Friday Prayers, - They are travelling to a European country and there are 15 of them; should they pray Jumu ‘ah?.

We have traveled to a European country for leisure for a period of
five weeks as already decided (staying in a hotel which is very
comfortable, praise be to Allah). There is no mosque in the city we
are staying in. What is the ruling on joining and shortening
obligatory prayers? Do we have to do offer Jumu'ah prayer? Please note
that the number of people makes that possible (more than 15 people),
and among us there is someone who can give the khutbah forJumu'ah. Two
weeks have already passed andwe did not pray Jumu'ahon the grounds
that there is no Jumu'ah for the traveller.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
In the answer to question number 111934 , we have discussed the ruling
on travelling to non-Muslim countries forthe purpose of tourism and
leisure.
Secondly:
If the traveller intends tostay in a place for more than four days,
then he comes under the same rulings as a resident, so he has to offer
the prayers in full from the moment he enters the city; he also has to
pray Jumu'ah where the call for it is given.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The well known view
from Ahmad is that the periodwhich makes it obligatory for the
traveller to offer prayers in full if he intends to stay there is
whatever is more than twenty-one prayers. This was narrated by
al-Athram and al-Marwadhi and others. And it was narrated from him
that if he intends to stay there for four days he should offer the
prayers in full, and if he intends to stay there for less than that,
then he may shorten the prayers. Thisis the view of Maalik,
al-Shaafa'i, and Abu Thawr.
End quote from al-Mughni (2/65)
In Fataawa al-Lajnah it says: Travel in which it is prescribed to
avail oneself of the concessions of travel is that which is
customarilyregarded as travel, and the distance in question is
approximately 80 km. If a person is sure he willcover this distance or
more, then he may avail himself of the concessions of travel, such as
wiping over the socks for three days and nights, joining and
shortening prayers, and breaking the fast in Ramadan. If the
travellerintends to stay in a placefor more than four days, then he
should not avail himself of the concessions of travel, but if he
intends to stay for four days or less, then he may avail himself of
those concessions. If a travelleris staying in a place and he does not
know when he will finish his business and he has not set a specific
time for hisstay, then he may avail himself of the concessions of
travel even if he stays there fora long time. There is no
differentiation between travel on land and travel by sea. End quote.
Thus it is known that you have to offer the prayers in full, and it is
not permissible for you to shorten them.
With regard to joining prayers, this is not limited to travel; rather
it is prescribed in other cases too, such as when it is raining, if
one is sickand in case of hardship. See the answer to question number
39176 .
The basic principle is that you should offer theprayers on time, and
if there is a reason that makes you join the prayers, then it is
permissible to join them.
Thirdly:
If there are no residents living in this city where you will be
staying for whom Jumu'ah is obligatory, then you do not have to pray
Jumu'ah.
See the answer to question number 11556 .
If the traveller intends tostay for any length of time which means
that he is not permitted to shorten the prayers, then he has to pray
Jumu'ah by joining others, not by setting up Jumu'ah prayers
himself.If there are people livingthere for whom Jumu'ahis obligatory,
then this traveller has to pray with them.
See al-Mughni, 3/218; al-Insaaf, 5/169
And Allah knows best. - - ▓███▓ Translator:->
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