PAPER # 11 PRAYERS QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY SHEIKH FADHEL AL-SAHLANI
THE UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE OF AYATULLAH AL-UDHMA AL-HAAJ AL-SAYYID ALI HUSAINI AL-SEESTANI

FRIDAY PRAYERS

Q. Please, advise whether presence of female congregants would make up the requisite number of persons necessary for the Friday Prayer to be established.

A. It is allowed to calculate males and females to reach the minimum number which is 5 [including the male Imam] to perform Salaatul Jumu’ah.

A. Salaatul Jumu’ah cannot be delayed per se. However, if it is established later than the actual time, the delay period will depend upon ‘urf. That is to say, customarily the community decides what constitutes delay.

Q. During Salaatul Jumu’ah, is it permissible to establish Salaatul Dhuhrayn simultaneously, either individually or in congregation?

A. On Fridays, Salaatul Jumu’ah and Salaatul Dhuhrayn are optional obligatory. So, if Salaatul Jumu’ah with all its required conditions is established, then one has to join in and cannot pray Dhuhrayn simultaneously.

Friday (jumu'ah) Prayer From Contemporary Rulings book

Q24: Does performing Friday (jumu'ah) prayer compensate for noon (zuhr) prayer or not? Is Friday prayer superior to the noon prayer?

A: Performing Friday prayer in such a way that all appropriate conditions are fulfilled, according to the shari'ah, is superior to performing noon (prayer). If the mukallaf performs it (Friday prayer) as such, then it (Friday prayer) replaces it (zuhr). (MMS, p. 11, Q5)

Q25: Is one entitled to object to the holding of Friday prayer by claiming that the marjas of the Muslims in Najaf and Qum do not establish it, while knowing that in the city in which the mukallaf resides, most of the residents perform Friday prayer on the basis of their fiqh?

A: One is not entitled to do that. As for non-holding of Friday (prayer) by the marjas, who are of the opinion that it (Friday prayer) is superior to zuhr (prayer) and the former replacing it (zuhr), may be due to personal excuses or the like. This does not prevent others from establishing it (Friday prayer). God knows best. (MMS, p. 12, Q6)

Namaz-e-Jumuah From Islamic Laws book

740. * Friday prayers consists of 2 Rak'ats like Fajr prayers. The difference between these two prayers is that Namaz-e-Jumuah has two sermons before it. Namaz-e-Jumuah is Wajib Takhyiri, which means that we have an option to offer Jumuah prayers, if its necessary conditions are fulfilled, or to offer Zuhr prayers. Hence, if Namaz-e-Jumuah is offered then it is not necessary to offer Zuhr prayer.

.^. The time for Jumuah prayers should have set in. And that means that the midday time should have begun to decline. The time for Namaz-e-Jumuah is the earliest part of Zuhr. If it is very much delayed, then Namaz-e-Jumuah time will be over, and Zuhr Namaz will have to be prayed.
.^. The number of persons joining Namaz-e-Jumuah should be at least five, including the Imam. If there are less than five people, Namaz-e-Jumuah would not become obligatory.
.^. The Imam should fulfill the necessary conditions for leading the prayers. These conditions include righteousness ('Adalat) and other qualities which are required of an Imam and which will be mentioned in connection with the congregational prayers. In absence of an Imam qualifying to lead, Namaz-e-Jumuah will not be obligatory.

