Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The Friday prayer > The sermon and special cases of Friday
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Updated on 24 September 2026 at 7:46 PM
Second part of the fiqh chapter devoted to the Friday prayer: this section examines the mosque greeting for one who enters during the sermon, the merit of the khatib and the imam being one and the same person, what the latecomer catches of the prayer, the coincidence of Eid and Friday on one day, traveling on Friday, making up the missed prayer, whether a sunnah exists before the prayer, and the validity of praying in front of the imam in case of crowding. The positions of the four schools are given with their classical references, the hadiths on which each view rests, and the degrees of authenticity noted by the scholars.
The jurists differed concerning one who enters the mosque on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon: is the mosque greeting (tahiyyat al-masjid) recommended for him, or is it disliked so that he should sit without praying it? The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis held that one who enters on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon should pray two rak'ahs as the mosque greeting, brief ones, before sitting down; leaving these two rak'ahs is disliked for him.
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man came while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was addressing the people, and he said to him: "Have you prayed, O so-and-so?" He said: no. He said: "Stand up and pray two rak'ahs." In another wording: "Then pray two rak'ahs."Reported by al-Bukhari (888) and Muslim (875)
Muslim (875) adds that he then said: "When one of you comes on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, let him pray two rak'ahs and make them brief." This is an explicit text, and because he entered the mosque outside the time of prohibition, praying was legislated for him.
The Shafi'is said: if he enters while the imam is at the end of the sermon and thinks it most likely that, were he to pray the greeting, he would miss the opening takbir with the imam, he does not pray the greeting; rather he stands until the prayer is called and does not sit down, so as not to remain sitting in the mosque before the greeting; and if he can pray and catch the opening takbir, he prays the greeting (al-Majmu', 5/735; al-Mughni, 3/31; al-Insaf, 2/416).
The Hanafis and the Malikis held that one who enters the mosque while the imam is delivering the sermon sits down, and that praying the mosque greeting is disliked for him, according to what the Prophet said to the one who was stepping over the people's necks:
Sit down, you have caused harm and come too late.Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (118), Ibn Majah (1115) and an-Nasa'i (1399)
He indeed ordered him to sit without ordering him the greeting. And by the hadith of Ibn Omar raised to the Prophet: "When the imam delivers the sermon, there is no prayer and no speech"; Shaykh al-Albani declared it false (batil) in ad-Da'ifah (87) (see ath-Thamar ad-Dani, 1/624).
If you say to your companion on Friday, while the imam is delivering the sermon, "Keep quiet", you have engaged in idle talk.Reported by al-Bukhari (892) and Muslim (851)
This is a rebuke for neglecting to listen: if one is rebuked at this level, what goes beyond it deserves all the more to be forbidden. The word "Keep quiet" is in fact among the benefits of listening and constitutes an invitation to it: if that is forbidden despite its low risk and the ease of engaging in it, what goes beyond it and is not of its kind deserves all the more to be forbidden.
And because it is a preoccupation that distracts from listening to the sermon, like speech and eating; and because it is a prayer begun during the imam's sermon, like the voluntary prayer begun at that moment; and because in any state he might be in, were he in the mosque, initiating the voluntary prayer would not be permitted for him: the same applies if his entry coincides with the imam standing or engaged in the prayer; and because any prayer that one who is in the mosque would begin would not be permitted for him: the same applies to the one who enters, and this is the root of what we have mentioned.
And because listening to the sermon is obligatory, and the prayer would preoccupy him: yet it is not permitted to engage in a voluntary prayer while neglecting what is obligatory.
Those who began a voluntary prayer before going out salute on two rak'ahs: if he began the second pair, he completes it; and if he had begun four rak'ahs before Friday, he completes them (al-Mabsut, 2/29; al-Ikhtiyar, 1/90; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/223; Fath al-Bari, 2/409-410; Umdat al-Qari, 6/232; al-Ishraf ala nukt masail al-khilaf, 2/10-12, no. 337; Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/231).
The sunnah is that the one who leads the prayer be the one who delivered the sermon, for the Prophet performed both himself, as did his caliphs after him; and the majority of jurists, namely the Hanafis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, held this view. If a man delivers the sermon and another leads the prayer because of an excuse, it is valid: since delegation for one and the same prayer is valid in case of excuse, it is all the more fitting for the sermon together with the prayer. If there is no excuse, Imam Ahmad said: I do not approve of it without an excuse.
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: prohibition is possible, for the Prophet performed both and said: "Pray as you have seen me pray," and the sermon was established in the place of two rak'ahs; its validity is possible as well, for the sermon is separate from the prayer, and the two then resemble two prayers (al-Mughni, 3/19).
The question then arises: is it required that the one leading be among those who attended the sermon? The Hanafis and the Hanbalis in one narration required it. Al-Kasani said: if the imam becomes ritually impure after the sermon, before beginning the prayer, he may appoint a man to lead the people if he is among those who attended the sermon or part of it; otherwise it is not permitted, and it is Dhuhr that he will lead for them (Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/207; Hashiyat at-Tahawi, 1/329).
Ibn Qudamah said: on this there are two narrations. One requires it: it is the view of al-Thawri, the people of reasoned opinion (ahl al-ra'y) and Abu Thawr, for he is the imam of Friday, so his attendance at the sermon is required, as if he were not delegating. The other does not require it: it is the view of al-Awza'i and al-Shafi'i, for he is among those by whom Friday is formed, so he may lead in it as if he had attended the sermon (al-Mughni, 3/19; Hashiyat al-Jamal, 2/58; Kashshaf al-Qina', 2/34).
