If Eid Al-Fitr falls on Friday, is Friday prayer necessary? This is Ministry of Religious Affairs’ answer!
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- In a statement made public on Wednesday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Wakfs cut short speculation about the non-observance of Friday prayer, if the first day of Aid El Fitr falls on April 21. It clarified that this prayer is a constant, which cannot be canceled whatever the circumstances.
As such, the faithful are called to perform the prayer of aid then that of Friday in the mosques, a few hours apart.
Eid al-Fitr, (Arabic: “Festival of Breaking Fast”) also spelled ʿĪd al-Fiṭr, also called al-ʿĪd al-Ṣaghīr, first of two main festivals of Islam. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, and is celebrated during the first three days of Shawwāl, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar (though the Muslim use of a lunar calendar means that it may fall in any season of the year). As in Islam’s other holy festival, Eid al-Adha, it is distinguished by the performance of communal prayer (ṣalāt) at daybreak on its first day. Eid al-Fitr is a time of official receptions and private visits, when friends greet one another, presents are given, new clothes are worn, and the graves of relatives are visited.
