Jumu'ah (Friday Prayer)

The Friday prayer is an individual obligation (farḍ ‘ayn), if the following conditions are fulfilled:

• Being male
• Residence in a city, or [even] in its outskirts according to the sounder position (asahh) [i.e., within city limits]
• Sound health
• Safety from any oppressor [i.e., general safety of passage]
• Sound eyesight
• Ability to walk

The conditions of its validity are the following:

• A city, or its outskirts
• The head of state or one appointed by him [to lead the prayer]; if for some reason there is no ruler, or there is no permission from him, a group of Muslims congregate and agree on someone to lead the Friday or Eid prayers, it is valid
• A sermon (khutbah) that precedes it, delivered intentionally, also in the time of Ẓuhr
• The presence of even one person to listen to the sermon – that person being among those with whom the Friday prayer is valid
• General permission [for Muslims to join its congregation]
• A congregation of [at least] three men other than the imām, even if they are travelers. The condition is that they remain in the prayer with the imām until he prostrates – that is, if they [break the prayer and] leave him alone after he has made prostration, he is to complete the two rak’āt of the Friday prayer on his own; otherwise, it is rendered invalid.

The minimum obligation for a valid sermon is one tasbīha or one tahlīla (i.e., to say “SubhanAllāh” (tasbīha) or “La ilaaha illallah” (tahlīla); the same applies to “Alhamdulillah” (tahmīda) once; however, to do so with any of these phrases alone is disliked). It is sunnah [for the one delivering it (khatīb)] to perform two sermons, with a sitting in between, in a state of ritual purity and while standing.

It is mandatory (wājib) to hasten (sa’y) to the Friday prayer, at the first call to prayer, leaving any sort of distraction [unrelated to preparation for the prayer].

Once the imām emerges [from his quarters, or if there are no quarters, once he stands to ascend the pulpit (mimbar)], one may not pray or speak [until after the prayer]. It is disliked to eat, drink, fiddle around, or turn to and from during the sermon.

It is also disliked to leave the city after the [first] call to prayer (adhān) without having prayer the Friday prayer. This is with the exception of someone who, intending to embark on a journey, would miss his transportation (flight/train/bus) were he to pray the Friday prayer, and is unable to undertake the journey by himself.

The Friday prayer takes place of the Ẓuhr prayer, [even] for one excused from attending, like a traveler or person that is ill.

If one joins [the congregation of] the Friday prayer in the tashahhud [i.e., in the final sitting], or [even] in the prostration of forgetfulness, he completes it as the Friday prayer (that is, when he rises to make up the missed rak’ah, he completes the two rak’āt since it remains the Friday prayer and does not become Ẓuhr).