The Malikis differed on this point: they hold that it is obligatory for the khatib and the imam to be one and the same person, except for an excuse such as illness, or the imam's inability to deliver the sermon, or the fact that he is not good at it (Sharh al-Jawahir al-Zakiyya, 133; al-Ifsah, 1/245; al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyya, 56).
It is narrated from Imam Ahmad that delegation is not permitted, whether for an excuse or otherwise. He said in Hanbal's narration, concerning an imam who becomes ritually impure after delivering the sermon and appoints a man to lead the prayer: that man leads them only in four rak'ahs, unless he repeats the sermon and then leads them in two rak'ahs; for this was transmitted neither from the Prophet nor from any of his caliphs. Ibn Qudamah said: the first position is the correct one (al-Mughni, 3/20).
The jurists agree that catching the sermon is not among the conditions for catching Friday: whoever prays the Friday prayer has a valid Friday, even if he did not catch the sermon.
Whoever catches one rak'ah of the Friday prayer has caught the prayer.Authentic hadith: reported by an-Nasa'i (1424), Ibn Majah (1121) and al-Daraqutni (2/10-11) from Abu Hurayrah
And because the sermon is a remembrance before the prayer, it cannot therefore be a condition for catching it, like the adhan and the iqamah (al-Ifsah, 1/245). The jurists also agree that if he catches one rak'ah with its two prostrations and adds another, his Friday is valid, according to the Prophet's word quoted above, one wording of which is: "let him add another rak'ah to it".
If he catches less than one rak'ah, he is not counted among those who caught Friday and he prays four rak'ahs, that is, Dhuhr. This is the view of the Malikis, the Shafi'is, the Hanbalis and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. From his words "whoever catches one rak'ah of the Friday prayer has caught the prayer", it is understood that if he catches less than that, he has not caught the prayer: he indeed tied catching to the measure of one rak'ah, excluding everything below it; and because he caught him after the imam raised his head from the second bowing, as if he had caught him after a sitting equal to the tashahhud; and because he did not catch him after the imam had entered the prayer, nor the part of his obligation that counts, as if he had caught him with the second salutation.
And because everything obligatory in the prayer of the one praying alone is not waived from him without his catching the imam's bowing: its root is the case where he joins the imam who has just raised his head from the bowing in the other prayers. And because the group is a condition of Friday, since the one praying alone cannot perform it; were we to allow him to come to Friday by catching the imam in the tashahhud, it would follow that he comes to this prayer as one praying alone, since he has done nothing with the imam that counts. And because catching the prayer is achieved by catching one rak'ah: the second rak'ah is then added to a base that it follows, whereas what is below one rak'ah does not constitute a base; he is therefore the one followed, with no ruling of his own in catching, as in the other prayers. And because catching Friday relates to two things: the act and the time; and it is established that if he catches of the time less than the measure of one rak'ah, he is not required to hasten to Friday; the same applies if he catches the like of its act.
Abu Hanifah and Abu Yusuf held that if he catches him in the prostration of the second rak'ah or in the tashahhud, he has caught Friday, because of the shared act of sanctification (tahrimah); likewise if he catches him after he has sat for the tashahhud, before the salutation or after: he then adds the prostration of forgetfulness and returns to them.
Abu Hanifah and Abu Yusuf relied on what is reported from the Prophet:
Pray what you catch, and complete what you missed.Authentic hadith: reported by an-Nasa'i (861), Ahmad (2/238) and Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih (3/3)
The latecomer is thereby commanded to complete what he missed, and what he missed was the imam's prayer, namely two rak'ahs. And because the cause of the bond is the sanctification, which the latecomer shared in, basing his own sanctification on that of the imam: what bound the imam therefore binds him as well, as in the other prayers. And because the one who must build upon the imam's prayer when he catches one rak'ah must do so likewise when he catches less, like the traveler who catches the resident; he caught a part of the prayer and is therefore among those who caught it, like Dhuhr (Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/213-214; Fath al-Qadir, 2/66; al-Mabsut, 2/35; Majma al-Anhar, 1/253; Sharh Ibn Batal, 2/204; al-Mudawwanah, 1/147; Mawahib al-Jalil, 1/408; al-Istidhkar, 1/60; al-Ishraf, 1/126; al-Ishraf ala nukt masail al-khilaf, 1/410-412, no. 326-327; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/417; al-Majmu', 5/742; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/299; Kashshaf al-Qina', 2/29; al-Mughni, 3/24-25; al-Ifsah, 1/250).
The jurists differed when Eid coincides with Friday on the same day: does the Friday prayer fall away for the one who prayed the Eid, or not? The majority of jurists, namely the Hanafis, the Malikis, the Shafi'is and Ahmad in one narration, held that if the day of Eid coincides with the day of Friday, attending the congregational prayer does not fall away for the people of the town, by the word of the Most High:
"O you who believe, when the call is made for prayer on the day of Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah"
Surah al-Jumu'ah, 9
And by the word of the Prophet (peace be upon him): "Friday is due on every Muslim"; and because its conditions are met, it must therefore be established, as if there were no Eid; and because the Eid prayer is a sunnah that does not waive an obligation, like the eclipse prayer; and because Friday is more binding, being obligatory: if the weaker prayer does not waive what is obligatory, it is all the more fitting that what is weak should not waive what is more binding.
