takes only ten minutes? Yes, ten minutes! Is this Jumu'ah valid?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There can be no doubt that keeping the Jumu'ah khutbah short is
indicative of the khateeb's understandingof Islam, as he can compile
many meanings in a few words, and does not speak for so long that the
people forget the first things he said by the time he reaches the end.
This was the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) in his regular khutbahs; indeed this is what he enjoined, and
itis the best way. Similarly his exhortations were few so that what he
exhorted the people could be remembered. So his Jumu'ah khutbahswere
short and the exhortations few.
Abu Waa'il said: 'Ammaaraddressed us and he spoke briefly but
eloquently. When he came down (from the minbar), we said: O
Abu'l-Yaqzaan, you spoke eloquently but briefly, would that you had
made it longer. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (S) say: "A
man's lengthening his prayer and shortening his khutbah is a sign of
his understanding (of religion), so make your prayers lengthy and your
khutbahs brief, for there is charm in eloquent speech."
Narrated by Muslim (969).
There are many comments from the scholars to confirm this idea:
1.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
As for making the khutbah short, it is a Sunnah to be followed. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
enjoined that and did it. According to the hadeeth of 'Ammaar ibn
Yaasir: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) enjoined making the khutbah short. And he used to give khutbahs
with good words and few, and he disliked prattle and long-windedness.
The scholars disapprove of exhortations in whichsome is forgotten
because of the length, and they like that in which the listener can
focus on what is said and learns from it after memorizing it. That can
only occur when the exhortation is brief.
Al-Istidhkaar (2/363, 364).
2.
Ibn Hazm (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible to make the khutbah lengthy.
Al-Muhalla (5/60).
3.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is better to keep the khutbah short, because there are two benefits
ofkeeping the khutbah short:
(i) The listeners do not get bored, because if the
khutbah islengthy – especially if the khateeb delivers it ina boring
manner which does not move their hearts and does not motivate them –
then the people will get bored and fed up.
(ii) That makes the listener remember better, because if
it is too long, the first part ofit is lost by the time he reaches the
end, but if it is short, then it is possible to remember it and learn
from it. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "A man'slengthening his prayer and shortening his khutbah is a
sign of his understanding (of religion)," i.e., it is indicative of
his understanding of religion and shows that he pays attention to
people's circumstances. But sometimes there is a need for a lengthy
exhortation, and if a person speaks at length because the situation
requires that, it does notmean that he is excludedfrom the description
of being one who understands religion, because length and shortness
are relative matters. It is proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) would sometimes give a khutbah by
reciting Soorat Qaaf, and Soorat Qaaf, when recited slowly and
carefully (tarteel) and pausing at every verse, takes a long time.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti' 'ala Zaad al-Mustaqni' (5/65).
Secondly:
This keeping the khutbah short should not be done in such a way as to
erode the khutbah altogether, so that the people do not benefit at all
from the khutbah. They have not travelled long distances or come out
of their homes merely to see the khateeb, or to hear the tone of his
voice, rather they have come to attainsome benefit by hearing his
exhortation or an Islamic ruling and so on. Hence attention should be
paid to moderation in this matter.
It was narrated that Jaabir ibn Samurah (mayAllaah be pleased with
him) said: I was praying with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his prayer was moderate and his
khutbah was moderate.
Narrated by Muslim (1433).
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
i.e., it was somewhere between being very long or too short to be any benefit.
Sharh Muslim (6/159)
He also said:
It is mustahabb to keep the khutbah short, because of the hadeeth
quoted above, and so that they do not get bored by it. Our companions
said: Keeping it short should be done in moderation, and should not be
taken to such extremes that (itsbenefit) is erased altogether.
Al-Majmoo' (4/358)
Thirdly:
But we cannot say that akhutbah that is very short does not count,
when most of the scholars are of the view that if the khutbah contains
the essential parts (lit. pillars) then it is valid. There is a great
difference of opinion as to the definition of those essential parts.
Thecorrect view is that thereis nothing that can be called the
essential parts or pillars of the khutbah,and everything that maybe
called a khutbah, even if it is only a few words, is counted as such
and is valid as a khutbah.
This is the view of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and Shaykh Ibn Sa'di,
whose views we have mentioned in the answer to question no. 115854. In
the answer referred to, Shaykh al-'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on
him) supported this view, but he pointed outthat it should not be
followed. Please see his words in that answer.
Fourthly:
This khateeb whose khutbah and prayer together take ten minutes does
not have deep understanding of Islam, rather he is ignorant, because
understanding of the religion means keeping the khutbah short and
making the prayer long, not effectively destroying them both!
Let us read what the Khateeb of al-Masjid al-Haraam, Shaykh Sa'ood
al-Shuraym, says concerning the length ofthe Jumu'ah khutbah and
prayer, with approximate length of time:
Shaykh Sa'ood al-Shuraym (may Allaah preserve him) said:
In order to reach an approximate definition of what is meant by the
prayer being long and the khutbah being short in modern terms, I say –
and Allaah is the source of strength –
If you recite in Fajr prayer, for example, al-Jumu'ah and
al-Munaafiqoon at a moderate speed, the prayer will take you no less
than ten minutes, if not fifteen. I tried it and I found that to be
the case. All of this applies if you recite at a moderatespeed, with
the rukoo' (bowing) and sujood (prostration) of the prayer. So how
about if the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
following the command of his Lord, "And recite the Qur'aan (aloud) in
a slow, (pleasant tone and) style" [al-Muzzammil 73:4], andhe used to
make the bowing, rising, prostration and sitting between two
prostrations lengthy, and the narrator of the hadeeth said: "to such
an extent that one would think he had forgotten"? In the hadeeth of
al-Bara' ibn 'Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) it says: The
prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and his bowing, and when he raised his head from bowing, and
when he prostrated, and the time between two prostrations were all
nearly the same.
Al-Shaamil fi Fiqh al-Khateeb wa'l-Khutbah(p. 154)
From this it is clear that it is not possible for this khateeb to
deliver the Friday khutbah and offerthe Jumu'ah prayer in ten minutes,
unless thereis clear undermining of both matters, the khutbah and the
prayer.
Such a person needs to be told, because perhapshe may have
misunderstood something from the Sunnah with regard to this matter, so
he is spoiling both the khutbah and the prayer, whilst thinking that
he isone of those who do good!
If he does not respond to your telling him, then look for someone else
who establishes the Sunnah in a proper way or close enough, and pray
with him, and protect your prayer, and keep your heart sound. As for
him who does not learn and does not want to, leave him to his own
devices.
And Allaah knows best.
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