When does the time of eid prayer start and end? Can eid prayer be performed as qada if it is missed?

1) Can a person perform eid prayer alone if he misses the congregation? If yes, how is it performed? 2) If the time for eid prayer has not passed and if we have not performed it, what should we do?

Dear Brother / Sister,

When does the time of eid prayer start and end?

The time for eid prayer starts when the time of karahah ends after sunrise, that is, after the sun rises about the length of a spear; the time for eid prayer ends at the time of zawal (mid-day; when the sun is at its peak). (at-Tabyin - Zaylai - Fatawa al- Hindiyya) However, it is better to perform eid al-adha prayer as soon as the time of karahah ends after sunrise; it is better to delay performing eid al-fitr a bit. (al-Khulasa - Bahr ar-Raiq - Ibn Nujaym)

Can eid prayer be performed as qada if it is missed?

If some Muslims have missed the eid prayer, it cannot be performed as qada alone or in congregation after the imam leads the eid prayer, whether its time has ended or not. (at-Tabyin - Zaylai)

Can eid prayer be left to the second day of the eid?

If the prayer of eid al-fitr (Ramadan) cannot be performed on the first day due to some excuses, it is performed on the second day. For instance, if the weather is cloudy on the first day of eid and it is determined after zawal (midday) that it is eid, which is an excuse, the eid prayer is performed on the second day. It is not permissible to delay it to the third day. (Fatawa al- Hindiyya - al-Badayi' – Qasani)

If something prevents the prayer of eid al-adha from being performed on the first day, it isperformed on the second day; if an excuse or drawback occurs on the second day, it is delayed to the third day. However, if an excuse or drawback occurs on the third day, it is not delayed to the fourth day. It will not be performed. (al-Jawharatun-Nayyira - Quduri Explanation.) If it is delayed to the second or third day without an excuse, it is makruh but permissible to perform it. However, the prayer of eid al-fitr is delayed to the second day without an excuse, it is not permissible; it will not be performed. (at-Tabyin - Zaylai)

The eid prayer that is delayed due to an excuse is performed on the second day after the sun rises about a spear length (that is, about thirty-forty minutes after the sunrise). The writer of Tatarhaniyya wrote the same thing.

If the imam realizes afterwards that he led the prayer of eid al-fitr without wudu, he needs to perform (lead) it again on that day if he remembers it before zawal. However, if he remembers after zawal, he needs to lead it again on the second day. 

If the prayer that the imam led without wudu was the prayer of eid al-fitr and the imam remembered it after zawal, the animals that were sacrificed are permissible. The prayer is performed again on the second day. If he remembers it on the second day and after zawal, it is delayed to the third day; if he remembers it before zawal, it is performed on that day. If he remembers it after zawal on the third day, it will not be performed. However, if he remembers it before zawal on the first day and tells the congregation about it, the animals sacrificed up to that time are permissible; after it is heard by the congregation, the animals to be sacrificed afterwards will not be permissible. (Fatawa al -Qadihan - Fatawa al- Hindiyya.)

(Celal Yıldırım, Kaynaklarıyla İslam Fıkhı, Uysal Kitabevi: II/11-15.)

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