full-grown (musinna). The goat or sheep should be at least a year old, the cow two years and the camel five (H. Ch. al-Adzhiya). As regards the meat of the slaughtered animals, the Holy Qur’an says: “Eat of them and feed the contented one and the beggar” (22:36). There is no harm if it is dried and sold and the proceeds used for the feeding of the poor. The idea that the meat of the sacrifices should not be stored or eaten for more than three days is contradicted by a saying of the Holy Prophet: “Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah says, We did not use to eat the flesh of our sacrifices for more than the three days of Mina; so the Holy Prophet gave us permission and said, Eat and take it as a provision for the way; so we ate and made it provision for the way” (Bu. 25:124). The giving of one-third, or more, or less, to the poor is simply optional. No hard and fast rules have been laid down. The skin of the animal must, however, be disposed of in charity (Bu. 25:121).

To the ordinary mind, the idea underlying sacrifice seems no more than charity, and the question has often been asked, May not a Muslim instead of sacrificing an animal, give away its price in charity? The answer to this question, in the light of the Islamic law, is in the negative. The sacrifice by the Muslims throughout the world on the ‘Id day is intended to make Muslim hearts, throughout the world, beat in unison with the hearts of the unparalleled assemblage at Makkah, the centre of Islam. Millions of people assemble there from all quarters of the world, people who have sacrificed all comforts of life for no object except to develop the idea of sacrifice, a sacrifice selfless beyond all measure, because it has no personal or even national end in view, a sacrifice for the sake of God alone. However grand that idea, it receives a greater grandeur from the fact that the people who have been unable to make that sacrifice actually, are made to share the same desire and show their willingness to make the same sacrifice by the ostensible act of the sacrifice of an animal, which is the final act of the pilgrimage. One desire moves the hearts of the whole Muslim world from one end to the other at one moment, and this is made possible only by the institution of sacrifice, the red letters of which can be read by the ignorant and the learned alike. That this institution should also serve the purpose of charity is quite a different thing. Islam does not allow its rich members to forget their poorer brethren in the hour of their joy at a time of festival, but charity is not the idea underlying the sacrifice on the occasion of the ‘Id or the pilgrimage, and therefore no mere charity can take the place of sacrifice.

That sacrifice does not consist in the act of shedding the blood of an animal or feeding on its meat is made plain by the Holy Qur’an: “Not their flesh, nor their blood, reaches Allah, but to Him is acceptable observance of duty on your part” (22:37). The underlying significance is made clearer still in another verse: “And for every nation We appointed acts of devotion that they might mention the name of Allah on what He has given them of the cattle quadrupeds. So your God is One God, therefore to Him should you submit; and give good news to the humble, whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, and who are patient in their afflictions” (22:34, 35). The act of the sacrifice of an animal is thus in some way connected with righteousness, with submission to One God, with humbleness of heart, with patience under suffering: and the sacrifice of the animal is plainly regarded as affecting the heart, as making it tremble at the mention of Allah’s name. Here we are told that it is not any empty mention of a word that they make, but the underlying meaning is that their hearts should thrill at the mention of that name. Taking away the life of an animal and shedding its blood, does not make them ferocious but creates humbleness in their hearts, because they realize that if they have sacrificed an animal over which they hold control, it is their duty to lay down their own lives in the way of Allah, Who is not only their Master but also their Creator and Sustainer, and Who therefore exercises a far greater authority over them than they do over the animal. Hence, in the midst of verses speaking of sacrifice, is introduced a verse which requires the faithful to be patient under trials and hardships, in the way of Allah. In the sacrifice of animals, the Holy Qur’an thus gives to its followers the lesson of laying down their own lives in the cause of truth; and the lesson is made clearer still when this section on sacrifice, verses of which have been quoted above, is straightaway followed by a section which requires believers to lay down their lives in the defence of truth, the very first verse of that section running thus: “Permission to fight is given to those on whom war is made because they are oppressed” (22:39).

It will thus be seen that Islam has invested the principle of sacrifice with a new meaning. The institution of sacrifice has been accepted in one form or another by all the nations of the world. Like all other religious principles which are universally recognized, the principle of sacrifice finds a deeper meaning in Islam. The outward act is still there as of old, but it no longer conveys the meaning attached to it in some ancient religions, namely that of appeasing an offended deity or serving as an atonement for sin. In Islam it signifies the sacrifice of the sacrificer himself, and thus becomes an outward symbol of his readiness to lay down his life, and to sacrifice all his interests and desires in the cause of truth. The animal that is sacrificed really stands for the animal within him. And one day, and one particular moment on that day, is chosen so that all Muslim hearts from one end of the world to the other may pulsate with one idea at a particular moment, and thus lead to the development of the idea of self-sacrifice in the community as a whole.