How to Pray Eid Salah (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) in 2027

Eid salah is two rak'ahs prayed in congregation on the morning of Eid, with extra takbirs that appear in no other prayer. There is no adhan and no iqamah, the khutbah comes after the prayer rather than before it, and it takes about fifteen minutes.

The timing window is wide enough that masjids in the same city start hours apart, and the number of extra takbirs differs from one school to another, so the count at your masjid may not be the one you learned. Neither is something you need to settle before you arrive.

What Is Eid Salah, and Is It Obligatory?

Its status is one of the places the schools part company. The Hanafi school holds Eid salah to be wajib on those for whom Friday prayer is obligatory. The Hanbali school treats it as fard kifayah, a communal obligation, done once enough people pray it. The Shafi'i and Maliki schools describe it as sunnah mu'akkadah. The difference rarely shows in practice, because in all four the answer to "should I go?" is yes. If you are still working out how the two Eids differ, the prayer is one of the few things they have exactly in common.

When Is Eid Salah Prayed?

The window opens once the sun has risen clear of the horizon, classically the height of a spear, taken as roughly fifteen to twenty minutes after sunrise. It closes at zawal, when dhuhr begins. That is several hours, not a fixed minute, which is why masjids in the same city start at different times and often run two or three sittings. Check yours the week before.

Eid al-Fitr 1448 AH is expected on or around Tuesday 9 March 2027, and Eid al-Adha on or around Sunday 16 May 2027. Both are confirmed by moon sighting and may shift by a day. For the surrounding calendar, we set out when Ramadan 2027 begins and when its key nights fall separately.

What to Do Before You Leave for the Prayer

A cluster of practices is reported from the Prophet ﷺ for Eid morning: ghusl, your best clothes, perfume. For Eid al-Fitr he is reported to have eaten an odd number of dates before leaving; for Eid al-Adha, to have eaten nothing until after the prayer. He is also reported to have walked there by one route and returned by another. None are requirements. They are the texture of the day.

The takbirat begin before you arrive.

How you get there matters too From sunset on the last night of Ramadan, the evening of Monday 8 March 2027, if Eid falls on the Tuesday, you will hear Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, la ilaha illa Allah, wallahu akbar, Allahu akbar, wa lillahi'l-hamd on the way to the masjid and in the hall before the imam begins. The Qur'an ties this to the end of the fast: "and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you" (Surah al-Baqarah, 2:185).

How to Pray Eid Salah, Step by Step

Make the intention for the Eid prayer. The imam opens with takbir; you raise your hands and follow. Extra takbirs then come in the first rak'ah, each with the hands raised and lowered and a short pause between them. The imam recites al-Fatihah aloud followed by another surah, and the rak'ah proceeds as normal through ruku' and sujud. Standing for the second rak'ah, a further set of extra takbirs is made before or after the recitation depending on the school, then al-Fatihah and a second surah, then ruku', sujud, tashahhud, salam.

Two rak'ahs, done. The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have often recited Surah al-A'la in the first rak'ah and Surah al-Ghashiyah in the second, which is why those two sound familiar on Eid morning even to people who cannot place them.

How Many Takbirs? Where the Schools Differ

This is what people actually search for, and the answers look more contradictory than they are, because the schools are not counting the same things. Some include the opening takbir and the takbir made while rising for the second rak'ah, others count only the extras.

Hanafi: three extra takbirs in the first rak'ah after the opening takbir and the thana, and three in the second after the recitation, immediately before ruku'. Shafi'i: seven in the first before al-Fatihah, not counting the opening takbir, and five in the second, not counting the rising takbir. Maliki: seven in the first and six in the second, counted inclusive of the opening and rising takbirs. Hanbali: six extra in the first and five extra in the second, before the recitation in both. Nobody expects you to arrive knowing which one your masjid follows. Watch the imam's hands.

The Khutbah, and What Happens If You Arrive Late

The Eid khutbah comes after the prayer, the reverse of Jumu'ah. Scholars generally treat listening to it as recommended rather than a condition of the prayer's validity. If you arrive after the prayer has started, join and complete what you missed. If you miss the congregation entirely, the schools differ: the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali positions generally allow it to be prayed individually or with family at home, while the Hanafi position is that Eid salah requires a congregation and is not made up alone.

Zakat al-Fitr and the Eid al-Fitr Prayer

Eid al-Fitr carries an obligation the Eid al-Adha morning does not: Zakat al-Fitr, a small fixed amount given on behalf of every member of the household. The schools tie it to the prayer. The majority hold that it should reach the recipient before the Eid prayer begins, and that giving it afterwards means it counts as ordinary charity instead; the Hanafi school permits it after the prayer while still treating before as preferable. Because distribution takes time, most people give several days early. We set out who owes Zakat al-Fitr and how it is worked out separately, and here is what Eid al-Fitr actually marks.

The differences above, on the takbir count, on whether Eid salah is wajib or sunnah, on praying alone after missing the congregation, are long-standing, and each position rests on its own evidence. This article sets them side by side rather than choosing between them. For your own situation, ask your local imam or a scholar you trust.

Sources

- Qur'an, Surah al-Baqarah 2:185 (completing the period and glorifying Allah, the classical proof text for the Eid takbirat).
- Hadith on the practice of the Prophet ﷺ on Eid: the absence of adhan and iqamah and the khutbah following the prayer: Sahih al-Bukhari 960 and Sahih Muslim 885; eating dates before leaving for Eid al-Fitr: Sahih al-Bukhari 953; returning by a different route: Sahih al-Bukhari 986; recitation of Surah al-A'la and Surah al-Ghashiyah: Sahih Muslim 878.
- School positions on the ruling of Eid salah, the number and placement of the takbirs, listening to the khutbah, and making the prayer up after missing the congregation: the standard Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali positions as summarized in the classical manuals of each school. Presented side by side without preference.
- Dates: 1 Shawwal 1448 AH and 10 Dhul Hijjah 1448 AH converted from the Umm al-Qura calendar, giving Tuesday 9 March 2027 and Sunday 16 May 2027. The Eid al-Fitr date matches the one already published in our Ramadan 2027 guide. The takbirat start is counted from sunset the preceding evening, applying the rule that the Islamic night precedes its daytime date. Both dates are hedged because each month is confirmed by sighting.

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