Some shopkeepers put big loudspeakers in their shops and at the doors of their shops, from which comes the sound of the takbeer – takbeeraat al-Eid – during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah. What is the ruling on that? Should it be disallowed? Does it come under the heading of bid‘ah (innovation)? Is our instructing the students at the beginning of class during the first ten days of Dhu’l-Hijjah to recite the takbeer, so as to revive the Sunnah, a kind of bid‘ah?

Praise be to Allah

Firstly:

What is required
is for the people to recite the takbeer and magnify Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, during the days of Eid, and to do so openly.

Raising the
volume of recordings of the takbeeraat of Eid is something that will alert
the negligent and remind those who forget, so it is prescribed in that
sense, so long as it does not cause annoyance to people or disturb them with
its loud volume, and so long as it is not done excessively.

We do not say
that it comes under the heading of bid‘ah (innovation), because innovation
only refers to something for which there was a reason during the era of the
righteous early generations (as-salaf as-saalih), but they did not do it;
that is what an innovation is. As for devices that play audio recordings,
this is something new that did not exist during earlier times, as is well
known.

With regard to
such things that are set up at the doorways of shops and the like, to remind
people of the dhikr for entering and exiting a place, and other regular
adhkaar, it does not seem that there is anything wrong with any of that.

Secondly:

As reciting the
takbeer during these days is prescribed and is part of the Sunnah, then
urging people to do it is also prescribed, in general terms, and at all
times, whether that is before or after lessons in schools, when it is
appropriate to do so and it will not cause students to miss out on any
obligatory duties or to fall short in doing other work.

It should not be
limited to the beginning or end of classes; rather it should be done
whenever it is possible for them to do it.

If the teacher
enters his classroom reciting takbeer so that his students will follow his
example, or he instructs them to do it and encourages them to do it, that is
Islamically acceptable and is guiding others to righteousness and piety.

Al-Bukhaari
narrated in his Saheeh (2/20) that Ibn ‘Umar and Abu Hurayrah used to
go out to the marketplace during the first ten days [of Dhu’l-Hijjah]
reciting takbeer, and the people would recite takbeer, following their
example.

But that is on
condition that he does not tell the students to recite it in unison.

See also the
answer to question no. 127851.

And Allah knows
best.