There has been a lot of talk in our community

Question

The following question has 2 parts.

1) There has been a lot of talk in our community recently regarding Eid-ul-Fitr prayer. Some people say that the Takbir of  Eid-ul-Fitr starts after the sighting of the moon, and they use Surah 2,  Ayat 185 as the evidence for it.

“that you must magnify Allaah” means  venerating Him in your hearts and on your lips, by pronouncing the takbeer.  (2:185)

They use this evidence and start reciting the Takbeer after  performing salaam in Maghrib, Isha and Fajr prayer (if the moon for Eid was  sighted or 30 days of Ramadhan were completed). Is this correct? As Hanafi  scholars say that Takbeers after prayers is only on the days of Tashreeq.  Also, Hanafi scholars say that the takbeer is done while on the way to the  Eid place only.

They quote this: "It is narrated that Sa’eed ibn  al-Musayyib, ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Abu Salamah and Abu Bakr ibn‘Abd  al-Rahmaan, that they used to recite takbeer on the night before Eid al-Fitr  in the mosque,reciting the takbeer out loud."

2) Also, the Hanafi Imam gave  a talk in English while people were still arriving till the beginning of the  Eid prayer, then gave instruction on how to perform Eid, and gave Arabic  Khutbahs after the Salam.

Some people objected that there should be no English talk and that people should do Takbeer while sitting and waiting for  the prayer to start. (Are the people right? or can the Imam do a talk to  educate the people (what would be the evidence for that)).

They use the  following evidence for it: "It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that he used to  come to the prayer-place on the morning of the dayof Eid al-Fitr, when the  sun had risen, and he would recite takbeer until he reached theprayer-place,  then he would recite takbeer in the prayer-place until the imam sat down and  stopped reciting takbeer." (This was their evidence for doing Takbeer till  the start of the prayer and their evidence that Imam should not educate  people before the Salat of Eid)

I will greatly appreciate a detailed answer  with reference to the Quran and Sunnah (kindly mention the hadith too with  their sources). Jazakallahu Khairan. Kindly reply as soon as you can as it  is a source of much disturbance in our community.

Answer

Muhtaram / Muhtaramah

In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāh wa-barakātuh.

1).It is narrated that Abdullah ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhu) used to recite the Takbir of Eidul Fitr and Eidul Ad-ha aloud when he used to set out for  the Eid Salah and continued reciting it, till the Imam emerged. (Daraqutni,  Baihaqi).
 
Besides this, there are various other traditions which indicate that the  time for the Takbir of Eidul Fitr is when one sets out for the Eid Salah.  However, there also exist other traditions which indicate that the Takbir  for Eidul Fitr should be recited on the night of Eid as well. Consider the  following Aathaar:
 
 a) It is narrated from Zaid ibn Aslam (R.A) that the command for saying the Takbir (in Surah al-Baqarah, Verse: 85) is for Eidul Fitr

 b) It is narrated from ibn Abbaas (Radiallahu Anhuma) that the Takbir should be read when the month of Shawwaal commences (Ihlaal).
 c) It is also recorded that he said, it is mandatory on the Muslims that they say the Takbir when they see the moon of Shawwaal till they are over with their Eid. (Rouhul Ma'ani).
 
 Since there are two types of traditions, (one supporting the recitation of  the Takbir on the day of Eid and the other on the night of Eid), it will be  permissible to act on any of the two. The more a person engages in the Dhikr of Allah, the more he will be rewarded.
 
 2) There is no harm in delivering an English talk before the Eid Salah. In  fact, it is recommended for it is one of the very few occasions in the year where so many Muslims congregate together and listen to some advices of Deen. There are many of those who do not even attend the Jumu'ah congregation but attend the Eid Salah. Perhaps they may benefit from the advices that are imparted on the day of Eid.

 However, the English sermon should not be considered to be part of the Eid prayers. It should be considered as a segment for advice and not an act of Ibadah which is specific to Eid.

 The narration of Abdullah ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhuma) is insufficient evidence to prove against the Imam advising the congregation on the day of Eid for the following reasons:
 
 a) This was the practice of Abdullah ibn Umar and not the Sahabah in general.
 b) There are other narrations that show that the Takbir should be terminated when one reaches the Musallah, irrespective of whether the Imam had emerged or not. (This is the view which Allamah Zafar Ahmed Uthmani has preferred in his I'la us Sunan concerning when the Takbir of Eidul Fitr should be terminated).
c) In the era of Ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhuma) there was no need for a sermon or lecture other than the Khutbah, as the common language was Arabic and the advices used to be in the Khutbah itself.

(Assistance taken from I'laa us-Sunan and Rouhul Ma'ani)

وأخرج ابن المنذر وغيره عن زيد بن أسلم أن المراد به التكبير يوم العيد ، وروي عن ابن عباس رضي الله تعالى عنهما أنه التكبير عند الإهلال ، وأخرج ابن جرير عنه أنه قال : حق على المسلمين إذا نظروا إلى هلال شوال أن يكبروا الله تعالى حتى يفرغوا من عيدهم لأن الله تعالى يقول : { وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ العدة وَلِتُكَبّرُواْ الله }

And Allah knows best
Darul Iftaa

Madrasah Inaa’miyyah