Eid al-Fitr — the festival of breaking the fast
Eid al-Fitr falls on the 1st of Shawwal, the day immediately after Ramadan ends, celebrating the completion of a month of fasting.
عِيد
Eid
Islam has two annual celebrations — Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, and Eid al-Adha, falling during the days of Hajj and commemorating Ibrahim's sacrifice.
- Pay Zakat al-Fitr before the Eid prayer — see the Ramadan page for the full details on who it's for and how much.
- Eat something before leaving for the prayer — the Prophet ﷺ never went out for Eid al-Fitr prayer without first eating, traditionally an odd number of dates.
- Make ghusl, wear your best clean clothes, and use perfume if you have it — the same general adornment sunnahs as Jumu'ah, elevated for the occasion.
- Attend the Eid prayer in congregation, ideally outdoors or at the largest venue available, since the whole community — including women — is encouraged to attend.
- Exchange greetings — "Eid Mubarak" is common local practice; the greeting reported from the companions was "Taqabbal Allahu minna wa minkum" ("May Allah accept [good deeds] from us and from you").
Hadith — sahih
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لاَ يَغْدُو يَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ حَتَّى يَأْكُلَ تَمَرَاتٍ
"Allah's Messenger ﷺ never proceeded (for the prayer) on the Day of `Id-ul-Fitr unless he had eaten some dates."
Sahih al-Bukhari 953
Hadith — sahih
أَمَرَنَا أَنْ نُخْرِجَهُنَّ فِي الْفِطْرِ وَالأَضْحَى الْعَوَاتِقَ وَالْحُيَّضَ وَذَوَاتِ الْخُدُورِ
"We were ordered [by the Prophet ﷺ] to bring out on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha even the young virgin girls staying in seclusion and menstruating women, [though menstruating women were to keep away from the actual prayer place]."
Sahih Muslim 890c
Eid al-Adha — the festival of sacrifice
Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah, during the days of Hajj, and commemorates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son in obedience to Allah — a test resolved when Allah provided a ram as ransom in his place.
Quran — the ransom sacrifice
وَفَدَيْنَـٰهُ بِذِبْحٍ عَظِيمٍۢ
"And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice."
See the full account in the story of Ibrahim. In remembrance of this, Muslims who are able perform Udhiyah — the ritual sacrifice of a sheep, goat, cow, or camel — distributing the meat between family, friends, and the poor. Unlike Eid al-Fitr, the sunnah on Eid al-Adha is to eat nothing before the prayer, then eat from the sacrifice afterward. For the full picture — whether it's obligatory, which animals qualify, timing, and how to distribute the meat — see the dedicated Udhiyah guide.
Hadith — sahih
مَنْ ذَبَحَ قَبْلَ الصَّلاَةِ فَإِنَّمَا ذَبَحَ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَمَنْ ذَبَحَ بَعْدَ الصَّلاَةِ فَقَدْ تَمَّ نُسُكُهُ وَأَصَابَ سُنَّةَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
"Whoever slaughtered his sacrifice before the (`Id) prayer, he only slaughtered for himself, and whoever slaughtered it after the prayer, he offered his sacrifice properly and followed the tradition of the Muslims."
Sahih al-Bukhari 5556
Eid al-Adha also opens the three days of Tashriq (11th-13th Dhul-Hijjah), during which fasting is forbidden — except for a Hajj pilgrim who cannot afford the sacrificial animal (Sahih al-Bukhari 1997–1998) — and the takbir is recited after every obligatory prayer — see the Practice page for the forbidden fasting days.
The Eid prayer
The Eid prayer is offered in congregation, without an adhan or iqamah beforehand — a detail explicitly preserved by the companions.Sahih al-Bukhari 960
Hadith — sahih
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم صَلَّى يَوْمَ الْفِطْرِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ لَمْ يُصَلِّ قَبْلَهَا وَلاَ بَعْدَهَا، ثُمَّ أَتَى النِّسَاءَ وَمَعَهُ بِلاَلٌ
"Narrated Ibn `Abbas:The Prophet (ﷺ) offered a two rak`at prayer on the Day of Id ul Fitr and he did not pray before or after it. Then he went towards women along with Bilal and ordered them to pay alms and so they started giving their earrings and necklaces (in charity)"
Sahih al-Bukhari 964
The prayer itself is two rak'ahs, opened with extra takbirs — additional declarations of "Allahu Akbar" said before the recitation. The majority (Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) hold seven in the first rak'ah and five in the secondSunan Abi Dawud 1149 (Aisha, sahih), while the Hanafi school holds three and three — both are sound, and the difference does not affect the prayer's validity. It is followed by a khutbah, which — unlike the Friday khutbah — comes after the prayer rather than before it.Sahih al-Bukhari 962 · 963
The Eid takbir
Recited on the way to the prayer and, on Eid al-Adha, after every obligatory prayer through the days of Tashriq:
The takbir of Eid
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ
"Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest, there is no god but Allah, Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest, and to Allah belongs all praise."