.^. The prayers should be offered in congregation. Hence, Namaz-e-Jumuah cannot be prayed alone. If a person joins Namaz-e-Jumuah before the Ruku of the second Rak'at his prayers will be valid and he will have to add another Rak'at to complete it. But, if he joins the Imam in the Ruku of the second Rak'at then the prayers may not suffice, and as a measure of precaution Zuhr Namaz should be prayed.
.^. Two sermons should be delivered before the prayers. In the first sermon the preacher should praise Allah and exhort the people to observe piety, and then he should also recite a short chapter (Surah) from the holy Qur'an. Thereafter he should sit down for a while and then stand up again. This time also he should praise Allah and invoke peace and blessings upon the holy Prophet and the holy Imams and, as a recommended precaution, seek forgiveness for the believers. It is necessary that the two sermons should precede the Namaz. It will not be correct to offer the prayers before the two sermons. And, it is not permissible to deliver the sermons before Zuhr time has set in. It is also necessary that the preacher should be standing while delivering the sermons. Hence, if he delivers sermons while sitting, it will not be in order. It is also necessary and obligatory that there should be a break between the two sermons by way of sitting down during the interval for a while. It is also necessary that the preacher who delivers the sermons should also lead the prayers. Taharat may not be a condition for delivering the sermons, but as a precaution, it should be maintained. As far as the glory of Allah, invocation of prayers and mercy upon the Prophet and the Imams are concerned, it must be rendered in Arabic, but the rest of it need not be in Arabic. In fact, if the majority in the audience are non-Arabs, then as an obligatory precaution, words of admonition and exhorting people to be pious and virtuous should be delivered in their language.
.^. The distance between the two places where Namaze-Jumuah are offered should not be less than one Farsakh (3 miles). Hence if the distance between the two places is lesser and both the prayers commence at one and the same time both will be void. And if one of those prayers precedes the other (even to the extent of Takbiratul-ehram i.e. the first Takbir) the one which precedes will be in order and the other will be void. If, it transpires after the Namaz-e-Jumuah is over that another Namaz-e-Jumuah had commenced earlier or simultaneously at a distance of less than farsakh, it will not be obligatory to offer Zuhr prayers. It is immaterial whether this information is received within the time or later. Moreover, a Namaz-e-Jumuah can stop another from being held within the stipulated distance only if it is itself valid, comprising of all conditions, otherwise it cannot have any prohibitive effect.

741. * When Namaz-e-Jumuah, with all its requirements is held, it will be obligatory to attend it if one who established it is Imam (A.S.) or his representative. But in a situation other than this, joining or attending it is not obligatory.

.^. The person joining should be man. Presence in Jumuah prayers is not obligatory for women.
.^. Freedom. Hence it is not obligatory for a slave to be present in Jumuah prayers.
.^. Not being a traveller. Hence Jumuah prayers is not obligatory for a traveller, regardless of whether the traveller prays Qasr or full prayers, as he would do if he intends staying for 10 days or more.
.^. Being free from ailment and blindness. Hence it is not obligatory for a sick or a blind man to offer Jumuah prayers.
.^. Not being old. Hence Jumuah prayers is not obligatory for old men.
.^. That the distance between the place a person is and where Jumuah prayers is going to be held should not be more than 2 farsakh (11 Km) and it would be obligatory for a person who is at the end of 2 farsakh to join the Namaz. And similarly, participation in Jumuah prayers will not be obligatory for a person who finds it extremely difficult, because of rains, severe cold and so on.

.^. It is permissible for a person, who is exempted from Jumuah prayers, and for whom presence in Jumuah prayers is not obligatory, to hasten for Zuhr prayers in the early part of its time.
.^. It is Makrooh to talk while Imam delivers the sermon. And if the noise created by talking prevents others from listening to the sermon, then it is haraam, regardless of whether the attendance is the minimum required or more.
.^. As an obligatory precaution, it is wajib to listen to both the sermons. However, listening to the sermons is not obligatory upon those, who do not understand their meanings.
.^. The second Adhan on Friday is an innovation. And it is the same Adhan which is usually called the third Adhan.
.^. It is not obligatory for a person wishing to join Jumuah Namaz to be present while Imam is delivering the sermon.
.^. Conducting purchase and sale at the time when people are called to Jumuah prayers is haraam, if it hinders the prayers, and not if it does not hinder. And in spite of it being haraam, the transaction done would not be void.
.^. When it was obligatory for a person to be present in Jumuah prayers and he abandoned it, and offered Zuhr prayers, his prayers would be in order.