At the 'Id al-Adha or 'Id al-Fitr prayer, some people sit down immediately upon entering the place of the 'Id prayer, while many people pray the greeting of the mosque. Which is more correct?

The questioner : At the 'Id al-Adha or 'Id al-Fitr prayer, some people sit down immediately upon entering the place of the 'Id prayer, while many people pray two rak'ahs before sitting down. Which is more correct and better in this regard?

The Shaykh : The place of the 'Id prayer is a mosque, as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the menstruating women who go out to the place of the 'Id prayer to stay away from it. This indicates that it is a mosque. Some scholars have said that one should not pray, whether he enters before the sun rises or after the sun rises. However, the stronger opinion is what we mentioned first. Nevertheless, one should not disapprove of the one who prays, nor of the one who sits, because this issue is a matter of scholarly disagreement among the scholars, and one of the opinions is plausible as being the correct one. If that is the case, then there is no disapproval, for there is no disapproval in matters of independent legal reasoning where there is no explicit text that distinguishes between the two positions of independent legal reasoning.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.