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the people of knowledge agreed on the obligation of the Friday prayer; the established reports from the Messenger of Allah indicate that the obligatory prayers are five, and that the prayer of the two Eids is not among the five; when the Book, the Sunnah and the consensus indicate the obligation of the Friday prayer, and the reports from the Messenger of Allah indicate that the Eid prayer is a voluntary act, it is not permitted to neglect an obligation by a voluntary act (al-Awsat, 4/291; see al-Istidhkar, 2/384-386; Mukhtasar ikhtilaf al-ulama of al-Bayhaqi, 1/346; Sharh mushkil al-athar, 3/191; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/224; al-Ishraf ala nukt masail al-khilaf, 2/26-27, no. 355; Hashiyat ad-Dasuqi, 1/391; Sharh az-Zarqani, 1/514; al-Majmu', 5/634; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/503; Nayl al-Awtar, 3/347; al-Umm, 1/239; al-Ifsah, 1/244).
The Hanbalis in the school held that if Eid and Friday coincide on the same day and they pray the Eid and Dhuhr, it is permitted, and that Friday falls away for the one who attended the Eid, according to this report:
Iyas ibn Abi Ramlah al-Shami reported: I saw Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan questioning Zayd ibn Arqam: "Did you witness with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) two Eids coinciding on one day?" He said: "Yes." He said: "What did he do then?" He said: "He prayed the Eid, then he granted a concession for the Friday." He said: "Whoever wishes to pray, let him pray."Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (1070) and Ibn Majah (1310)
A wording says: "Whoever wishes to attend the Friday, let him attend" (reported by Ahmad (4/372) and Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih (2/359)). Ibn Qudamah said: this is because Friday surpasses Dhuhr only by the sermon, and it was heard at the Eid, which thus suffices for having heard it a second time; and because its time is one, as we have shown, each of the two prayers falls with the other, like Friday with Dhuhr (al-Mughni, 3/84).
And they said: waiving Friday is the waiving of attendance, not of obligation; he is therefore like the sick person and his like, not like the traveler: if he goes to the Friday mosque, it is owed by him as by the sick person; he may lead in it and Friday is formed by him; and what is preferable for him is to attend it by going out, so as to avoid the disagreement.
Excepted from this is the imam, according to the more correct of the two narrations: attendance at Friday does not fall away for him, according to the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet said:
Two Eids have coincided on this day of yours; whoever wishes is excused from the Friday, and we shall attend the Friday.Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (1073) and Ibn Majah (1311)
For were he to leave it, performing the Friday would become impossible for those upon whom it is obligatory and for those who want it among those granted the concession, unlike the other people. As for the one who did not pray the Eid, he must hasten to the Friday in every case (al-Mughni, 3/84-85; Kashshaf al-Qina', 2/40; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/319; al-Insaf, 2/403-404).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about two men disputing when the Eid coincides with Friday: one said that the Eid must be prayed and the Friday not prayed; the other said that he prays it; what is the correct answer? He answered: when the Friday and the Eid coincide on one day, the scholars have three opinions:
The holders of the first two opinions had not reached what the sunnah contains on this: on the day when two Eids coincided in his time, the Prophet prayed the Eid and then granted a concession for the Friday; a wording says that he said: "O people, you have attained a good today; whoever wishes to attend the Friday, let him attend it, for we shall attend the Friday."
On that day, whoever attended the Eid has attained the purpose of the gathering, then he prays Dhuhr if he has not attended the Friday: Dhuhr is then within its time, and the Eid fulfills the purpose of Friday. Imposing the Friday upon the people on that day would be to constrain them and to spoil the purpose of their feast, along with the joy and cheerfulness legislated for them; were they prevented from that, the feast would turn against its purpose. And because the day of Friday is a day of feast, and the day of al-Fitr (breaking the fast) and al-Nahr (the sacrifice) is also a feast; the practice of the Lawgiver, when two acts of worship of the same kind coincide, is to bring one into the other, as ablution (wudu) enters into the full washing (ghusl), and as one of the two ghusls enters into the other. And Allah knows best (Majmu al-Fatawa, 24/210-211).
There is no disagreement among the jurists on the permissibility of traveling the night of Friday before dawn. An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: as for its night, before sunrise, travel in it is permitted according to our school and according to all the scholars (al-Majmu', 5/644).
As for traveling on Friday after midday, the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis held that whoever travels on Friday after midday, if he does not fear missing his caravan and does not pray the Friday on the way, this is not permitted and travel is forbidden to him, according to what Ibn Omar reported raised to the Prophet:
Whoever travels from his place of residence on Friday, the angels call the curse upon him: he shall be accompanied neither in his travel, nor aided in his need.Weak hadith: reported by al-Khara'iti in Masawi al-Akhlaq (790)
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: this is a threat (wa'id) that does not apply to what is permitted; and because Friday has become obligatory upon him, it is not therefore permitted for him to engage in what prevents it, such as amusement and trade (al-Mughni, 3/90).
The Hanafis held that there is no harm in traveling before midday as after, if he leaves his town before the time of Dhuhr comes to an end; for the Friday only becomes obligatory at the end of the time, and he is then a traveler; but it is disliked for him, according to the athar of Omar: "Friday does not detain the traveler."
As for traveling on Friday after dawn and before midday, the Malikis deemed it disliked. Imam Malik said: I would prefer that he not go out after sunrise, but it is not unlawful for him; and after midday, he should not travel until he has prayed the Friday.
