In the name of Allah. All praise belongs to Allah, and may commendation and benediction be bestowed upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Numerous discussions and questions have reached us concerning the academic matter of performing the Jumu'ah prayer outside of the Masjid.
For reference, the language of the Fuqahaa' (Jurists) will be utilized throughout this discourse.
We say, while Allah's aid is sought:
Meaning and Virtue
Jumu'ah has been granted the name Jumu'ah due to it being a gathering of large congregation. It is considered the most virtuous day of the week.
“The most virtuous of your days is Friday. On it Adam was created and on it he died. On it the Trumpet will be blown and on it all creatures will perish. So send many prayers upon me on that day, for your prayers will be shown to me. They said, 'How will our prayers be shown to you when your body will have become dust?' He said, 'Allah has forbidden the earth to consume our [Prophets’] bodies.'" Hadeeth collected by Aboo Daawood (1047) and an-Nasaa’ee (1374) and classed as Saheeh by al-Albaanee in Saheeh al-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb (695).
Wisdom
From the wisdom behind the legislation of the Jumu'ah prayer is for the people of a town to gather in one locale every week to receive spiritual admonition and develop Muslim unity.
As the people of a neighborhood congregate five times a day at their local Masjid, on Friday, all neighborhood Masjids are meant to collapse into one central location for the Jumu'ah prayer so that the entire town engages in fellowship.
This act is not supposed to occur only once or twice a year with the Eid prayer. Rather, the greater congregation of the Muslims is meant to be a weekly manifestation.
Further, this is what occurred during the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as well as throughout the caliphates of Aboo Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmaan and 'Alee, may Allah be pleased with them.
While we have reports of their being multiple Masjids and congregational prayers throughout their lives within the Prophetic City of Madinah, we have no reports of them establishing more than one Jumua'ah prayer. Rather, historically and traditionally, all Masjids shut down for Jumu'ah and all gathered for Jumua'ah prayer in one central location.
"Pray the way you have seen me pray." Hadeeth collected by al-Bukhaaree (631) and Muslim (702).
ash-Shaafi'ee (d. 204 H) has stated, "More than one Jumua'ah in one town should not be performed, even if the town is large and its Masjids are many. It is only that they pray in one locale. The evidence for this is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not establish Jumu'ah prayer in more than one locale nor did the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him." See al-Majmoo' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab (4/451).
Obligation
The Jumu'ah prayer is an independent prayer to any other prayer, it is more virtuous than Thuhr prayed on the same day and is an individual obligation upon free responsible men during the window of time allotted for this prayer.
"O you who have believed, when the adhaan is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew." al-Jumu'ah 62: (9)
"I have made my intention to order a man to lead the people in prayer then burn the houses down of the men who come late to Jumu'ah." Hadeeth collected by Saheeh Muslim (652).
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a sermon and said, 'Know that Allah has obligated Jumu'ah upon you in this place of mine in this month of mine in this year of mine until the Day of Resurrection. Whoever abandons it during my life or after my life whilst he has a just Imam or an oppressive Imam or he is in denial of it (i.e. Jumu'ah), then Allah will not gather his affairs, and He will not bless him in his affairs.'" Hadeeth collected by Ibn Maajah (1081).
Within the above verse and Prophetic traditions are evidence implicating the obligation of attending the Jumu'ah prayer for those who have the ability to do so.
So if the people of a town, as a collective, were to pray the Thuhr prayer without praying the Jumu'ah prayer, then the obligation of the Jumu'ah prayer would remain so long as the window of its allotted time remains.
Conversely, if a person were unable to pray the Jumu'ah prayer in congregation, such a person would pray Thuhr to fulfil the obligation. Ibn al-Mundhir (d. 318 H) cites a consensus upon the aforementioned. See al-Ijmaa' of Ibn Mundhir page 40.
Conditions
As for the conditions of Jumu‘ah, they are as follows:
The time frame of Jumu'ah. So the Jumu'ah prayer is neither valid before its time nor after its time. Refer to our writing Before the Zenith for more detail on this discussion.
The place of Jumu'ah. It must occur within the limits of a town or constructed village built to normative standards. And this will be our concentration of focus in this discussion.
A satisfying number of congregants. The minimum number of congregants to properly satisfy this condition is forty (40), however, scholarship differs on this number ranging as low as two (2) congregants and an Imam.
Two (2) sermons (Khutbahs).
See Sharh Muntahaa al-Iraadaat (1/311-315).
