[Q 641] Eating Before Eid Prayer

QUESTION:

It’s Sunnah to not eat anything from dawn till the Eid namaz.
What if there is earlier Eid salah in someone’s locality but this person is reading later Eid salah in another masjid; can this person eat something after the earlier Eid salah in their local masjid or they have to wait till they read their own Eid salah to fulfill this Sunnah?

ANSWER:

Not eating anything before the Eid al-Adha prayer is Sunnah. The meaning of this is that a person should not eat anything before performing his own Eid prayer. This is also what is mentioned in the blessed Hadith that Huzoor Jan-e-Rahmat صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم would not partake of anything on Eid al-Adha until he had performed the Eid prayer.

This was done in موافقت (muwafaqat – showing conformity/support) with the فقرا (fuqara – poor people), because generally the poor only eat from the meat given to them by people after the Eid prayer. It was also done so that a person’s first meal on the day of Eid al-Adha would be from his own قربانی (qurbani – sacrifice), so that the command of Allah تبارك وتعالى may be fulfilled.

Therefore, in order to act upon the Sunnah, you should only eat and drink after performing your own Eid prayer.

However, if someone does eat or drink before his Eid prayer, or does not eat from the قربانی (qurbani – sacrifice) meat first, then this will not cause any defect whatsoever in the قربانی (qurbani – sacrifice).

In Mirqat al-Mafatih, the blessed Hadith is mentioned:

عن بريدة – رضي الله عنه – قال: «كان النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم – لا يخرج يوم الفطر حتى يطعم، ولا يطعم يوم الأضحى حتى يصلي»

In its commentary, Allamah Mulla Ali Qari رحمه الله تعالى عليه states:

موافقة للفقراء ; لأن الظاهر أن لا شيء لهم إلا ما أطعمهم الناس من لحوم الأضاحي، وهو متأخر عن الصلاة بخلاف صدقة الفطر، فإنها متقدمة على الصلاة.
وقيل: ليكون أول ما يطعم من أضحيته ; فيكون أكله مبنيا على امتثال الأمر،
[Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh Mishkat al-Masabih, Vol. 03, Pg. 1070]

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 26th May 2026.