The Shafi'is in the most correct opinion and the Hanbalis in one narration held that it is not permitted and is forbidden, according to the hadith of Ibn Omar cited above, and because it is a time for the obligation of setting out toward the mosque (tasabbub): the proof is that the one whose home is far must head for the mosque before midday; and the obligation of setting out is like the obligation of the act: if travel is not permitted after the obligation of the act, it is not permitted either after the obligation of setting out.
The Shafi'is in another opinion and the Hanbalis in one narration held its permissibility. Ibn Qudamah said: this is the view of most of the people of knowledge, according to Omar's saying: "Friday does not detain from travel" (reported by Abd al-Razzaq (3/250), al-Shafi'i in his Musnad (1/46), Ibn al-Mundhir in al-Awsat (4/21) and al-Bayhaqi (3/184, 187); al-Albani declared it authentic, all its men are trustworthy: ad-Da'ifah (1/296) and Tammam al-Minnah (1/320); a wording: from al-Aswad ibn Qays from his father Qays, who said: I heard Omar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) say to a man who was saddling his mount: "What detains you?" He said: the Friday. He said: "The Friday does not detain the traveler, go"); because the Friday has not become obligatory upon him, travel is therefore not forbidden to him, like the night; and because his responsibility is free of the Friday: the possibility that it become obligatory upon him before its day does not detain him (al-Mughni, 3/90-91).
The third narration among the Hanbalis is that it is permitted only for jihad, according to what Ibn Abbas reported:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib and Abdallah ibn Rawahah at the head of the army of Mu'tah; Abdallah stayed behind. The Prophet saw him and said: "What kept you?" He said: the Friday. The Prophet said: "A morning or an evening in the path of Allah is better than the world and all that it contains." He said: "He set out rejoicing."Weak hadith: reported by at-Tirmidhi (527), Ahmad in his Musnad (1/224, 256), Abd ibn Humayd (654, 656) and al-Bayhaqi (3/187)
See: al-Awsat (4/21-23); Ahkam al-Quran of al-Jassas (5/342); Sharh kitab as-siyar al-kabir (1/66); Mukhtasar ikhtilaf al-ulama of at-Tahawi (1/349); Durrar al-Hukam (2/143); Majma al-Anhar (1/172); Ibn Abidin (2/162); al-Bahr ar-Ra'iq (2/164); al-Ishraf ala nukt masail al-khilaf (2/9-10, no. 336); Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil (2/88); at-Taj wa-l-Iklil (2/178); al-Qawanin al-fiqhiyya (1/56); al-Majmu' (5/643, 645); al-Hawi al-Kabir (2/425); Asna al-Matalib (1/485); al-Mughni (3/90-91); al-Insaf (2/373); al-Ifsah (1/239); Nayl al-Awtar (3/282); Zad al-Ma'ad (1/384).
The Friday prayer is not made up once missed: it is Dhuhr that replaces it in its place. Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: they agreed that whoever among the residents misses the Friday prays four rak'ahs (al-Ijma, 26), that is, Dhuhr. And an-Nawawi said: the community agreed that the Friday is not made up in its form as Friday, but whoever misses it owes Dhuhr (al-Majmu', 5/662; see al-Ifsah, 1/247). Al-Kasani said: when it passes out of its time, which is the time of Dhuhr, it lapses according to most of the scholars, for the Friday prayer is not made up: the making up follows the performance, and the performance has passed with specific conditions that no individual can fulfill; it therefore lapses, unlike the other prescribed prayers when they pass out of their times. And Allah knows best (Ma'ani al-Athar, 2/219).
They nevertheless differed: does the one who missed it pray it individually or in congregation? Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: all those whose words I retain among the people of knowledge agreed that whoever misses the Friday prays four rak'ahs; they differed concerning a people who miss the Friday: a group said that they pray it in congregation; this view is reported from Abdallah ibn Mas'ud, and al-Hasan ibn Ubaydallah and Zirr did it. Al-Thawri said: al-A'mash and I sometimes did it. Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us, from Abd al-Razzaq, from al-Thawri, from al-Hasan ibn Ubaydallah, who said: "Zirr and I prayed, he led me, we had missed the Friday; I asked Ibrahim, who said: Abdallah ibn al-Alqamah and al-Aswad did that." Sufyan said: al-A'mash and I sometimes did it. Iyas ibn Mu'awiyah and Ahmad ibn Hanbal say the same. Al-Shafi'i used to say: I do not dislike their joining it, unless they join it out of contempt for the Friday, or out of aversion from praying behind the imams; and I command the people of the prison and the slaves who are craftsmen to join it. Ishaq held that the people who miss the Friday pray in congregation.
Ishaq and Abu Thawr said concerning the one who is detained (imprisoned) and the sick: there is no harm in their praying Dhuhr in congregation on Friday. Malik granted a concession to the prisoners, the traveler and the sick to join together; his view differed concerning the people who miss the Friday: Bishr ibn Omar reported from him that he said: if they wish, let them pray individually; if they wish, in congregation. Ibn al-Qasim reported from him: they pray it only one by one.
