To start understanding this beautiful day, we should start with the Sunnah, as Aisha stated, the Prophet is the walking Qur’an; there is no one whose practice is better than his. So consider the following hadith:

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Medina, the people had two days on which they engaged in games. He asked: What are these two days (what is the significance)? They said: We used to engage ourselves on them in the pre-Islamic period. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah has substituted for them something better than them, the day of sacrifice and the day of the breaking of the fast.” -Sunan Abi Dawud 1134

We can see here that there are two Eids. To Eid al-Fitr (The Festival of Fasting) and Eid al-Adha (The Festival of Sacrifice) in order of when they occur on the lunar calendar, while the hadiths specify two specific pagan holidays, it does apply to all of them as these days are ordained out of Allah’s mercy to allow this time to be joyful in a way that is clean from sin and focused on worship and good deeds.

While both days are similar, each Eid commemorates different occasions:

To start understanding this beautiful day, we should start with the Sunnah, as Aisha stated, the Prophet is the walking Qur’an; there is no one whose practice is better than his. So consider the following hadith:

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Medina, the people had two days on which they engaged in games. He asked: What are these two days (what is the significance)? They said: We used to engage ourselves on them in the pre-Islamic period. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah has substituted for them something better than them, the day of sacrifice and the day of the breaking of the fast.” -Sunan Abi Dawud 1134

We can see here that there are two Eids. To Eid al-Fitr (The Festival of Fasting) and Eid al-Adha (The Festival of Sacrifice) in order of when they occur on the lunar calendar, while the hadiths specify two specific pagan holidays, it does apply to all of them as these days are ordained out of Allah’s mercy to allow this time to be joyful in a way that is clean from sin and focused on worship and good deeds.

While both days are similar, each Eid commemorates different occasions:

To start understanding this beautiful day, we should start with the Sunnah, as Aisha stated, the Prophet is the walking Qur’an; there is no one whose practice is better than his. So consider the following hadith:

“When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Medina, the people had two days on which they engaged in games. He asked: What are these two days (what is the significance)? They said: We used to engage ourselves on them in the pre-Islamic period. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah has substituted for them something better than them, the day of sacrifice and the day of the breaking of the fast.” -Sunan Abi Dawud 1134

We can see here that there are two Eids. To Eid al-Fitr (The Festival of Fasting) and Eid al-Adha (The Festival of Sacrifice) in order of when they occur on the lunar calendar, while the hadiths specify two specific pagan holidays, it does apply to all of them as these days are ordained out of Allah’s mercy to allow this time to be joyful in a way that is clean from sin and focused on worship and good deeds.

While both days are similar, each Eid commemorates different occasions:

As the Prophet’s practice is far above that of anyone else, we should first examine how Eid was celebrated during his lifetime. You might think that, as both days are similar, the sunnahs (recommended practices of the Prophet) would be the same; however, out of Allah’s wisdom, there are some differences in what we should do for each one. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll start with the commonalities before transitioning into each iteration and breaking down the individual actions.

The biggest similarity between Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha is the prayer we perform. It is a sunnah prayer that must be performed in congregation; most masjids will schedule it around eight or nine am, as the timing should be after Fajr but before Dhuhr.

The steps to perform the prayer are simple:

1. Establish your intention
2. Say the takbir (“Allahu Akbar”) with the imam leading the prayer.
3. make the opening dua (Thanaa)* 
4. Repeat the takbir three more times. For each takbir, raise your hands to your ears as you would when starting a normal salah.
5. As with the usual salah, listen to the imam recite Surah al-Fatiha and an additional Surah.
6. From here to the next rakat (cycle), the prayer would be the same as normal, saying “Allahu Akbar” again as you go into a bowing position, making the necessary dhikr before proceeding to the prostration.
7. During the second rakat, listen to the imam recite Surah Fatiha and another surah.
8. Say three more takbirs following the imam, raising your hands to your ears each time.
9. As with a usual prayer, say Allahu akabar and return to the bowing position before transitioning into the prostration.
10. End the prayer by saying the tashahud, give salutations to the Prophet, then say the final two salams with the imam.