Each of these conditions possesses their evidence and academic discussions that would take us beyond the scope of this discourse. The point to highlight here is that none of the conditions of Jumu'ah denote a physical building or even a Masjid.
The Place of Jumu'ah
Graciously, now that we have established what Jumu'ah actually is and what it is not, we offer focus on the second condition of a valid Jumu'ah, the place of Jumu'ah.
This discussion squarely centers upon the Prophetic tradition, "I have been granted five things no Prophet has been granted before me...and the entire earth has been made a Masjid and place of purification for me." Collected by al-Bukhaaree (335) and Muslim (523).
The interesting point here is that the previous 124,000 Prophets and 315 Messengers could only legislatively pray either in a Masjid or a prayer chamber, no other place on earth.
This limitation has been abrogated for the Muslim civilization of Muhammad ﷺ. There is no place on earth the Muslim civilization of Muhammad ﷺ cannot pray. The only prohibition is prayer in bathrooms and graveyards. To the exclusion of this, what would the practical application of the aforementioned Hadeeth be other than this? See Ahmad (4/431). See at-Tirmidhee (262).
There is nothing that prevents the Jumu'ah prayer being prayed outside of the Masjid, even without a reason, as the Masjid is not a condition of Jumu'ah prayer with the Hanaabilah, Shaafi'iyyah and Hanafiyyah. It is only some Maalikiyyah who stipulate this as a condition.
The Hanafiyyah stipulate the Jumu'ah prayer being prayed within the boundaries of a town or within the city limits. They include the suburbs of these areas as well.
The Shaafi'iyyah suffice with stipulating being within the boundaries as laid out on a map, be it a town or village.
The Maalikiyyah stipulate it being prayed within a land suitable to live, such as their being buildings and functionality in that land.
The Hanaabilah do not have these stipulations. They suffice with there being an open area, even if there are merely tents in that land.
The preponderant view here is that the Jumu'ah prayer is valid in any place in which the people gather, as this reflects the majority view of classical scholarship historically and clearly reflects the aforementioned cited Prophetic tradition.
Aboo Hurayrah (d. 59 H) reports they wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattaab (d. 23 H) asking about establishing Jumu'ah prayer while in Bahrain. He wrote back to them saying, "Pray the Jumu'ah prayer wherever you are." Collected by al-Bayhaqee (d. 458 H) (4/322) and authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah (d. 311 H).
al-Bayhaqee (d. 458 H) states after quoting a number a narrations with similar meaning to the above, "And what most resembles the statements and actions of the Salaf is establishing Jumu'ah in a village that it's people are settled residents and not wayfarers."
Rather, a party of scholarship validates praying Jumu'ah in the desert citing what has been reported by Abdur Razzaaq (d. 311 H) (3/170) with a sound chain of transmission, as al-Haafith Ibn Hajr (d. 852 H) (2/380) has mentioned, on Abdullah ibn 'Umar (d. 73 H) that he saw the Water Searchers between Makkah and Madinah establishing Jumu'ah prayer and he found no fault with them.
From the above, we can see the Jumu'ah prayer is to be established in Masjids and open outside areas throughout history, as has been agreed upon by the majority of scholarship in Islam. Even with their differing Madhhabs, they still conclude the same verdict on this academic matter.
With another expression, the scholars of Islam have concluded the Jumu'ah prayer is obligatory to be established in congregation in a locality open to all. This is in alignment with the application of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. See al-Mabsoot (2/23), Bidaayat-ul-Mujtahid (1/167) and Radd al-Mukhtaar (2/136-140; 151-152).
an-Nawawee (d. 676 H) states, "There is no stipulation for the Jumu'ah prayer to be established in a Masjid. Further, it is permissible for it to be performed in an open outside area with the condition that it is within a village or town that has set boundaries. If it is prayed outside of the town, then it is not valid, and this is with no difference of opinion, regardless if it is the suburbs of the city or further out than that." al-Majmoo' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab (4/368).
Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 H) was asked about having two Jumu'ah's within one town. He replied, "I don't know of anyone who has ever done this." Talkhees al-Habeer (2/55).
With the Hanaabilah, there is no stipulation that the Jumu'ah prayer be prayed inside of a building.
Ibn Qudaamah (d. 620 H) states, "It is permissible for it to be prayed in the open desert." al-Mughnee (2/332).
And Allah knows better.
Kenneth "Aqil" Ingram II
Muharram 6, 1446 Anno Hegirae
July 12, 2024 Anno Aerae Nostrae Vulgaris
Comentarios