A group disliked that whoever misses the Friday pray it in congregation, among those from whom this is reported: al-Hasan and Abu Qilabah; it is the view of al-Thawri and al-Nu'man (Abu Hanifah). Abu Bakr (ibn al-Mundhir) said: the dislike of the one who disliked it has no basis; on the contrary, it is recommended, and the reward of the congregation is hoped for the one who does it, among those who have an excuse preventing them from attending the Friday. Al-Rabi' informed us: al-Shafi'i informed us: Malik informed us, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-A'raj, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah said:
Prayer in congregation surpasses the prayer of the individual alone by twenty-five degrees.Reported in al-Awsat (4/107, 110) through this chain
The qadi Abd al-Wahhab al-Maliki said: when the Friday escapes them, what is recommended is to make it up at Dhuhr individually, contrary to al-Shafi'i who recommended making it up in congregation; for we judge by the blocking of the means: preventing the outward form of a permitted thing when it opens for the people of innovation a path toward what is forbidden. Making up Dhuhr here in congregation is a means for the innovator to deliberately miss the Friday and to pray Dhuhr behind the one he considers an imam, displaying the fact of missing the Friday: its dislike therefore becomes obligatory for that reason (al-Ishraf ala nukt masail al-khilaf, 2/8-9, no. 335).
The scholars differed concerning the sunnah preceding Friday in two opinions. The first: it is recommended to pray two or four rak'ahs before the Friday; those who said this are the Hanafis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, with details among them. Imam al-Sarakhsi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The voluntary prayer after the Friday is four rak'ahs without separation between them, except by the tashahhud; and before the Friday, four rak'ahs: before the Friday, for it is the counterpart of Dhuhr, and the voluntary prayer before Dhuhr is four rak'ahs" (al-Mabsut, 1/157). It is said in ad-Durr al-Mukhtar: "Strongly recommended: four rak'ahs before Dhuhr, four before the Friday and four after it, with a single salutation" (ad-Durr al-Mukhtar, 2/12; see also Ma'ani al-Athar, 1/285; al-Ikhtiyar, 1/72; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/172; al-Bahr ar-Ra'iq, 2/53).
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said in al-Umm: "We command the one who is led to perform a voluntary prayer before the Friday and after it" (al-Umm, 1/234). And Imam an-Nawawi said: "A subordinate point concerning the sunnah of the Friday after it and before it: a prayer is recommended before and after; its minimum is two rak'ahs before and two rak'ahs after; the most complete is four rak'ahs before and four rak'ahs after; this is the summary of the speech concerning it..." (al-Majmu', 4/12).
Imam Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "As for the prayer before the Friday, I know nothing of it except what is reported: that the Prophet used to pray four rak'ahs before the Friday." Ibn Majah brought it out, and it is very weak (1129), from Ibn Abbas. Amru ibn Sa'id ibn al-As reported from his father: "I used to meet the companions of the Messenger of Allah; when the sun declined, they would stand and pray four rak'ahs." Abu Bakr, that is, Ibn Ayyash, said: we used to be with Habib ibn Abi Thabit on the day of Friday; he would say: has the sun declined? or he would turn to look; when the sun declined, he prayed the four rak'ahs before the Friday. And from Abu Ubaydah, from Abdallah ibn Mas'ud: he used to pray before the Friday four rak'ahs and after it four rak'ahs (authentic hadith, as will come; see al-Mughni, 2/109; 3/92-93).
Al-Buhuti (may Allah have mercy on him) said: it, that is, the Friday, has before it no regular sunnah established by a text, but four rak'ahs are recommended. Abdallah, that is, Imam Ahmad, said: I saw my father pray four rak'ahs in the mosque when the muezzin called (Kashshaf al-Qina', 2/41; Matalib Uli al-Nuhah, 1/782).
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Hani' said in his questions to Imam Ahmad: I saw Abu Abdallah, that is, Ahmad, on the day of Friday praying until he knew that the sun was close to declining; when it drew near, he withheld from praying until the muezzin called; as soon as he began the adhan, he stood and prayed two or four rak'ahs, separating them with the salutation. He also said: I saw Abu Abdallah, when the muezzin called the adhan on the day of Friday, pray two rak'ahs; he sometimes prayed four according to the brevity or the length of the adhan.
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: among what indicates the recommendation of praying at this time on the day of Friday: it is a time in which the hour of answer is hoped for; whoever prays in it enters into his words: "No servant stands in it praying, asking Allah for something, but He gives it to him." Then he said: the prayer before the Friday has been differed upon: is it among the regular sunnahs, like the sunnah of Dhuhr before it, or recommended and urged, like the prayer before Asr? Most of the scholars hold that it is a regular sunnah, among them al-Awza'i, al-Thawri, Abu Hanifah and his companions; it is the apparent meaning of Ahmad's words; the qadi Abu Ya'la mentioned it in Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, as did Ibn Aqil, and it is the correct view among the companions of al-Shafi'i. Many of the later ones among our companions (Hanbalis) said: it is not a regular sunnah, but a recommended prayer (Fath al-Bari by Ibn Rajab, 5/542-544; he has a treatise on this subject which he entitled: Removing innovation from the prayer before the Friday; see al-Insaf, 2/406; Nayl al-Awtar, 3/312-314; Tarh at-Tathrib, 3/36; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/220).
They relied on hadiths and athars in support of this, among which:
The second opinion: the Friday has no regular sunnah before it; it is the view of Imam Malik, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah attributed it to Imam al-Shafi'i and most of his companions, as well as to Ahmad in the famous narration of his school.
