Jummah: Friday Prayer
Overview
Jum'ah (also known as Friday prayer) is a congregational prayer (Salah) that Muslims hold every Friday, just after noon instead of Zohr.
It is obligatory for men (and preferable for women) to perform Jum'ah in congregation (jama'ah) at a mosque. Muslims with contagious illness or otherwise sick are asked to not attend. Those unable to join a congregation pray the regular Zohr prayer.
The jum'ah prayer is half the Zohr prayer for convenience, and preceded by a sermon. The sermon, which is a technical replacement of the two reduced raka'ahs of the ordinary Zohr prayer, is followed by a communal prayer, led by the Imam. In most cases the khatib also serves as the imam.
In the past the sermons used to mention the name of the ruler, acknowledging his sovereignty.
The Jum'ah prayer begins with the call to prayer the muadhin makes; then the Adhan which marks the beginning of Jumm'a. Once the Katheeb has given his speech, he concludes with a du'a, which then leads the muadhin to make the iqama which is followed by the two rak'at prayer.
Time
Same time as Zohr prayer is.
Number of Rakahs
• 4 Fard
• 2 Sunnah before and 2,4 or 6 Sunnah after the Fard
Importance
Praying Jum'ah comes with many blessings that last throughout the week: from one Jum'ah prayer to the next. Friday Prayer is very important in Islam. It has got its own moral, social and political benefits. It is obligatory for every Muslim except women, children, seriously ill people and travelers. They can pray Jum'ah but it is not obligatory on them.
Prophet Muhammad has given a strong warning to a person who leaves his Jum'ah prayer without a good reason.
Sequence of Jum'ah prayer
Cleanliness
Because in Friday Prayer a comparatively large number of Muslims gather in a big place, lslam emphasizes on the physical cleanliness.
Importance of going early to Friday prayer
On Friday it is more rewarding to get ready quickly to go to the Mosque.
Praying before the Fard rakahs
A person who goes to attend Friday prayer can pray as many nafls as he wishes after the sun has declined from its zenith to when the Imam comes to give Khutbah (Sermon). Anyhow he is expected to pray at least 2 rakats sunnah.
Listening to the Khutbah (Sermon)
Once the Khutbah starts, the whole congregation should listen to it in silence. If a person arrives while the Imam is giving Khutbah then this person should pray 2 rakats nafl before sitting down to listen to Khutbah.
It is a continuous practice in some mosques that those who arrive while the Imam is giving speech sit down and listen to the speech. When the Imam has finished the speech he gives time to the late arrivals to pray 2 or 4 rakats sunnat. After that the Imam gives a short Khutbah in Arabic before praying the Judah Prayer. Some people get very annoysed if they see a person offer 2 rakats sunnat, while the imam is giving speech. They feel that the person is being disrespectful to the Imam. This is incorrect and unproved from the practice of Prophet Muhammad . It is also against those hadiths which we mentioned above and the one we are mentioning below.
The Jum'ah prayer
Jum'ah Prayer is 2 rakats fard. It a person is late and finds only 1 rakat with the congregation he should complete the second rakat alone. If a person arrives late that he misses the Jum'ah prayer completely then he has to offer 4 rakat fard of Zuhr prayer. The Jum'ah prayer is replacement of Zuhr prayer but the Imam has to recite Q'irat aloud in Jum'ah Prayer.
Praying after Jum'ah
After the Jum'ah Prayer 2 rakats of sunnat prayer is an authentically proved practice of Prophet Muhammad (saw) but some companions used to pray 4 or 6 rakats sunnat after the Jum'ah Prayer.
These hadiths Clarify that 2, 4 or 6 rakats can be offered after the Jum'ah prayer according to the time and capacity of the person. It is not good practice to accuse people who read 2 rakats only because this, too, was the authentic practice of Prophet Muhammad .