Explaining Some of the Sunnahs Performed on the Morning of 'Id al-Fitr

The Shaykh : And among what is done at the conclusion of this blessed month is that if a person intends to go out to the 'Id prayer, he should eat dates. He eats them in an odd number. And what is the minimum number of dates for an odd number?
The student: One.

The Shaykh : No, not one. It is not one date. The minimum number of dates for an odd number is three. So a person should eat three dates on the morning of 'Id before he goes to the prayer ground, or five dates if he wishes, or seven, or nine, or eleven, or thirteen, or twenty-one, or fifty-one dates.
Now, the important thing is that he eats dates and eats them in an odd number, as Anas ibn Malik, the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And here we ask: Why does one eat dates on the morning of 'Id before the prayer?
The student: To indicate that he is not fasting.

The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: To indicate that he is not fasting.

The Shaykh : Yes, he eats them to realize that this day is the day of breaking the fast. For this reason, it is forbidden for Muslims to fast on the day of 'Id, whether 'Id al-Adha or 'Id al-Fitr, because the creation are guests of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). They should avail themselves of the dispensation of Allah, and it is obligatory for them to accept the hospitality of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So fasting is not permissible, even though fasting is among the best of acts of worship, but at this time it is not permissible, just as prayer is not permissible at the times of prohibition. Yes.
In some countries, a person carries dates with him to the 'Id prayer ground and says, "It is better that I eat the dates in the prayer ground itself." What is your opinion of this? Our opinion is that it is a religious innovation, for one does not carry dates to the 'Id prayer ground. Perhaps this person intended to analogize eating dates on 'Id al-Fitr to the sacrifice on 'Id al-Adha, because it is from the Sunnah on 'Id al-Adha for people to go out with their sacrificial animals to the 'Id prayer ground and slaughter them there, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do, and the Muslims did likewise. But people abandoned this Sunnah long ago so that there would be no disorder in the slaughtering of sacrificial animals at the 'Id prayer grounds, so it was abandoned a long time ago. Otherwise, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he finished the 'Id sermon on the day of 'Id al-Adha, would come down and slaughter his sacrificial animal, and the people would slaughter their sacrificial animals, some of them slaughtering their sacrificial animal in their homes.
I say: Perhaps the one who says, "Go out with dates on 'Id al-Fitr to eat them in the prayer ground," intended to analogize this to what? To the sacrificial animals. But this is an incorrect analogy, an incorrect analogy, because it contradicts the Sunnah. How does it contradict the Sunnah? I tell you a useful rule for the student of knowledge: "Everything whose cause existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and he did not do it, and there was no obstacle to doing it, then leaving it is the Sunnah". The rule: "Everything whose cause existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and there was no obstacle to doing it and he did not do it, then leaving it is—what?—is the Sunnah".
And I give you an example. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), when he entered his home, the first thing he would begin with was the miswak, the first thing he would begin with the miswak when he entered the house. Do you do that? Question: No. Are you ignorant of it or negligent? No, it is not correct; some are ignorant and some are negligent. Some do not know that the first thing a person does when he enters his home is to use the miswak. Some scholars said: "And the first thing when you enter the mosque is to use the miswak, by analogy with entering the house". And he said, if it is prescribed for a person to use the miswak when entering his house, then using it when entering the house of Allah is even more so. What do you say about this analogy? Is it correct or incorrect?
The student: Not correct.

The Shaykh : Why? Because the cause existed in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and he did not do it. Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) enter the mosque? He entered it, and it was not reported from him that the first thing he would begin with when entering the mosque was the miswak. And on this basis, the analogy is incorrect. And this is a rule by which the student of knowledge benefits greatly from what is claimed to be a Sunnah, by saying: "Everything whose—what?—cause existed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and there was no obstacle to doing it and he did not do it, then the Sunnah is to leave it". Yes. Good.
And among what is recommended at the conclusion of this blessed month and the entry of the month of Shawwal is that people go out to the 'Id prayer wearing their best clothes, wearing their best clothes, meaning they adorn themselves on the day of 'Id, because it is a day of joy, happiness, and adornment. So much so that some scholars, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted about Moses: said: The intended meaning is the day of 'Id. So this custom is ancient, and the Sunnah came with its approval, so it becomes a Sunnah for a person to adorn himself on the day of 'Id. Good.
And among what is prescribed on the day of 'Id, which is in completion of the month of Ramadan, is that women go out to the 'Id prayer ground. And this is the occasion where it is recommended for a woman to go out to participate with the men in worship. For this reason, we say: For a woman, other than the 'Id prayer, it is better that she not attend the mosque and that she pray in her home, even in Madinah and even in Makkah, it is better that she pray in her home. And she may go out to the mosque with the known conditions: that she not be perfumed, nor adorned with adornment, nor doing what would be a cause of fitnah by her or from her. -Pay attention, boy- So on the day of 'Id specifically, we say to women: Go out, go out to the prayer ground, for that is a Sunnah for you, and it is not a Sunnah other than that, other than this prayer, even the young women and the free women who are not of the age of going down to the markets or the women who have private chambers. What does that mean? I do not hear one person speaking.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Good. The women who have private chambers who do not usually go out of their chamber, like the unmarried girl. And the menstruating women also go out, even the menstruating woman goes out to the 'Id prayer ground. But it was said: . It was said: The menstruating women do not enter the prayer ground. Why? Because the 'Id prayer ground is a mosque, because the 'Id prayer ground is a mosque. For this reason, the menstruating woman was prevented from it. Are you with us? So what is the benefit of the menstruating woman going out? Umm 'Atiyyah said: Because this prayer is good, and the imam who is delivering the sermon calls and persists in supplication, he calls to Allah and also supplicates to Allah, he calls to Allah to hold fast to His religion and supplicates to Allah to ask for his needs, so it is a day of supplication and good. For this reason, it is called the Day of Rewards, because the fasting people give their rewards at the time of the 'Id prayer. I ask Allah to make my reward and your reward what He is pleased with from us. Good.
So women go out for the 'Id prayer in whatever state they are in. But it is not permissible for a woman to go out adorned or perfumed, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And he said: meaning not perfumed and not adorned. Rather, she goes out in ordinary clothes that cover her face and the rest of what would cause fitnah by her.
And on the day of 'Id, people visit their relatives and friends to unite hearts, remove estrangement, and bring joy. So is it said: These visits are a religious innovation, or do we say: They are from the custom that has become the norm, and people do not intend by them to worship Allah, but rather they intend by them to show affection to the servants of Allah? The first or the second?
The second. They intend by them to show affection to the servants, not to draw near to the Lord of the servants, because they do not see for it any basis in the Sunnah. And therefore they do it from the perspective of what? Affection and endearment. And there is no doubt that it is a means of reconciliation, closeness, and love.