The Malikis said: it is disliked for an imam to perform a voluntary prayer when he arrives and the time of the sermon has come; let him rather ascend the pulpit as he enters, for the Prophet, as soon as he entered, would ascend the pulpit; and he should not perform a voluntary prayer, unless he had come early before that: then there is no harm in his kneeling and sitting with the people.
It is also disliked for one sitting in the mosque on the day of Friday to perform a voluntary prayer at the call of the first adhan, before the departure of the khatib; and it is disliked only if he is one who is followed, among the scholars, the rulers or the imams, and not others, for fear that the common people might believe it obligatory. If a person does it privately for himself, there is no harm, so long as it is not done to be seen; and it is not disliked for the one entering the mosque (Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil, 2/87; al-Fawa'ih ad-Dawani, 1/265; Minh al-Jalil, 1/446; Jawahir ad-Durrar, 2/473).
Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the prayer after the adhan on the day of Friday: did the Prophet perform it, or any of the Companions, the Successors and the imams, or not? Is it established by a text in any school of the consensus imams? And the Prophet's saying: "Between every two adhans there is a prayer", is it specific to the day of Friday or general to all times? He answered: as for the Prophet, he did not pray anything before the Friday after the adhan, and this is not transmitted from anyone; in his time indeed, the adhan was only called when he sat on the pulpit; Bilal would call the adhan, then the Prophet would deliver his two sermons, then Bilal would make the iqamah and the Prophet would lead the people: neither he nor any of the Muslims who prayed with him could pray after the adhan. Nor is it transmitted from anyone that he prayed in his house before going out on the day of Friday, nor that he fixed by his words a determined number of rak'ahs before the Friday; his words on this only encourage the prayer as soon as the man arrives at the mosque on Friday, without any determination, like his saying: "Whoever bathes, purifies himself, walks without riding and prays what has been prescribed for him."
This is what is reported from the Companions: when they arrived at the mosque on Friday, they prayed from their entry whatever they could: some prayed ten rak'ahs, others twelve, others eight, others less still. This is why most of the imams agreed that there is before the Friday no sunnah fixed by a time and determined by a number; that is established only by the word or deed of the Prophet, and he legislated nothing on this, neither by his word nor by his deed. It is the school of Malik, that of al-Shafi'i and most of his companions, and it is the famous view in the school of Ahmad.
A group of scholars held that there is a sunnah before it: some fixed it at two rak'ahs, as some companions of al-Shafi'i and Ahmad said; others fixed it at four rak'ahs, as is transmitted from the companions of Abu Hanifah and part of the companions of Ahmad; what Ahmad relied upon for this is transmitted from Imam Ahmad. Among these, some argue with a weak hadith; others say: it is an abbreviated Dhuhr, and its sunnah is the sunnah of Dhuhr. This is an error from two angles:
This is because it is established by the mutawatir sunnah of the Messenger of Allah that he did not pray in travel except two rak'ahs for Dhuhr, Asr and Isha; likewise, when he performed the pilgrimage with the people in the year of the farewell pilgrimage, he led them neither at Mina nor elsewhere except in two rak'ahs; likewise Abu Bakr after him prayed only two rak'ahs; likewise Omar prayed only two rak'ahs (Majmu al-Fatawa, 24/188-191; see Zad al-Ma'ad, 1/431-432; Tarh at-Tathrib, 3/35-37; Sharh az-Zarqani, 1/478; Nayl al-Awtar, 3/312-314; al-Insaf, 2/406).
Then Shaykh al-Islam said: the correct view is to say: there is before the Friday no determined regular sunnah, even if the two adhans existed in his time; for it is authentically established from him in the Sahih that he said: "Between every two adhans there is a prayer", three times, then he said on the third: "for whoever wishes", out of dislike that the people make of it a sunnah. This authentic hadith therefore indicates that the prayer is legislated before Asr, before the last Isha and before Maghrib, and that it is not a regular sunnah. Likewise it is established that his companions used to pray between the two adhans of Maghrib, and that he saw them without forbidding them, without commanding them, and without doing it himself: this indicates that it is a permissible act.
Some argued for the prayer before the Friday by his saying: "Between every two adhans there is a prayer"; others opposed them saying: the adhan upon the minarets did not exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah; it was Uthman who ordered it when the people multiplied in his time, for the adhan did not reach them at his coming out and his sitting on the pulpit. It may be said: when Uthman legislated this adhan and the Muslims agreed upon it, it became a legal adhan; the prayer between it and the second adhan is then permissible and good, but it is not a regular sunnah like the prayer before Maghrib. Whoever performs it is therefore not blamed, and whoever neglects it is not blamed: this is the most equitable of the sayings. The words of Imam Ahmad point to it.
It may then be preferable to leave it when the ignorant think that it is a regular sunnah or an obligation: it is left until the people know that it is neither a regular sunnah nor an obligation, especially if the people persist in it; it is then fitting to leave it sometimes so that it does not resemble the obligatory, just as most of the scholars preferred that one not persist in reciting the prostration verse on the day of Friday, although it is authentically established in the Sahih that the Prophet recited it. If persistence in that is disliked, abandoning persistence in what the Prophet did not legislate is all the more fitting; the man may then pray it sometimes between the two adhans, for it is an absolute voluntary prayer or a prayer between two adhans like the one prayed before Asr and Isha, not because it would be a regular sunnah: this is permissible.
