Jumma Prayer - , There is no stipulation that Jumu‘ah prayer should be offeredin a masjid or jaami‘.

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‘ according to the majority of fuqaha’ of the Hanafi, Shaafa‘i and Hanbali 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 to close 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-Muheet it says that if he opens the gate of his palace and gives the people permission to enter, it is valid althoughit is makrooh, because he did not fulfil the rightof the Jaami‘ mosque. End quote. It says in Tarh al-Tathreeb (3/190): Our view (i.e., the Shaafa‘i madhhab) is that establishing Jumu‘ah is not only to be done in the mosque; 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 regard to the words “it is permissible to performit in various buildings or buildings that are on theedge 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 itanywhere except in the jaami‘. End quote. With regard to the Maalikis, they stipulated that it must be performed in 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 validto establish Jumu‘ah except in a designated mosque. Al-Baaji said: One of the conditions is a mosque that is built specifically for that 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 Islamic centre in which Jumu‘ah prayer is offered. And Allah knows best.

Jumma Prayer - , Why is Friday singled out for great importance?.

I want to know why Friday Prayer is important and Different then other ?. Praise be to Allaah. Firstly: Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, chose Friday to be the best of days before Him, and He singled it out for major events and great qualities, which are the reason why Muslims are obliged to venerate this day and take it as one oftheir Eids or festivals in which Allah has prescribed rituals that He has not prescribed for other days. On our website we have previously quoted a great deal of evidence tosupport this view, whichyou can see in the answers to the followingquestions: 9211 , 12309 and 13692 Secondly: Moreover, Jumu‘ah prayer has a particular virtue and great qualities through the barakah (blessing) of this great day. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Jumu‘ah prayer is singled out from among all the other obligatory prayers for having particular characteristicsthat are not found in other prayers, including the fact that it is offered in congregation, has a minimum number of worshippers required in order for it to be valid, the iqaamah is a condition of its being valid, one must not be travelling in order for it to be obligatory, and therecitation is done out loud. There is an emphasis on its imortance the like of which is not mentioned for other prayers except ‘Asr prayer. In the four Sunans it is narrated in the hadeeth of Abu’l-Ja‘dad-Dumari – who was a Companion – that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever misses three Jumu‘ahs out of heedlessness, Allah will place a seal on his heart.” End quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 1/384-385. The Prophet’s Sunnah also singles out Jumu‘ah prayer by encouraging believers to do ghusl for it and to wear perfume (for men only). It is also strongly encouraged to come early for the prayer and there is a great deal of reward for walking to the prayer. Concerning these specialcharacteristics, Sa‘eed ibn Mansoor narrated from Na‘eem ibn ‘Abdullah al-Mujammir that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) issuedinstructions that the mosque of Madinah be perfumed with incense every Friday at midday, as was narrated by Ibn al-Qayyim in Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 1/370. Thirdly: The main reason for venerating Friday prayeris because of the divine decree that singled out this prayer and this day for special virtues. This isone of the manifestations of Allah’s Lordship (ruboobiyyah), as He alone singles out for veneration whateverHe Wills of His creation and whatever times and places He chooses. He is the One Who does whatever He wills for reasons that He, may He be glorified, knows. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the only One Who has the power to create and to choose from among His creation. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses” [al-Qasas 28:68]. If you ponder this creation, you will realize that this choosing and singling out are proof of His Lordship and Oneness, and of the perfection of His wisdom, knowledge and might; that He is Allah, besides Whom there is no other god, and He has no partner who can create as He creates, or choose as He chooses, or control as Hecontrols. This choice, control and singling out,the effects of which are evident in this world, are among the greatest signs of His Lordship andthe greatest testimony to His Oneness, the perfection of His attributes and the truthfulness of His Messengers. End quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 1/40-43 Al-‘Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) also stated that this singling out and choice are indicative of the inherent virtue of the thing chosen, for which Allah blessed this time. By His knowledge and wisdom, Allah may grantto a certain place, time or person that which qualifies it to be chosen by Allah and favoured above others. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This concept may not be understood by the one who regards all individuals, deeds, times and places as equal, and claims that there is nothing inherent that makes one thing better than another, and that precedence is given to some things over others for no reason. This view is invalid for more than forty reasons that I have listed elsewhere. It is sufficient, in order to understand the falsenessof this view and how corrupt it is, to note that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, refuted this false view when He said (interpretation of the meaning): “And when there comes to them a sign (from Allah) they say: ‘We shall not believe until we receive the like of that which the Messengers ofAllah had received.’ Allahknows best with whom to place His Message” [al-An‘aam 6:124]. “Allah knows best with whom to place His Message” means: not everyone is qualified or fit to convey His Message; rather the Message has those who are suited to conveying it and it cannot befit anybut these people; Allah knows better than you who these people are. If all individuals were equal -- as these people claim -- there could havebeen no argument against them in this verse. Similarly, Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: ‘Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favoured from amongst us?’ Does not Allah knowbest those who are grateful?” [al-An‘aam 6:53]. What is meant is: Allah knows best who will give thanks for His blessings, so He singles them out for His bounty from among those who will not be grateful to Him. Not everyone is fit to thank Him or to receive His blessings andbe singled out for this honour. Those individuals and places and so on that Allah chooses have some inherent qualities that are not found in other people and places, and itis for that reason that Allah chose them, gave them precedence because of those virtues and selected them. This is His creation and His choice. “And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses” [al-Qasas 28:68]. Allah does not choose anything and give it precedence except for a reason that led to it being singled out and given precedence. Yes, He is the One Who created this reason, as He is the One Who created it then chose it after creating it. End quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad, 1/53-54 To sum up, all the characteristics of this great prayer are by the grace of Allah, may He beglorified and exalted, to His slaves. He chose it by His decree and singled it out for His bounty and blessings, thus it attained this great importance in this worldand in the Hereafter. And Allah knows best.

