Question:
What do the scholars and experts of shari’ah say regarding the ruling of worshipping on the nights of Eid?
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.
It is mustahab and encouraged to spend the nights of Eid in prayer, dhikr, and recitation of the Holy Quran. One should try to learn the Takbirs of Eid, Tasbih, and Istighfar to gain maximum reward. It is also a night in which we must increase our salawat upon the beautiful Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his family.
Sayyid Abu Umama narrates, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever stands up (in worship) in the nights preceding the two Eids expecting rewards from his Lord, his heart will not die when other hearts die.” (Ibn Majah)
The meaning of ‘when other hearts die’ is that the heart becomes severely afflicted by the love of this world. In another opinion it is the affliction of disbelief or that on the day of Judgement a person will be afflicted by fear.
Sayyiduna Ibn ‘Umar states, “There are five nights in which a supplication is not rejected; the night of Jumu’ah, the first night of Rajab, the night of mid-Sha’ban, the night of Eid al-Fitr, the night of Eid al-Adha. (Shu’b al-Iman)
Imam Shafi’i mentions, “We have heard the following statement: Without doubt there are five nights in which supplications are accepted; the night of Jumu’ah, the night of Eid al-Adha, the night of Eid al-Fitr, the first night of Rajab, the night of mid-Sha’ban. (Kitab al-Umm)
If a person prays most of the night, they will achieve ihya al-layl, in same way a person remaining in Mina will accomplish his ritual if he spends most of the night there.
In another understanding even if one spends a short time in worship on this night the reward for the whole night would be achieved. Ibn Abbas narrates that after performing the Isha and Fajr in jama’ah, and supplicating in them, he will achieve the rewards of Ihya al-Layl.
And Allah ﷻ knows the best.
This Fatwa is written by Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Munir Al-Azhari
