The battered and Bruised Eid-ul-Fitr 2020 Eid Prayers within the house !!!

The battered and Bruised Eid-ul-Fitr 2020

Eid Prayers within the house !!!

The Lockdown and Social Distancing are completely antithetical to the spirit and practice of Eid celebrations. Anyhow we are just helpless against the brutal Clovid 19. “Eid prayers in the house!!!”; “how can that be?” These were my thoughts when I first heard about it. However  the folks around me appeared quite comfortable with it. Let me find out, I said to myself. And I did. I have shared with you my findings giving only the central theme. I have included the links for those who want to know how and why including references to the source.

First, I have found this article Can Eid Salat Be Performed at Home due to COVID-19 Lockdown? by Darul Iftaa Leicester, UK very clear and comprehensive. It ends as: “In conclusion, in light of the current COVID-19 lockdown, those who follow the Shafi’i, Maliki and Hanbali Schools of Sunni Islamic law may perform the Eid prayer at home, even individually according to some schools. However, there is no requirement for the khutba. As for those who follow the Hanafi School, the position taken by Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani and many other scholars, and the position which I follow, is that the Eid prayer will not be performed in private homes where there is no public access. Rather, one may offer four rak’at supererogatory (nafl/duha) prayers. However, the position of some other contemporary Hanafi scholars is that the Eid prayer can be performed at home, but in a minimum congregation of four people.” Issued by [Mufti] Muhammad ibn Adam and endorsed by [Mufti] Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf of WhiteThread Institute, UK

Second, the next relevant article Fatwā regarding Ṣalāt al-Eid in light of COVID-19 lockdown.  prepared by Dr. Yasir Qadhi and adopted by the Fiqh Council of North America has this to say: “In light of the masāsjid being shut down due to the COVID-19 crisis and the upcoming Eid prayers, the Fiqh Council encourages that Muslims pray Ṣalāt al-Eid  in their homes with their  own families (or individually in case one is living by onself), and there is no need for a khuṭbah…….Given our current situation, we advise families to observe all of the Sunnahs of Eid (of taking a ghusl, eating a breakfast, wearing one’s best garments, saying the general takbīrat after Fajr, etc.) and then praying a congregational prayer at home with  their own families, with the special takbīrat of Eid……..it is not required to give Khutbah in every home.

Third, in an article Indonesian clerics allow Eid prayers at home, we read the following: Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body, Indonesian Ulema Council issued on Thursday a fatwa (ruling on Islamic law) allowing Muslims to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Eid prayers can be performed in a congregation with family members at home…..Hasanuddin, the chairman of the fatwa board at the council said that there should be a congregation of at least four people……As for the khutba (sermon), it can be canceled if there are less than four worshippers or if none are able to recite it,” said Hasanudin.

Fourth, the Jamia Nizamia, Hyderabad, India, one of the oldest Islamic seminaries in India, declared “According to rituals, it is necessary to have a congregation for saying an Eid prayer and this condition will not be fulfilled if the prayer is performed at home. Hence, if it is possible to arrange Eid prayers with this condition – that one person from each area performs the Eid prayer in a neighborhood mosque – then the prayer is deemed to have been performed, otherwise they have to pray two 'rakats' of thanksgiving at home.

Lastly, Shaykh Yūsuf Badāt of Mathaba Institute, a premium private Islamic institute based in Brampton, Canada replies to a question in an article Eīd Prayers During a Lockdown “Thank you for contacting Mathābah with your questions. In the current COVID-19 lockdown situation where it is against the law to congregate, we would be exempt from offering Eīd prayers. Some jurists are of the view that if one wants, in such a situation, they may perform Eīd prayers individually or in a congregation at home. A group of jurists also state that, in place of the Eīd prayers, one can offer two or four units (rakaʾahs) of Ḍuḥā (optional forenoon) prayers.” (See: Kitāb Al-Fiqh ʿAlā Madhāhib Al-Arbaʿah, Al-Muḥīṭ Al-Burhānīy). He then moves on to state the detailed positions of the four schools of jurisprudence.
May 21, 2020