Jumma Prayer - , Sneezing During Friday Sermon.

What should a person doif he sneezes during the Jumu‘ah khutbah (sermon)? Should he say “al-hamdu Lillah”?. Praise be to Allaah. If a person who is listening to the khutbah (sermon) on Friday sneezes, he should say “al-hamdu Lillah (praise be to Allah)” quietly to himself. If anyone hears him, it is not permissible for him to say to him “Yarhamuk Allah (may Allah have mercy on you)”. It says in al-Mudawwanah (1/230): Maalik said concerning someone who sneezes when the imam is delivering the khutbah that he should say “al-hamdu Lillah” quietly to himself. No one should say “Yarhamuk Allah” to the one who sneezed when the imam is delivering the khutbah. End quote. Al-Mirdaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:It is permissible for him to say Ameen to the du‘aa’ and to say “al-hamdulillah” silently if he sneezes. End quote from al-Insaaf, 2/418 Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If he sneezes, he has to praise Allah (say “al-hamdu Lillah”) to himself and not raise his voice. End quote from Majmoo‘al-Fataawa, 12/411 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If a member of the congregation sneezes onFriday, he should say “al-hamdulillah” silently. If he says it out loud and the people around him hear him, it is not permissible for them to say “Yarhamuk Allah” to him. End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 5/109 And Allah knows best.

Excellence in faith

In one of the great prophetic narrations which included few, yet very comprehensive words, the Prophet clarified one of the means for salvation, and a sign of the excellence of Islam. This narration gives the believing slave a tool by which to measure himself and realize how close or far he is from the straight path. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allaah said: "It is from the excellence of (a believer's) Islam that he should shun that which is of no concern to him". [At-Tirmithi]. This narration contains many great meanings which a believer should understand and apply. It is one of the principles and foundations of good manners, and thus some scholars considered it to constitute one-third or one-fourth of the religion of Islam. Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “The Prophet summed all the aspects ofpiety and devoutness in this narration. He outlined for the slave what to do and what to shun, and it is an indication to the first pillar of soul purification,namely, shunning what does not concern the person, which leads to the second pillar, and that is busying oneself essentially with what concerns him” He clarified that shunning that which does not concern the person is a means to attain excellence in religion. This means, that people, in reality, are of two categories, those who are excellent in Islaam and those who arenot. The one who appliesIslam inwardly and outwardly is the one whohas reached the level of excellence , as Allaah says(what means): “And who is better in religion than one who submits himself to Allah while being a doer of good and follows the religion of Abraham, incliningtoward truth? And Allah took Abraham as an intimate friend.” [Quran: 4:125]. On the other hand, the one who does not apply Islam inwardly and outwardly is the one whose degree of commitment to Islam is low, and one of the signs of this in him is that he busies himself in that which does not concern him. The following verse is proof substantiating the meaning of the narration, in which Allaah Says (what means): “And they who turn away from illspeech” [Quran: 23:3]. “… ill speech” is anything from falsehood, and that includes association, other minor sins and all useless speech, actions and concerns. Furthermore, busing oneself with that which does not concern him is included in the definitionof “ ill speech” . There are other prophetic narrations which highlight the virtue of excellence in religion, such as the narration of Abu Hurayrah in which he reported that the Messenger of Allaah said: "When one of you reaches the level of excellence in faith, then every good deed is multiplied for him ten times up to seven hundred times; and eachsin is recorded as only one, until he meets Allaah” [Muslim]. The saying of the Prophet : “… that which is of no concern to him" means, that which does not benefit him in his worldly life or the Hereafter, and this includes things that are prohibited, disliked, doubtful, and excess permissible matters which one does not really need. The measure by which one knows whether something is of his concern or not, is Islamic teachings and not ones desires. Many people decide to abandon enjoining good and forbidding evil under the pretext that this is interfering with people’s privacy and personal life. They would do so claiming that it is not a person’s concern tointervene in other people's affairs, basing their argument on an incorrect understanding of this very narration. Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq said: “O you people! You recite and misinterpret the following verse (which means): `O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow the (right) guidance [and enjoin what is right (Islamic Monotheism and allthat Islam orders one to do) and forbid what is wrong (polytheism, disbelief and all thatIslam has forbidden)] no hurt cancome to you from those who are in error.` [Quran:5:105] But Ihave heard Messenger of Allah saying: “When people see an oppressor but do not prevent him from (doing evil), it is likely that Allaah will punish them all.”” [Abu Daawood & At-Tirmithi]. In another narration he said: “Never that evil is committed and people do not prevent it, though able to do so, but Allaah will overwhelm them with punishment”. One other thing that one must concern himself with is the affairs of other believers and their issues, because he who does not worry about theaffairs of his fellow Muslims is not one of them. The need to understand this narration, its implications and applications intensifies intimes like ours, when people’s commitments and personal obligations have increased and priorities are mixed up. The implementation of this narration is the first practical step toward reforming oneself and those under his guardianship and care which leads to achieving excellence in religion. This happens by concentrating on that which is beneficial and staying away from all that is not ones concern.