Takbir al-Muqayyad

Q: What is takbīr al-muqayyad, when is it recited, and how is it performed during Eid al-Aḍḥā?

A: Takbīr al-muqayyad refers to the restricted takbīr recited in congregation after the obligatory prayers during the days of Eid al-Aḍḥā.

It is a recommended practice specifically connected to the prescribed prayers prayed in congregation, including make-up prayers performed during those same days in congregation.

For those not in iḥrām, the takbīr begins after Ṣalāt al-Fajr on the Day of ʿArafah and continues until after Ṣalāt al-ʿAṣr on the final day of Tashrīq, amounting to twenty-three obligatory prayers.

As for the pilgrim in iḥrām, the takbīr begins after Ṣalāt al-Ẓuhr on Yawm al-Naḥr and continues until ʿAṣr on the final day of Tashrīq, totaling seventeen prayers. This is because the talbiyah remains legislated for the pilgrim until the stoning of Jamrat al-ʿAqabah. If the pilgrim delays the stoning until after Ẓuhr, then both the talbiyah and takbīr may be combined together.

The takbīr is recited immediately after the salām of the prayer, before istighfār and before saying: “Allāhumma anta al-salām wa minka al-salām…”

Its wording is:

“Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, wa lillāhi al-ḥamd.”

Reciting it once fulfills the sunnah, though repeating it three times is considered good by some later jurists.

This ruling applies generally to residents, travelers, men, women, discerning children, and latecomers who complete their missed rakʿahs and then recite the takbīr after salām. A woman also recites the takbīr if praying in congregation, though she lowers her voice.

The imam is recommended after salām to turn toward the congregation and lead the takbīr aloud. It is said altogether in congregation. If a person forgets the takbīr, they may return and recite it so long as a long interruption has not passed, they have not exited the masjid, and they have not invalidated their wuḍūʾ.

The restricted takbīr is not recited after the Eid prayer itself, since the narrations concerning it specifically mention the obligatory prayers.

Sources: Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, Kashshāf al-Qināʿ, Maṭālib Ūlī al-Nuhā.