Sunnahs of the Eid day
Beyond the prayer, the Prophet ﷺ and his companions kept a distinct set of practices that give the day its character:
- Ghusl and your best clothes. Ibn Umar would make ghusl before leaving for the Eid prayer (an authentic practice of his in the Muwatta), and dressing in one's finest is an adornment of the day the Prophet ﷺ affirmed when Umar brought him a fine garment and said, "Take it and adorn yourself with it during the `Id and when the delegations visit you."Sahih al-Bukhari 948
- Eat before Fitr — but not before the Adha prayer. He ﷺ would not go out on Eid al-Fitr until he had eaten an odd number of datesSahih al-Bukhari 953; on Eid al-Adha he would not eat until after the prayer, then eat from the sacrifice.Jami' at-Tirmidhi 542 · Sunan Ibn Majah 1756
- Recite the takbir aloud on the way. Magnifying Allah on the day is commanded in the QuranQuran 2:185, and the companions raised the takbir openly as they walked to the musalla.
- Pray at the open musalla, and bring the whole household. Umm Atiyyah was ordered to bring out the young women and even the menstruating women — who join the gathering and the du'a but keep away from the prayer lines.Sahih al-Bukhari 974 · 981
- Return home by a different route. On the Day of Eid the Prophet ﷺ would go out by one road and come back by another.Sahih al-Bukhari 986
- Greet one another. The companions would say on meeting: "Taqabbal-Allahu minna wa minka" — "May Allah accept from us and from you."
When Eid falls on a Friday
Every few years the two Eids coincide — the Eid day itself and Friday, the weekly Eid of the Muslims. When this happened in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ prayed the Eid prayer and then granted a concession regarding the Jumu'ah later that day:
Hadith — sahih
أَشَهِدْتَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عِيدَيْنِ اجْتَمَعَا فِي يَوْمٍ قَالَ نَعَمْ قَالَ فَكَيْفَ صَنَعَ قَالَ صَلَّى الْعِيدَ ثُمَّ رَخَّصَ فِي الْجُمُعَةِ فَقَالَ «مَنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ فَلْيُصَلِّ»
"Narrated Zayd ibn Arqam: Ilyas ibn AbuRamlah ash-Shami said: I witnessed Mu'awiyah ibn AbuSufyan asking Zayd ibn Arqam: Did you offer along with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) the Friday and 'Id prayers synchronised on the same day? He said: Yes. He asked: How did he do? He replied: He offered the 'Id prayer, then granted concession to offer the Friday prayer, and said: If anyone wants to offer it, he may offer"
Sunan Abi Dawud 1070 (Zayd ibn Arqam, sahih)
The companions acted on this. Ata' ibn Abi Rabah reported: "Ibn az-Zubayr led us in the 'Id prayer on Friday early in the morning. When we went to offer the Friday, he did not come out to us. So we prayed ourselves alone. … He followed the sunnah" — the last words being Ibn Abbas's verdict when the incident was mentioned to him on his return from at-Ta'if.Sunan Abi Dawud 1071 (sahih)
The schools of fiqh differ over how far the concession reaches. The Hanbali school takes it at face value: whoever has prayed the Eid prayer that morning is excused from attending Jumu'ah, praying Dhuhr in its time instead. The Shafi'i school limits the concession to those who come in from outlying areas, for whom returning would be a hardship, while the Hanafi and Maliki schools hold that Jumu'ah remains obligatory as on any other Friday. Two points hold on every view: the concession excuses attendance — it does not cancel the day's prayer, so whoever stays back still prays Dhuhr — and the imam still establishes Jumu'ah in the masjid for everyone who comes, as the wording "whoever wishes to pray, let him pray" itself presupposes. Attending both prayers remains the more complete course. See the Friday prayer guide for Jumu'ah itself, and consult a qualified local scholar for your school's position.
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Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha — the Eid prayer and its takbirs, the sunnahs of each day, and the ruling when Eid falls on a Friday, with every citation, in one PDF.
- Eid al-Fitr, step by step
- Eid al-Adha & the Udhiyah sacrifice
- The Eid prayer & its extra takbirs
- Sunnahs of the Eid day
- When Eid falls on a Friday
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This page is drawn from the Quran and authentic hadith; the exact count of Eid takbirs and some details of the khutbah vary slightly between the schools of fiqh — consult a qualified local scholar for your school's specifics.
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