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 Eid and Jum'ah on the same day The differences of opinion held by the Imams of Islamic Jurisprudence in this regard are as follows: (1) Imam Ahmad holds the view that one has the choice to either perform Jum’ah or not. (2) Imam Shafie says that only the people from the far off villages are allowed to forego the Jum’ah or to perform it as well. (3) Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Maalik are of the opinion that whenever Eid and Jum’ah fall on the same day, then those upon whom Jum’ah is essential must perform both the Eid Salaah ( because it is a Sunnah) and the Jum’ah Salaah ( because it is Farz). These differences amongst the Imams are supported by the following proofs: (1) Imam Ahmad takes his proof from a Hadith mentioned by Ibn Majah and Abu Dawood, taken from Ibn Abbas (R.A) from the Prophet (SA) who said, "Two Eids have come together on your day today. Whosoever wishes, let Eid suffice for his Jum’ah (i.e. it is enough for him to perform Eid alone and to forego the Jum’ah) but we would perform the both." The other scholars (i.e. Imam Shafie, Imam Abu Hanifa and Imam Malik) take their proof from the following Ahaadith: (1) Ibn Shihab mentions from Abu Ubaid who says, "I witnessed Eid with Uthman bin Affan. He came, performed the Salaah, gave the sermon and then said, "Certainly in your day today, two Eids have come together. Whosoever from the villagers wish to wait for Jum’ah, let him wait. If he wishes to return, then I have permitted him." (Reported by Imam Maalik in his Muatta) The same Sanad (narration) of this Hadith has been used by Imam Bukhari in, ‘The chapter of fasting on Eid day’ (which indicates to us that the Sanad used is authentic). (2) Ibraheem bin Muhammad mentions from Ibraheem bin Uqba from Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who said that two Eids came together (i.e. Jum’ah and Eid on one day) during the time of the Prophet (SA). He, the Prophet then said, “Whosoever wishes to sit (and remain) from amongst the villagers, let him sit (and remain) without any harm”. As mentioned by Imam Shafie, the Sanad (narration) is Hassan and Mursal. Ibraheem bin Uqba is from amongst the narrators of Saheeh Muslim and is authentic. Umar bin Abdul Aziz was the Ameerul Mumineen and a righteous Tabiee, his Mursal Hadith is therefore accepted by the scholars. This Mursal Hadith is also supported by another Hadith which is Marfu’ (Hadith traced back directly to the Prophet SA) and Mawsuul (Hadith with an uninterrupted narration), which also indicates that the concession to leave was specifically for the villagers. Both Marfu’ and Mawsuul Ahaadith are accepted and are very reliable according to all scholars of Hadith. This Hadith is narrated by Imam Baihaqi and taken from Sufyan bin Uyaina from Abdul Aziz bin Refai from Abu Salih from Abu Hurairah. According to the Usul of Hadith, whenever a Mursal Hadith is supported by a Mawsuul Hadith then it becomes a proof according to all scholars. After looking at these traditions it can be clearly seen that the allowance to neglect Jum’ah Salaah was not a general one, but was specific to a certain group of people for a specific reason. As such, those upon whom Jum’ah has become essential should not neglect their Jum’ah Salaah. The reasons for establishing the Jum’ah Salaah on the day of Eid are: - (1) The establishment of Jum’ah is evident from the Holy Quraan, which is the strongest source of proof in Shariah. A Hadith, which is termed Khabrul-Wahid, cannot change that law. (The Hadith which was used to allow leaving off Jum’ah is Khabrul Wahid) (2) Establishing Jum’ah is Farz, while Eid is Sunnah. A Sunnah cannot be used to remove a Farz act. (3) The Hadith reported by Ibn Maajah and Abu Dawood indicates to us that the addressees of the Prophet’s word "Whosoever amongst you" were ‘the villagers’. It is so because he further added, “But we would perform the both". Here, the word “we” referred to the Prophet (SA) and the people of Madina. (4) During the time of the Prophet (SA), and also after his time, people came from far off villages, especially for the Eid Salaah. When the day of Eid coincided with Jum’ah, it would have been very difficult for them to perform Jum’ah because