If the Testimony of the Moon Arrives Late, the Eid Prayer Is Postponed

Question

If news of the moon arrives one or two hours before zawal, is it permissible to perform the Eid prayer on the next day or not? Some people say that laying out the prayer mats for the rows at the Eidgah (open ground for the Eid prayer) cannot be done in one or two hours. Wudu and the like also take some time. Is this a legally valid excuse or not? Can the Eid prayer be performed without the mats or not?

Answer

If the moon was established before zawal at such a time that the worshippers can make wudu, come to the Eidgah and perform the prayer before zawal, then the prayer should not be postponed to the next day merely because of laying out the mats. But if there is not even enough time for them to make wudu and gather for the prayer, then it is postponed to the next day.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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