Eidgah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eid Prayer in Eidgah, Kheri
Shahi Eidgah, Sylhet

In south asian Islamic culture, an Eidgah or Idgah (Urdu: عید گاہ‎) is an open-air mosque usually outside the city (or at the outskirts) to perform the Salat al Eid (Eid prayers) for Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.[1] It is usually a public place.[2] At the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate by first offering prayers at an Eidgah. It is a large open ground for people to assemble and offer their prayers early in the morning on the Eid day.[3][4]

It was a practice of the Prophet Muhammad to perform the Eid salaah (prayer) in an open space on the outskirts of the city. Hence, it is considered a sunnah to perform Eid salaah at the Eidgah.[5] The very first Eidgah was at the outskirts of Medina nearly 1000 footsteps from Masjid al Nabawi.[6],[1]

Eidgah in Sharia

14th-century Idgah, built during Tughlaq dynasty rule in Delhi

There are several guidelines for Eidgahs in Sharia.

  • Complying to the Sunnah, performing of the Eid Salaah on the outskirts of the town is better and more virtuous, than performing it in the town.[7]
  • The Eid Salaah performed in the Masjid is complete, but performing it in the Eidgah is Sunnah. Without any valid excuse, not to read the Eid Sunnah in the Eidgah is contrary to the Sunnah.[8]
  • The Eid Salaah should be a huge gathering on the outskirts of the town. In this way the brotherhood of Islam is manifested. In the big cities it is difficult to make Eidgah on the outskirts of the city, therefore a huge open plain should be chosen for the Eidgah or according to the need, it can be performed in the Masjid, which will be correct. But as far as possible, one huge gathering is superior compared to many small Eidgahs.[9]
  • Performing of the Eid Salaah in the Eidgah is Sunnat-e-Muak'kadah. Without any valid excuse, the one who does not perform his Eid Salaah in the Eidgah is worthy of being reprimanded and taken to task and this kind of a person is a sinner. If the Eidgah is a distance away and it is inconvenient for the old and sickly, then the Jurists have given permission for them to perform Eid Salaah in the Masjid.[10]

Eidgahs

New Eidgah, Tumkur, India

Notable Eidgahs around the world include:

This Eidgah is unique and combines traditional themes with the modern. Designed and built by Dr. Nazeer Ahmed, a space scientist, it has built into it subtleties that go beyond the ordinary. First, the divine name “Allah” is built into the structure, read right to left as is its reflection, read left to right. The reflection suggests the world is illusory and is only a reflection of the heavens. Secondly, each of the smaller minarets is nineteen feet from the ground. The number nineteen is a mystical number in Islam that appears in the Qur'an. The intermediate sized minarets are nineteen feet from the base. So, altogether there are six minarets that are nineteen feet each. Six times nineteen is 114, which is the total number of surahs in the Qur'an, a Book that completes God's favors upon humankind. Straight lines drawn from the apex of the minarets intersect where the word "Hu" is inscribed in a red circle. The subtended angle of 112.4 degrees is twice the natural flow angle of the earth into which we return. This flow angle is a solution to a Legendre polynomial of the second order which was presented in a paper by Dr. Ahmed at the fourth National Congress of Applied Mechanics at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. USA in 1972. "Hu" is the abstract divine pronoun for God, most exalted. The circle is a reminder of "two bows length or less" wrapped around that shrouded prophet Muhammed when he stood in divine presence during Me'raj. The entire structure is enclosed in a "golden rectangle" where the ratio of the width of the base to the height of the two large minarets is 1.618. The Eidgah complex accommodates 12,000 worshippers.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eidgah.
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Performance of Eid Salah in Eidgah (Open Field)
  2. ↑ "Special prayers in Idgah seeking divine blessings, eternal peace". The Hindu. Retrieved 9 February 2012. 
  3. ↑ "Traffic curbs on Eid". Times of India. Retrieved 9 February 2012. 
  4. ↑ "Traffic restrictions imposed for Eid prayers". Siasat Daily. Retrieved 9 February 2012. 
  5. ↑ Eidgah
  6. ↑ (Mariful Hadîth, Vol. 3, P.399)
  7. ↑ (Fatwa Darul Uloom, Vol 5, P. 208)
  8. ↑ (Fatwa Darul Uloom, Vol. 5, P.2261)
  9. ↑ (Ahsanul Fatwa, Vol. 4, P. 119)
  10. ↑ (Fatwa Rahimiyah, Vol. 1, P.276)
Eid
Festivals
  • Eid al-Adha ("Festival of Sacrifice")
  • Eid ul-Fitr ("Festival of the Fast Breaking")
Topics
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.