One additional note before we move on to the deep dive into Eid al-Fitr: after the Eid prayer, it is a sunnah to have two brief khutbahs covering topics relevant to the time of year.
*see image below for reference

As we touched on in the introduction, the Festival of Fasting is a celebration of Ramadan. It takes place the day after it ends on the first of Shawwal.

The Sunnahs for the day are:

1. Pray Fajr in congregation if possible.
2. If you are close to the masjid, I recommend walking, especially as there is a hadith stating that every step taken to prayer carries a reward.
3. Say the takbir as much as possible leading up to the Eid prayer.
4. Pay Zakat al-fitr before the Eid prayer.
5. Take a different path home.

As stated earlier, Eid Al-Adha translates to “The festival of sacrifice.” The day is after the Hajj season (the time when Muslims can perform the major pilgrimage) ends.

The major differences in the sunnahs are:
1. Instead of having a sweet before the prayer, it is recommended to delay eating until after the prayer is performed.
2. The takbir on the way to prayer should be said aloud if possible.
3. Instead of zakat al-fitr, one should complete the sacrifice

To honor the legacy of Ibrahim, those who are financially able should either fund a sacrifice or slaughter an animal themselves. When discussing this practice, it is crucial to remember the following points:

1. Islam holds a very high regard for animals, with the Prophet being known for getting extraordinarily angry when seeing an animal that is being mistreated. Consider the following hadith:

“A Camel saw the Prophet (ﷺ) it wept tenderly producing yearning sound and it eyes flowed. The Prophet (ﷺ) came to it and wiped the temple of its head. So it kept silence. He then said “Who is the master of this Camel? Whose Camel is this? A young man from the Ansar came and said, “This is mine, Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ).” He said, “Don’t you fear Allaah about this beast which Allaah has given in your possession. It has complained to me that you keep it hungry and load it heavily which fatigues it.” -Sunan Abi Dawud 2549 (summarized)

Allah wouldn’t allow a cruel practice, as he is Ar-Rahman (The Merciful). Some of the conditions for the sacrifice to be considered valid include that the animal must be uninjured and not sick. Additionally, the way the animal is cut would ensure that it dies fast without significant pain; failing to do so can also render the sacrifice invalid.

1. Islam holds a very high regard for animals, with the Prophet being known for getting extraordinarily angry when seeing an animal that is being mistreated. Consider the following hadith:

“A Camel saw the Prophet (ﷺ) it wept tenderly producing yearning sound and it eyes flowed. The Prophet (ﷺ) came to it and wiped the temple of its head. So it kept silence. He then said “Who is the master of this Camel? Whose Camel is this? A young man from the Ansar came and said, “This is mine, Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ).” He said, “Don’t you fear Allaah about this beast which Allaah has given in your possession. It has complained to me that you keep it hungry and load it heavily which fatigues it.” -Sunan Abi Dawud 2549 (summarized)

Allah wouldn’t allow a cruel practice, as he is Ar-Rahman (The Merciful). Some of the conditions for the sacrifice to be considered valid include that the animal must be uninjured and not sick. Additionally, the way the animal is cut would ensure that it dies fast without significant pain; failing to do so can also render the sacrifice invalid.

2. While it isn’t fard, the Sunnah way the meat is distributed is as follows: 1/3rd to charity, 1/3rd to your extended family, 1/3rd to yourself and your household.

3. The animal type

There are only certain animals that will count as a true sacrifice for Eid al-Adha. They include:

1. Goat
2. Cow
3. Sheep
4. Camel
5. Buffalo

For larger animals, such as a cow, camel, or buffalo, it is halal to split the cost up to eight ways to minimize the financial burden.

4. If you are unable to complete the sacrifice yourself, what can you do instead? You can donate the money to an organization that performs it for you. Please be careful about which organization you pick, as the way the animal is treated matters heavily. For our sisters, it is actually disliked for you to be the one to sacrifice the animal, so I do recommend going with this option, even if you can perform the slaughter without unnecessary cruelty.

To summarize, Eid is a beautiful holiday that was given to us out of Allah’s mercy. No matter our circumstances, there is always something we can do to celebrate. I laid out what these days ideally look like. He is The Most Merciful. He knows your intention, so if your circumstances don’t allow for that ideal, celebrating the day anyway carries a heavy blessing.