Even if the man is with a people who pray it: if he is obeyed when he leaves it and explains the sunnah to them, and they do not reject him but know the sunnah, leaving it is good; if he is not obeyed, and he sees in praying it a reconciliation of their hearts toward what is more beneficial, or a warding off of dispute and evil, because he cannot explain the truth to them and be accepted by them, this too is good.
One and the same act may therefore be recommended to perform at times, and recommended to leave at times, according to what predominates as benefit in performing it or leaving it according to the legal proofs; the Muslim may abandon a recommended act if its performance contains a corruption that outweighs its benefit, as the Prophet left rebuilding the House on the foundations of Ibrahim and said to A'ishah:
Were your people not recent in leaving paganism (jahiliyyah), I would have demolished the Kaaba, leveled it to the ground and given it two doors: a door by which the people enter and a door by which they go out.Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim
The Prophet left this act which was with him the better of the two, to counter the corruption that predominated: the recent arrival of Quraysh into Islam and the repulsion this would arouse in them; the corruption therefore outweighed the benefit (Majmu al-Fatawa, 24/193-195).
The jurists differed concerning the prayer of the one who is led in front of the imam: is it valid absolutely, whether crowding exists or not? Or is it not valid absolutely, whether crowding exists or not? Or is it valid in case of crowding and invalid in its absence? The Malikis in the famous view of their school held that the prayer of the one who is led in front of the imam is valid, with dislike in the absence of necessity; if a necessity exists, such as crowding, it is valid without dislike.
It is stated in ash-Sharh al-Kabir of ad-Dardir (may Allah have mercy on him): it is disliked for the congregation to pray between the columns, that is, the pillars, or in front, that is, in front of the imam, or level with him, without necessity. Ad-Dasuqi said in his gloss on ash-Sharh al-Kabir: his words "or in front of the imam": even if he precedes all the others; for violating the rank does not spoil the prayer, as if he stood to the imam's left: the prayer of the one who is led is not nullified. Some held that the standing of the one who is led in front of the imam without necessity nullifies his prayer: that is weak; likewise the view that if he precedes all the worshipers, the prayer is nullified for him and for them, otherwise there is no nullification: that too is weak. Abu al-Hasan said concerning the text of al-Mudawwanah: "If the imam prays with the people on the ship below while they are above, it suffices them if their imam is in front of them": it is understood that if he is not in front of them it does not suffice them; but it is not so: it suffices them even if he is not in front of them; the meaning is that if he is in front of them, it suffices them without dislike.
The Malikis make no difference between the man and the woman. Al-Abi al-Azhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the ruling of these ranks is recommendation; whoever violates a rank and prays elsewhere has nothing against him, except that the woman, when she advances to the rank of the men or in front of the imam, is like the man who advances in front of the imam: it is disliked for him without excuse. The prayer of the imam before whom the woman advanced is not spoiled, nor that of those with him, unless he delights in seeing her or touching her; the view of nullification by the mere pleasure of the gaze has been weakened where there is neither contact nor lowering. If the one who is led advances for an excuse, such as the narrowness of the mosque, it is valid without dislike (ath-Thamar ad-Dani, sharh risalat Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani, p. 156; Kifayat at-Talib ar-Rabbani, 1/387).
The majority of jurists, namely the Hanafis, the Shafi'is in the most apparent opinion and the Hanbalis in the famous view, held that the prayer of the one who is led in front of the imam is not valid. Imam al-Sarakhsi said: if the follower advances in front of the imam, his following is not valid, except according to the view of Malik, who says: following in the acts is due from him; when he attains it, his standing in front of the imam does not harm him. "And for us": the hadith establishes that there is with the imam no one who precedes him; and because if he advances in front of the imam, his state at the moment of opening becomes doubtful and he needs to look behind him at all times in order to follow him: this is why it is not permitted (al-Mabsut, 1/43).
Imam al-Mawardi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: if the one who is led stands in front of his imam in the place of prayer, there are two cases: in Mecca, or elsewhere. If it is elsewhere than Mecca, two opinions are held on the nullification of the prayer of the one who advances in front of his imam: one, stated in the old [view]: his prayer is permitted, for advancing in front of the imam is no more than violating the prescribed place of standing, and violating the prescribed place of standing does not prevent the validity of the prayer, like the single worshiper who stands to his imam's left, or the congregation standing to his right and left. The second opinion, stated in the later [view], and it is the correct one: his prayer is null, according to his saying: "The imam was only appointed to be followed"; and following is imitation: the one who advances in front of his imam is not a follower but a followed one; and because the worshiper must follow his imam in his standing and his acts: when it is not permitted for him to precede him in his sanctification and the acts of his prayer, it is not permitted for him to precede him in his standing of prayer (al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/341-342).
If he is in Mecca, there are two states: praying in its mosque, or elsewhere than its mosque, in its dwellings. If he prays elsewhere than its mosque, his ruling is that of the one praying elsewhere: two opinions are held on the nullification of his prayer if he advances in front of his imam, as has passed. If he prays in its mosque, the sunnah is that the people array themselves around the Kaaba behind the imam facing him; the imam's station is at the maqam of Ibrahim, facing the door of the Kaaba, with his back to the door of Banu Shaybah; if he stands facing the Kaaba, it suffices; the imam must be closer to the Kaaba than the worshipers: if the imam is a cubit away from it, the worshipers are two cubits behind. If those who are behind the imam do this, two opinions are held on the nullification of their prayer, as has passed; and if those who face him do it, al-Shafi'i also said in al-Umm: "Their prayer is permitted"; and he said in al-Jami': "If the imam faces the Kaaba and a people follow him behind the Kaaba, their prayer suffices them"; and it is well known that the one who is behind the Kaaba is closer to it than the imam.
