3a] Ruling on offering Jumu‘ah prayer in a church where there are images or statues

''Friday Prayers'' :-:->
3a]
The Standing Committee and Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy
on him) issued fatwas stating that it is makrooh to pray in a place in
which there are images, but the prayer is valid if that takes place.
In Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah (5/377) [vol. 2] it says: What is the
ruling on praying in the house or room in which there are statues of
animals or humans for decoration?
Answer: It is haraam to keep images or statues and put them in houses,
because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said
to'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Do not leave any image
without erasing it or any built-up grave without levelling it." And
because he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The
angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an image." It
is makrooh to pray in a room in which there are pictures hanging or
statues, especially if they are in front of the person when he faces
the qiblah. But the prayer is valid.
And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings and
peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and Companions.
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas.
Bakr Abu Zayd, 'Abd al-'Azeez Aal al-Shaykh, Saalih al-Fawzaan,
'Abd-Allah ibn Ghadyaan, 'Abd al-Razzaaq 'Afeefi, 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn
'Abd-Allah ibn Baaz. End quote.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) said:… As for the
prayer, it is valid, but it is makrooh to pray in a place in which
there are images except in the case of necessity; if nothing else is
available, then there is nothing wrong with it. End quote.
To sum up:
1. There is nothing wrong with praying inside the church if it is
free of images and statues, whether that is Jumu'ah prayer or any
other prayer.
2. It is makrooh to pray in a church if there are images or
statues in it. If the Muslims need to pray there because there is no
other place available, and they cover these statues with something
that will conceal them, there is nothing wrong with it and it is not
makrooh.
And Allah knows best.

3] Ruling on offering Jumu‘ah prayer in a church where there are images or statues

''Friday Prayers'' :-:->
3]
I am a Junior doctor working in UK. We muslimdoctors are usually at
work during Juma prayer time. Hence often it UK doctors at work offer
Juma prayer in small rooms which are either Multifaith rooms(where
people from all faith can pray, ofter idols are kept in these rooms
which are covered during Juma prayer) or in dedicated muslim prayer
rooms. In my hospital there is a dedicated muslim prayer room where we
offer prayer regularly at least for day time prayers, but still as
this room is small, we offer Juma on the side in the church to be able
toaccomodate the large no of doctros attending Jumaprayer. My question
is, is Juma Valid in such all the above different places mentioned
above. One of my acquaintence comented that, Juma is only valid in a
place where all five daily prayers are being offered in congregation.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is permissible to pray ina church if there are no images or statues in it.
Al-Bukhaari included a chapter in his Saheeh which he entitled:
Chapteron praying in a "chapel". 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: We will not enter your churches because of the images in them.
Ibn 'Abbaas would pray in a "chapel" except a "chapel"in which there
were statues. Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Chapter on
praying in "chapels"; a "chapel" is a place of worship for Christians.
The author of al-Muhkam said: The "chapel" is the cell of the monk,
or, it was said, the church of the Christians, and the latter is the
reliable view. The ruling on "chapels" also applies to churches,
synagogues, hermits' cells, temples in which there are idols, fire
temples and so on. End quote.
If there are images or statues in it, the fuqaha' differed concerning
the ruling on praying there in that case. Some of them are of the view
that it is haraam, but the majority are of the view that it is
makrooh. The reason given by those who regard it as haraam is the
general meaning of the evidence which indicates that statues and
keeping them are haraam, becausethe presence of these images prevents
the angels from entering that place.
Al-Bukhaari (3225) and Muslim (2106) narrated from Abu Talhah that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The angels
do not enter a house in which there is a dog or animage."
Al-Tirmidhi (2806) and Abu Dawood (4158) narrated that Abu Hurayrah
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "Jibreel came to me and said: 'I was going to cometo you
yesterday and nothing prevented me from entering upon you in the house
where you were except that at the door of the house there was a statue
of a man, and in the house there was a curtain on which there were
images, and inthe house there was a dog. So give instructions that the
head of the statue at the door should be cut off, so that it will look
like a tree. And give instructions that the curtain should be cut up
and made into two pillows that will be placedon the ground and stepped
on. And issue instructions that the dog be put outside.'" So the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did
that. And the dog was a puppy belonging to al-Hasan or al-Husayn that
was under a bed, andhe gave instructions that it should be taken
outside.
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Jaami', no. 68.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allahhave mercy on him) said: There is nothing wrong
with praying in a church that is clean. That was allowed by al-Hasan,
'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez, al-Sha'bi, al-Awzaa'i, and Sa'eed ibn 'Abd
al-'Azeez. It was also narrated from 'Umar and Abu Moosa. Ibn'Abbaas
and Maalik regarded churches as makrooh because of the images. But we
know thatthe Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed
at the Ka'bah when there were images in it. It is also included in the
words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him):
"Wherever you are when the time forprayer comes, pray, for it [the
earth] is a place of prayer."
End quote from al-Mughni, 1/407
Among those who were of the view that it is haraam to pray in a church
if there are imagesin it was Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah
have mercy on him). See: al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 2/59
The prohibition on praying in churches does not mean that such a
prayer is invalid; rather the prayer is valid although it involves
sin, because the reason why praying in churches is not allowed does
not have to do with the prayer; ratherit is because of the imagesin
those places, as stated above. So the reason for the prohibition is
differentfrom the prayer and othermatters pertaining to it.

