#177: Ruling on Withholding Eating on the Day of Eid until after the Sacrifice
189. QUESTION
ON WITHHOLDING EATING ON THE DAY OF ĪD UNTIL AFTER THE SACRIFICE
“As-Salaam Alaykum. Is it for only those intending to make udhiya to hold their mouth until after the sacrifice.
ANSWER:
Alhamdulillah! It has come in the Hadith transmitted and recorded by both Imaam Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi from the Companion Buraydah – radiyallaahu anhu – that:
(كان رسول الله – صلي الله عليه وسلم – لا يخرج يوم الفطر حتي يطعم ويوم النحر لا يأكل حتي يرجع فيأكل من أضحيته)”
“The Messenger of Allah – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – did not used to go out on the Day of Fitr (Id al-Fitr) until he has eaten, and on the Day of Nahr (sacrifice) he did not used to eat until he returns (from the Prayers) then he would eat from his sacrifice.”
The question that arises here is: did he do that simply because he had a sacrifice? Or was it a sunnah to hold his mouth, whether or not he was going to sacrifice.
In the wording singly reported by At-Tirmidhi, Buraydah – radiyallaahu anhu – says:
(كان النبي صلي الله عليه وسلم – لا يخرج يوم الفطر حتي يطعم ولا يطعم يوم الأضحية حتي يصلي)
“The Prophet – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – did not used to go out on the Day of Fitr until he has eaten and he did not eat on the Day of Ud’hiya until he has prayed”
This is recorded in Sahih Sunan At-Tirmidhi.
The author of the Shaafi’i magnum – ‘Al-Muhadhdhab’ – said:
“It is the sunnah practice to eat on the day of Fitr before Salaat and to withhold eating on the day of sacrifice until after completing the Salaat”
Commenting on this, Imaam An-Nawawi – rahimahullah – said emphatically:
“And the sunnah on the Day of Sacrifice is to withhold from eating until after returning from the Salaat…”
Then An-Nawawi went on to quote the authors of the book ‘Al-Haawi Wa Al-Bayaan’ who referred to the statement of Taabi’i Imaam Sa’id bn Al-Musayyib – rahimahullah – who said:
“And the practice of the Muslims was that they would eat on the day of Fitr before the Salaat and they would not do that on the Day of Sacrifice. And the essence of this difference between the two is because the Sunnah is to make the sadaqah on the day of Fitr before the Salaat thus it is recommended that he eats so as to share the experience with the Masaakin (needy); whereas the Sadaqah on the day of Sacrifice is after the Salaat thus it is not recommended to eat before it…”
Based on this, we will see that the Mujtahid Imaams of the Ummah did not understand from the Hadith of Buraydah that it has to be the one who performed the ud’hiya. Rather, due to the other wording of the Hadith and the general reason explained by Imaam Ibn Musayyib above, they would refrain from eating whether or not they would sacrifice. And the wisdom behind it as Imaam Ibn Musayyib explained is clear and logical. The essence is to experience with the Masaakin (Needy) the same feeling as theirs.: we eat when they have something to eat and refrain from eating when they would not have gotten something to eat.
True, some scholars argue to the negative i.e. that it has to be if one is going to the the sacrifice, but the evidence is against them as we have explained.
Allaahu A’alam! Jazaakumullaahu khayran
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