Our companions differed on this in two ways: one: Abu Ishaq said that their prayer involves two opinions as has passed, and the text of al-Shafi'i was ascribed to one of them. The second, which is the view of their majority: their prayer is permitted by a single opinion, applying the apparent meaning of his text. The difference between them and the others is twofold: one: they, although closer to the House than the imam, are not described as preceding him, for they face him and stand level with him; the others, as soon as they are closer to the qiblah, become those who precede their imam and therefore leave, by this precedence, his following, and that affects the validity of their prayer. The second: they, although closer to the House than the imam, can see his acts and follow him; the others, as soon as they precede their imam, can no longer follow him nor perform the prayer by his acts: the two are thus distinguished, under these two angles, as to the validity or the nullification of the prayer.
Imam ash-Shirazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: if the one who is led advances in front of the imam, two opinions are held: he said in the old [view]: his prayer is not nullified, as if he stood alone behind the imam. He said in the later [view]: it is nullified, for he stood in a place that is never the place of a worshiper, like the one who stands in an impure place.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The exposition: if the one who is led advances in front of his imam in the place, two famous opinions are held: the later, the more apparent: the prayer is not formed, and if it was in progress, it is nullified; the old: it is formed, and if it was in progress, it is not nullified; their proof is in the book. If he does not precede but places himself level with him, the prayer is not nullified without disagreement, but it is disliked; and the criterion for precedence and equality in the school is the heel, upon which the majority decided: if they are equal at the heels and the worshiper's toes advance, it does not harm him; if his heel advances and his toes remain behind the imam's toes, one is upon the two opinions; it has been said: it is valid decisively, as ar-Rafi'i and others reported; he said in al-Wasit: the criterion is the heel; and the known school is the first opinion" (al-Majmu', 256-257).
Imam Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the sunnah is that the worshipers stand behind the imam; if they stand in front of him, their prayer is not valid, and this is what Abu Hanifah and al-Shafi'i said. Malik and Ishaq said: it is valid, for that does not prevent following him, like the one who is behind him. "For us": his saying: "The imam was only appointed to be followed"; and because he needs, in order to follow him, to turn around to look behind him; and because this is not transmitted from the Prophet and does not even have the meaning of what is transmitted: it is therefore not valid, as if he prayed at home following the imam's prayer; and it differs from the one who is behind the imam, for he does not need, in order to follow him, to turn around to look behind him (al-Mughni, 2/426).
Imam al-Mardawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: his saying "the sunnah is that the worshipers stand behind the imam; if they stand in front of him, their prayer is not valid": this school is beyond doubt, the majority of the companions are upon it, and many of them decided by it. Shaykh Taqi ad-Din mentioned an opinion they held: it is valid absolutely; he said in al-Furu': the meaning being: and the following was possible; and it has a direction. It has also been said: it is valid in the Friday, the Eid, the funeral prayer and their like, with an excuse; Shaykh Taqi ad-Din chose it and said: the one who was delayed without an excuse, then, when the adhan was called, came and prayed in front of him, is excused; he chose it in al-Fa'iq and said: it is derived by analogy from the case of the woman being delayed in leading. I say: this deserves examination (al-Insaf, 2/280).
The Hanbalis in a narration chosen by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah held that if he prays in front of the imam for an excuse, such as the crowding in the Friday prayer or the funeral prayer, his prayer is valid; and his prayer in front of the imam is better than his prayer alone.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah was asked: does the prayer in front of the imam or behind him suffice in the mosque when there is a barrier between them, or not? He answered: as for the prayer of the worshiper in front of the imam, the scholars have three opinions: one: it is valid absolutely, though it is said to be disliked: this is the famous view of the school of Malik and the old opinion of al-Shafi'i. The second: it is not valid absolutely, like the schools of Abu Hanifah, al-Shafi'i and Ahmad in the famous view of their schools. The third: it is valid with an excuse only, such as when there is a crowd such that he can pray the Friday or the funeral prayer only in front of the imam: his prayer in front of the imam is then better for him than leaving the prayer. This is the view of a group of scholars, an opinion in the school of Ahmad and others, and it is the most equitable and the strongest of the sayings; for the utmost of not preceding the imam is to be an obligation among the obligations of the congregational prayer, and all obligations fall away with an excuse, even if obligatory in the essence of the prayer; the obligation of the congregation is all the more fitting to fall away: this is why what the worshiper cannot do falls away from him, such as standing, recitation, clothing, purity and other things (Majmu al-Fatawa, 23/404-405).
Imam Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the Messenger of Allah legislated that the imam be in front of the worshipers. The people of knowledge differed concerning the worshiper who prays in front of the imam in case of necessity, such as crowding and the like: a group said: if it is so, the prayer of the one among them who prayed in front of the imam is permitted: it is the view of Malik when the crowding is dense at the Friday, as well as that of Ishaq and Abu Thawr, and it is reported from al-Hasan. A group said: it does not suffice the worshiper to pray in front of his imam: it is the view of al-Shafi'i and the people of reasoned opinion; al-Shafi'i, while he was in Iraq, used to say that it belonged to Malik's view, then he retracted from it in Egypt (al-Awsat, 4/234).