If there is snow or rain, does that make it permissible to miss Jumu‘ah?

Did the Prophet (blessingsand peace of Allah be upon him) ever miss
the Jummaa prayer because of bad weather. the weather which is meant
isabout 20cm of snow.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
There is no report in the Sunnah that the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) did not pray Jumu'ah becauseof rain or snow;
rather he did not pray it when travelling.
Secondly:
It is permissible to not pray Jumu'ah and prayers in congregation in
the event of heavy rain, cold wind or snow which is bothersome to
people and makes it difficult for them to go to Jumu'ah, because of
the report narrated by al-Bukhaari (901) and Muslim, according to
which Ibn 'Abbaas (ra) said to his muezzin on a rainy day: When you
say Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah, do not say, Hayya 'ala
al-salaah (cometo prayer); rather say, Sallu fi buyootikum (pray in
your houses). It was as if the people found that objectionable. He
said: One who is better than me did that. Jumu'ah is obligatory, but I
did not want to force you to walkin the mud and on slippery ground.
[al-Nawawi] said: This hadeeth indicates that Jumu'ah may be waived
because of rain and the like. This is our view and the view of others.
Something different was narrated from Maalik (may Allah have mercy
onhim). And Allaah knows best which is correct. End quote.
The Hanbalis regarded snow as one of the reasons that make it
permissible not to go to Jumu'ah or prayers in congregation.
Its says in Kashshaaf al-Qinaa' (1/495): Attendance at Jumu'ah or
prayers in congregation may be waived in the event of rain, mud, snow,
ice or a cold wind on a dark night, because of thewords of Ibn 'Umar:
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would ask his
caller to call out on a cold or rainy night when travelling: Pray
where you are. Agreed upon. It was also narrated from Ibn Maajah with
a saheeh isnaad, but he did not say "when travelling." In al-Saheehayn
it was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaasthat he said to his muezzin on a rainy
day -- Muslim added that it was a Friday -- … and he narrated the
hadeeth quoted above. And the same applies to snow, ice and cold.
This confirms that cold wind on a dark night is anexcuse, because it
is likely that it will rain. End quote.
It is well known that many people are not bothered by snow and it does
not prevent them from going to work and meeting other needs. For these
people, snow is no excuse for them not to attend Jumu'ah. But if it
bothers them and makes it very hard for them to get to the mosque,
then itis an excuse.
And Allah knows best.

There is no stipulation that Jumu‘ah prayer should be offered in a masjid or jaami‘

''Friday Prayers'' :-:->
One of my acquaintence comented that, Juma is only valid in a place
where all five daily prayers are being offered in congregation.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is no stipulation that Jumu'ah prayer should be offered in a
masjid or jaami' accordingto the majority of fuqaha' of the Hanafi,
Shaafa'i andHanbali madhhabs, unlike the Maalikis.
It says in al-Bahr al-Raa'iq (2/162), which is a Hanafi book: The
words "and general permission" mean: The condition of it being valid
is that it should be done in the usual manner. So, for example, if a
ruler were toclose the gates of the fortress and lead his family and
troops in offering Jumu'ah prayer, that is not valid. This is what it
says in al-Khulaasah. In al-Muheetit says that if he opens thegate of
his palace and gives the people permission to enter, it is valid
although it is makrooh, because he did not fulfil the right of the
Jaami' mosque. End quote.
It says in Tarh al-Tathreeb(3/190): Our view (i.e., theShaafa'i
madhhab) is that establishing Jumu'ah is not only to be done in
themosque; rather it may be performed in an ordinary building. If they
do it in a place other than a mosque, the one who enters that place
should not pray during the khutbah, because there is no "greeting"
(2-rak'ah prayer upon entering) for it. End quote.
It says in al-Insaaf (2/378), which is a Hanbali book: With regardto
the words "it is permissible to perform it in various buildings or
buildings that are on the edge of the wilderness", this is the view of
our madhhab and it is the view of most of the scholars of the madhhab,
many of whom stated it definitively. And it was said that it is not
permissible to perform it anywhere except in the jaami'. End quote.
With regard to the Maalikis, they stipulated that it must be
performedin the jaami', as stated above.
Khaleel al-Maaliki said concerning the conditions of Jumu'ah: [It
should be] in a jaami' that is built separately.
In al-Taaj wa'l-Ikleel (2/520) it says: "In the jaami'." Ibn Basheer
said: The jaami ' is one of the conditions of offering this prayer.
Ibn Rushd said: It is not valid to establish Jumu'ah except in a
designated mosque. Al-Baaji said: One of the conditions is a mosque
that is built specifically forthat purpose in the usual style of
mosques. End quote.
To sum up:
Jumu'ah prayer in the place mentioned is valid according to the
majority of scholars, if it is not possible to allocate a specific
place for the Muslims to pray and if they cannot go to the nearest
mosque or Islamiccentre in which Jumu'ah prayer is offered.
And Allah knows best.