Praise be to Allah.
Hadith about Qiyam before Eid: Authentic?
This Hadith was narrated by Ibn Majah (1782) from Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Whoever spends the nights of the two `Eids in praying Qiyam Al-Layl, seeking reward from Allah, his heart will not die on the Day when hearts will die.”
This is an inauthentic Hadith which does not have any authentic chain of narration from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
What Scholars Say About This Hadith
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-Adhkar:
It is an inauthentic Hadith which we have narrated from Abu Umamah in both Marfu` (a narration attributed to the Prophet) and Mawquf (a narration attributed to a Companion) , both reports of which are inauthentic .
Al-Hafidh Al-`Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Takhrij Ahadith Ihya’ `Ulum Ad-Din: its chain of narration is inauthentic.
Al-Hafidh ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This is an inauthentic Hadith whose chain of narration is unsound. (End quote from Al-FutUhat Ar-Rabaniyyah, 4/235)
Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned it in Da`if Ibn Majah, and said it is fabricated.
He also mentioned it in Silsilat Al-Ahadith Al-Da`ifah (521) and said, it is very inauthentic.
This Hadith was narrated by At-Tabarani from `Ubadah ibn As-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever spends the night of (`Eid) Al-Fitr and the night of (`Eid) Al-Adha in prayer, his heart will not die on the Day when hearts will die.”
This is also inauthentic.
Al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majma` Az-Zawa’id: It was narrated by At-Tabarani in Al-Kabir and Al-Awsat. Its chain of narration includes `Umar ibn Harun Al-Balkhi who is mostly inauthentic. Ibn Mahdi and others praised him, but he was classed as inauthentic by many. And Allah knows best. (End quote)
This was mentioned by Al-Albani in Silsilat Al-Ahadith Ad-Da`ifah (520); he said it is fabricated.
Scholarly Consensus
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Al-Majmu`:
Our companions (i.e., Shafi`i scholars) said: It is recommended to spend the nights before the two `Eids in prayer and doing other acts of worship. Our companions quoted as evidence for that the Hadith of Abu Umamah, according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever spends the night of `Eid in prayer, his heart will not die on the Day when hearts die.”
According to a version narrated by Ash-Shafi`i and Ibn Majah (may Allah have mercy on them): “Whoever spends the nights of the two `Eids in praying Qiyam Al-Layl, seeking reward from Allah, his heart will not die on the Day when hearts will die.”
It was narrated from Abu Ad-Darda’ with a Mawquf chain of narration, and it was narrated from Abu Umamah with a Mawquf chain of narration and a Marfu` chain of narration, as stated above, but all the chains of narration are inauthentic. (End quote)
Understanding the Sunnah
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Hadiths in which the nights before the two `Eids are mentioned are falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). (End quote)
This does not mean that it is not recommended to spend the night before `Eid in prayer, rather Qiyam Al-Layl is prescribed on all nights. Hence the scholars agreed that it is recommended to spend the night before `Eid in prayer, as is mentioned in Al-Mawsu`ah Al-Fiqhiyyah, 2/235. Our point here is that the Hadith which speaks of the virtue of spending this night in prayer is not authentic.
Check these answers for further clarification: (148039, 130948, 36856, 157275, 48983, 97750, 192665, 36491)
And Allah knows best.
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