Number of Takbirs in the Eid Prayer

Question

In Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawud, and Sunan al-Tirmidhi, in the chapter on Eid prayer, it is reported that the Prophet ﷺ performed the Eid prayer with twelve takbirs: seven takbirs in the first rak‘ah five takbirs in the second. Similarly, in the book Hujjatullah al-Balighah by Shah Waliullah Dehlawi (Urdu translation, vol. 2, p. 87, translated by Mawlana Abu al-A‘la Muhammad Ismail Godhwi)

Answer

The narrations regarding the takbirs of the Eid prayer differ and are numerous, both marfū‘ (attributed to the Prophet ﷺ) and mawqūf (from Companions). Because of this, scholars mention around ten opinions on the issue. These are discussed in detail in: Nayl al-Awtar Bazl al-Majhūd The scholars of ijtihad selected narrations according to their principles of preference.

Preview. The full text opens with JavaScript enabled.