Question:
What do the scholars and experts of shari’ah say regarding the two khutbas for the Eid prayer? Are these like the Khutba for Jumu’ah? Does the Imam have to sit in between them both?
Answer:
All perfect praise is for Allah ﷻ, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah ﷻ, and that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is His Messenger.
To answer your question, the khutba of Eid is a sunnah. Likewise, it is a sunnah for the Imam to deliver the two khutbas after the Eid prayer with a sitting in between them.
If it is Eid al-Fitr then the public should be taught about the importance of Sadaqat al-Fitr and its ways. When it is Eid al-Adha, then the sermon should be based on the importance and lessons derived from the act of Qurbani, along with the Takbirs of Eid.
Abdullah bin Abdullah bin ‘Utba said that: “It is a sunnah for the Imam to deliver two khutbas in both Eids and to sit in between them”.
Imam Shafa’i had understood it as this and acted on this opinion. Although in the book ‘Al-Din al-Khalis’, it is mentioned that Imam Nawwawi said that Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Utba’s (ra) saying is dai’f (weak) and not muttasil (continuous), “there is nothing authentic which supports the repetition of the khutbas.”
It has been narrated from Kamal ibn Hammam: “There is no doubt that regarding the khutba there is mashur (widespread) ahadith transmitted but there is no text regarding the way it is performed currently apart from this hadith which Imam ibn Majah has narrated: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came out on the day of Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha and delivered a khutba then sat down, then again arose. The ruing for this hadith is that it is da’if.”
What becomes apparent from ibn Hamam’s opinion is that there are mashur ahadith pertaining to the iitself, however these narrations do not mention how the khutba is to be delivered nor are the any mashur narrations which mention the delivering of two khutbas with a sitting in between.
After this short clarification, it is the choice of the Imam to choose from either of the two ways. That is to follow the general Muslims way of delivering two khutbas and to sit in between them for a short while. Or the Imam will perform the khutba in the manner some of the Fuqaha, including Imam Nawwawi, have narrated it by delivering one khutba without any sitting.
Both ways are permissible and for each the sunnah will InshaAllah be fulfilled, as it is a sunnat al-mu’akkadah to deliver a khutba after both Eid prayers.
And Allah ﷻ knows the best.
This Fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari
