The 365 · Sunnah · Day 347 · Special Days
Takbīr on the Eid Days
The hadith
«اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، لا إله إلّا الله، الله أكبر الله أكبر، ولله الحمد». وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعالَى: ﴿وَلِتُكَبِّرُوا اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ﴾ (البقرة 185).
Allah says: 'And to glorify Allah for that to which He has guided you.' (al-Baqarah 2:185). The Companions would say takbīr from after Fajr on the day of ʿArafah through the days of Tashrīq (for Aḍḥā) and from the night of Eid al-Fiṭr to the Eid prayer (for Fiṭr).
Svenska: Sahaba sade takbīr från Fajr på ʿArafahs dag genom Tashrīq-dagarna och från Eid al-Fiṭrs natt fram till Eid-bönen.
al-Baqarah 2:185; al-Ḥajj 22:37; Bukhari (mu'allaq)
The story
ʿUmar would raise the takbīr in his tent on the days of Mina, and the people would join from their tents; the whole valley would echo. The Eid's heart was the takbīr.
Why it's here
The takbīr is the Eid's banner. Allah commanded it in the Qur'an for Fiṭr (al-Baqarah 185); for Aḍḥā the takbīr extends from ʿArafah through Tashrīq. The Sunnah is to raise the takbīr aloud, in homes, masjids, streets, until the Eid prayer.
Try it today
For ʿEid al-Fiṭr: takbīr from sunset on the last day of Ramadan until the Eid prayer. For ʿEid al-Aḍḥā: takbīr from after Fajr on the 9th of Dhul-Ḥijjah through the ʿAsr of the 13th. Aloud, not silently. Make the household audible.
In your day
Modern Eids have lost the takbīr in many places. Recover it: in the car on the way to Eid prayer, at home before bed, in the kitchen. The community's joy should be takbīr-shaped.
A reflection to carry
Eid is not the meal or the gift; it is the takbīr. Recover the Sunnah.
Read the longer reflection
The Sunnah of Eid takbīr has been forgotten in many communities. Recover it. From dawn to Eid prayer (Fiṭr); from ʿArafah Fajr through Tashrīq (Aḍḥā). Make it aloud. The believer's Eid is shaped by what he glorifies. May our Eids be loud with His magnification.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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