And from him, he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "Whoever slaughters before he prays, it is merely meat for his family which he hastened; it is not part of the nusuk (sacrificial rites) in any way. Whoever slaughters before the prayer, let him slaughter another in its place, and whoever slaughters after the prayer, his nusuk has been completed, and he has attained the sunnah of the Muslims" (10).
Section: The two khutbahs are a sunnah; it is not obligatory to attend them nor to listen to them. This is due to what Abdullah bin al-Sa'ib narrated, who said: I witnessed the Eid with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and when he finished the prayer, he said: "We shall deliver the khutbah, so whoever wishes to sit for the khutbah, let him sit, and whoever wishes to leave, let him leave." Recorded by al-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah, and Abu Dawud recorded it (11) and said: It is mursal. The reason it was delayed until after the prayer, and Allah knows best, is that since it was not obligatory, it was placed at a time when one who desires to abandon it may do so, unlike the khutbah of Jumu'ah. Listening to it is superior. It has been narrated from al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin that they disliked speaking on the day of Eid while the Imam is delivering the khutbah (12). Ibrahim said: The Imam delivers the khutbah on the day of Eid for as long as it takes for the women to return to their homes. This indicates that it is not recommended for them to sit and listen to the khutbah, so that they do not
(10) It has not been narrated from Jabir with these specific words, but Muslim narrated its meaning in: 'The chapter on what concerns the udhiyah (sacrificial animal)', from the Book of Sacrifices, Sahih Muslim 3/1555. See: Nasb al-Rayah by al-Zayla'i 4/211, 212. This wording was narrated from al-Bara' bin 'Azib by: al-Bukhari, in: 'The chapter on early departure to the Eid' and 'The chapter on the Imam facing the people during the Eid khutbah', from the Book of the Two Eids; and in: 'The chapter on the sunnah of the udhiyah' and 'The chapter on the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) statement to Abu Burdah: "Sacrifice a jadh'ah (lamb) of goats..." etc.', from the Book of Sacrifices, Sahih al-Bukhari 2/24, 26, 7/128, 131. And by Muslim, in: 'The chapter on its time', from the Book of Sacrifices, Sahih Muslim 3/1552. And by al-Nasa'i, in: 'The chapter on the khutbah on the day of Eid', from the Book of the Two Eids, and 'The chapter on slaughtering the udhiyah before the Imam', from the Book of Sacrificial Animals, Al-Mujtaba 3/148, 149, 7/196. It was also narrated from Anas by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad 3/113, 117. (11) Recorded by al-Nasa'i in: 'The chapter on the choice regarding sitting for the khutbah on the two Eids', from the Book of the Two Eids, Al-Mujtaba 3/151. By Ibn Majah in: 'The chapter on what has been mentioned regarding waiting for the khutbah after the prayer', from the Book of Establishing Prayer, Sunan Ibn Majah 1/410. And by Abu Dawud in: 'The chapter on sitting for the khutbah', from the Book of Prayer, Sunan Abi Dawud 1/263. (12) Recorded by Ibn Abi Shaybah in: 'The chapter on speaking on the day of Eid while the Imam is delivering the khutbah', from the Book of Prayers, Al-Musannaf 2/171.
