Absolute and Restricted Takbir

Q: To the esteemed presence of the honorable Shaykh, Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, may Allah preserve him, after greetings and respect:
Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings, may the Creator perpetually bestow upon us and you the blessing of Islam. Along with inquiring about your health, our circumstances are, by Allah’s favor, as you would wish. And may Allah preserve you in His obedience. Please rule for us on the absolute takbir during the Festival of Sacrifice: does the takbir after every prayer fall under the absolute takbir, or not? And is it a sunnah, a recommended act, or an innovation? This is because there has been debate regarding it. May the Creator preserve you, and peace be upon you.

A: From Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz to the esteemed brother M.A.M., may Allah guide him, amen. Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. After that: Your esteemed letter, dated 24/2/1387 AH, has arrived, may Allah guide you by it, and the questions it contained were known.
And the answer is: Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance.
As for the takbir during the Festival of Sacrifice, it is prescribed from the beginning of the month until the end of the thirteenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah; for the saying of Allah, the Exalted: the verse [Al-Hajj: 28], which are the ten days, and His saying: : the verse [Al-Baqarah: 203], which are the days of Tashreeq; and for the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): narrated by Muslim in his Sahih, and al-Bukhari mentioned in his Sahih, as a suspended narration, from Ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them both): (that they used to go out to the market during the ten days and recite takbir, and the people would recite takbir following their takbir). And Umar ibn al-Khattab and his son Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) (would recite takbir during the days of Mina, in the mosque and in the tent, and they would raise their voices with it until Mina would tremble with takbir). And it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and from a group of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) the takbir after the five prayers, from the Fajr prayer on the Day of Arafah until the Asr prayer on the thirteenth day of Dhu al-Hijjah. This is for the non-pilgrim. As for the pilgrim, he is occupied during his state of ihram with the talbiyah until he throws the stones at the Jamarat al-Aqabah on the Day of Sacrifice, and after that he is occupied with the takbir. The takbir begins with the first stone of the throwing of the aforementioned pillar. And if he recites takbir along with the talbiyah, there is no harm; for the saying of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) : (A person would recite the talbiyah on the Day of Arafah and it would not be disapproved of, and a person would recite takbir and it would not be disapproved of). But the better for the one in ihram is the talbiyah, and for the one in a state of normality (halal) is the takbir on the aforementioned days.
And by this you know that the absolute and restricted takbir coincide, in the most correct of the scholars’ opinions, in five days, which are: the Day of Arafah, the Day of Sacrifice, and the three days of Tashreeq.
And as for the eighth day and what precedes it until the beginning of the month, the takbir in it is absolute, not restricted—due to the aforementioned verse and reports, and in al-Musnad from Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said: or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said.