The Friday Prayer

Prerequisites of Friday Prayer

1. It must be in a town where the people are so many that the largest masjid will not hold all of them.
2. It must be performed by the ruler (with not ruler above him), or someone he has appointed (i.e. the governors, judges or preachers.)
3. The time is the time of Thuhr prayer; not before it and not after. If the time of Thuhr finishes during the Friday Prayer, then it becomes invalid. Those that were in it must pray Thuhr from the beginning, because they are two different prayers.
4. Another prerequisite is the speech. This speech must be before the prayer and after the time of prayer has entered.
• It is a ascertained merit (sunnah) to hold two speeches separated by a brief sitting of the leader.
• Ritual purity and standing during the speech are also ascertained merits for the speaker.
• If the speech was held by someone sitting and without ritual purity, it is still valid. However, it is disliked, because it breaks with the inherited tradition, and because it will lead to a separation between the speech and the prayer.
• If the speaker only praised Allah, it would be enough for the speech to be valid according to Abu Hanifah.
5. There must be 3 people plus the leader present according to Abu Hanifah, and 2 plus the leader according to the other two.
6. The group must remain until the leader has prostrated once.
   • If the people took off before the leader has bowed and prostrated in the first subset, so that no adult accountable men remained, then he must pray Thuhr from the beginning according to Abu Hanifah.

The obligation of performing Friday Prayer

• The Friday Prayer is not obligatory upon travelers, women, the sick, slaves or the blind. It is enough for them to pray Thuhr.
• If those who are excused from the Friday Prayer attend and pray with the group, then they do not need to pray Thuhr.
• It is valid for the traveler, the slave and the sick to lead the Friday Prayer, but not women or children.
• The one who prayed Thuhr in his house on Friday before the prayer of the leader, without an excuse, has done something disliked but his prayer is valid.
• If after praying Thuhr it occurs to him to attend the Friday Prayer, and headed towards it while the leader is already in prayer, then his Thuhr is invalidated by merely moving towards it.
• It is disliked for those who are excused from Friday Prayer to pray Thuhr in a group in a town where there is Friday Prayer.

Performance of the Friday Prayer

1. When the (first) call for prayer occurs for the Friday Prayer, all those that are not excused must leave all buying and selling and head for the prayer.
• This is provided that the prayer time has entered.
• It is haram to buy and sell during Friday Prayer.
2. When the leader of the prayer exits for the Friday Prayer in the masjid, one must leave all prayers and talk until he finishes his speeches.
3. When the leader climbs upon the minbar, the (second) call for prayer is made in front of it.
4. After the speeches the Friday Prayer of 2 subsets are performed.

Catching the Friday Prayer

• The one who entered behind the leader in the Friday Prayer, prays with him whatever remains, and completes the subsets he missed after the leader finishes. This is even so if he entered right before the salaam.