they would either have to remain from the morning until midday, or travel on their animals all the way back to their villages and upon arriving, start their journey again to return for Jum’ah. Recognizing this great difficulty upon them, the Prophet (SA) gave them the concession to leave after Eid Salaah if they wished to do so. However, he informed them that he and the others would be performing the Jum’ah by saying, "But we would perform the both." One may ask, How is it that the Eid Salaah sufficed for their Jum’ah even when it is known that Jum’ah was Farz? The answer to this objection is that Jum’ah was not even Farz upon these people for two reasons: (i) They were villagers (ii) They were travellers. (5) The action of Uthman was done in the presence of the great companions of the Prophet (SA) and he was not condemned, criticized nor considered wrong or against the Sunnah. On this topic, some scholars have mentioned three other Ahaadith, which according to them, gives some allowance for Jum’ah to be neglected. These Ahaadith, as well the proper explanation for them are as follows: (1) The first Hadith is narrated from Zaid bin Arqam in which Zaid was asked by Muawiyah, "Have you ever witnessed two Eids coming together (i.e. Eid and Jum’a) with the Messenger of Allah (SA)?" Zaid said, “Yes. He performed Eid at the beginning of the day and gave a concession for Jum’ah by saying, “Whosoever wishes to join the both (i.e. perform Eid and Jum’ah) let him join." (Reported by Ahmad, Abu Daud and Ibn Majah.) Allama Shawkani writes that this has also been mentioned by Nasai and Hakim, and Ali bin Al Madini has considered it Saheeh. However, in the Sanad there is Ayas bin Abi Ramla who is Majhuul (Unknown). Explanation of 1st Hadith The scholars have mentioned that this Hadith cannot be used as an evidence to neglect the Jum’ah Salaah because Ayas bin Abi Ramla is unknown. Although some scholars have accepted him, others have written against him in the following manner: - (i) The famous Muhadith, Ibnul Munzir states, “This Hadith is not evident" because Ayas the narrator from Zaid bin Arqam is unknown. (ii) Hafiz states in his book ‘Tahzeebut Tahzeeb’, “That only one person mentioned a Hadith from Ayas and he is Uthman bin Al Mughira Thaqafi.” The same is mentioned by Ibn Hiban. (iii) Hafiz Zahabi in his book ‘Al Miizan’ has mentioned Ayas as unknown. The same is mentioned in At Taqreeb. (iv) No other Raawi (narrator) has narrated any Hadith from him except Uthman bin Al Mughira. (v) Besides this hadith no other Hadith is known from him. These statements of the great Masters of Hadith show that the narrator in question is, 'unknown'. According to the Usuul of the traditionists, "A Raawi cannot become accepted, except that (at least) for the minimum two authentic narrations are narrated from him. This has not been the case with the Hadith mentioned by Zaid bin Arqam. Therefore, this Hadith remains weak because of the undisputable unknown Raawi. This Hadith cannot influence a law which is established from the most authentic source (i.e. Jum’ah from the Quraan). (2) The second Hadith is mentioned from Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (SA) who said, “Certainly, two Eids have gathered on this day of yours, whosoever wishes, let Eid suffice (for him) for Jum’a, but we would be performing the both.” (Reported by Abu Daud and Ibn Majah) Allama Shawkani writes that Hakim has also mentioned this Hadith. Ahmad bin Hambal and Dar Qutni have considered its Mursal as Saheeh. Explanation of 2nd Hadith This Hadith is a Mursal Hadith, which is narrated by Baqiya from Shu’ba. In this Mursal Hadith, it is mentioned that Abu Hurairah has narrated it, however, in the version of Ibn Majah, it is mentioned that Ibn Abbas narrated it. This is therefore doubtful. Even if this Hadith is accepted then it is very clear that those who were addressed by the Prophet (SA) as having a choice were the villagers. That which indicated to this understanding, is the fact that the Prophet said to them “But we would perform the both”. The question is, ‘Who is “we”?’ If the word “Whosoever” is general as it is taken by Allama Shawkani then, Who would the “we” refer to? Can the generality in “whosoever” and “we” refer to the same group of people? No! it cannot, for this is against Usool. It therefore means that "whosoever" referred to those villagers who travelled from far off villages to be present for the Eid Salaah. They were allowed to return for fear of hardship on them. That which shows that it referred to them is the fact that the Prophet (SAS) said, “But we would join the both.” This is plurality in the first person, meaning the people of Madina. Leading us to this understanding also is the Mursal Hadith reported by Umar bin Abdul Aziz in which he states that, “Two Eids came together (i.e. Eid and Jum’ah) on the same day during the time of the Prophet (SA). The Prophet then said, “Whosoever amongst the villagers wishes to sit (and remain) let him sit and remain without any harm.” (3) The third Hadith, which is quoted by Allama Shawkani, is from Wahab bin Kaisan. He says that Jum’a and Eid came together on one day during the time of Ibn Zubair and he delayed coming out for Eid until the day reached high (it was close to midday). Then he came out and delivered the Khutba, he then performed Salaah, but he did not perform Salaah for the people on Jum’ah day. Wahab says, “I mentioned this to Ibn Abbas, who said, "Ibn Zubair has done according to the Sunnah”. (Abu Daud). In another narration reported by Abu Daud, it states "He (Ibn Zubair) did not exceed upon the two Rakaahs until he performed Asr.” Explanation of 3rd Hadith With respect to this hadith, the scholars have stated that this incident cannot be used as an evidence since other companions besides Ibn Abbas did not approve of it. As such, a matter which was not known by the general Sahabahs, and was not given their approval, cannot gain consensus. It should be known that both Ibn Abbas and Ibn Zubair were young children during the time of the Prophet (SA). It is quite possible that they were aware of the statement 'whosoever wishes amongst you' and hence, based their opinions upon it, not understanding who the addressees of that statement were. Another important point to note is that the above tradition in no way indicates to us that Jum’ah was neglected. The reason is that it mentions that Ibn Zubair delivered the Khutba first and then performed Salaah. This is the identical practice of Jum’ah, for it is a known Sunnah of the Prophet (SA) that (for Eid), the Salaah was performed first, and then the Khutba was delivered. However, Ibn Zubair did not do this, instead, he delivered the khutba first and then performed the Salaah which in reality is the practice of Jum’ah Salaah. This action of Ibn Zubair therefore shows that on account of the fact that both Jum’ah and Eid fell on the same day, he intentionally delayed Eid close to Zawal, and then combined the both by performing Jum’ah before Zawal. Our proof of this is the Riwayat of Abu Daud about the same incident mentioned by Ata bin Abi Ribah who says that, ‘he (Ibn Zubair) joined the both and performed two Rakaahs’. Another argument, is that according to the Riwayat of Abu Daud, which is also mentioned by Allama Shawkani, it states ‘that he (Ibn Zubair) did not exceed upon the two Rakaahs until he performed Asr'. It is a very clear and known law, that when one cannot perform Jum’ah, he must perform Zuhr Salaah. If it is understood that Ibn Zubair performed only two Rakaahs of Eid and did not perform Jum’ah (and the narrator said that the only other Salaah he performed after the two Rakaah was Salaatul Asr), then the question is, ‘Why didn't Ibn Zubair perform his Zuhr Salaah?’ This objection against him would not be made if it is said that the two Rakaahs he performed, was Jum’ah. Conclusion From these Ahaadith and explanations, it is well established that when Eid falls on the same day of Jum’ah, the Salaah of Jum’ah must be performed. If one's objective is to follow the Sunnah or Hadith then the correct thing to do is to perform both the Eid and Jum’a, for the Prophet (SA) himself, performed the both. It is also evident that there is no single clear tradition, which informs us of any general concession of foregoing Jum’a Salaah. On the other hand, many traditions inform us that the concession was not general, it was specific to certain group of people. And Allah knows best.
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