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Ruling on holding Jumu`ah Prayer at two or more Masjids in one locality  Praise be to Allah Alone, peace and blessings be upon the Last of the Prophets, our Prophet Muhammad, his family and Companions.To proceed: We received an important question which reads:Q: What is the ruling on holding Jumu`ah (Friday) Prayer at two or more Masjids (mosques) in one locality? Please provide us with elaborate evidence. A: The Jumhur (dominant majority of scholars) are of the view that it is prohibited to hold Jumu`ah Prayer at a number of Masjids in one locality unless there is a need for that. Throughout his life in Madinah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to hold only one Jumu`ah at his Masjid. The same practice was adopted by the Rightly-Guided Caliphs Abu Bakr, `Umar, `Uthman, and `Aly (may Allah be pleased with them all). This was also the case with all Muslim countries in the early days of Islam. The reason is that the Purified Shar` (Law) encourages offering Prayer in congregation. When Muslims gather together in one place to offer | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 352) | |
the Jumu`ah and Salat-ul-`Eid (the Festival Prayer), there prevails among them a spirit of cooperation in doing righteous and pious deeds as they establish the rituals of Islam. This also develops among them the spirit of unity, affection, friendliness, understanding Islam, and helping one another do good deeds. In addition, Allah grants greater reward to Muslims who gather in multitudes to offer Prayer. Besides, enemies of Islam become enraged whenever they see Muslims united upon one word.There are many texts in the Qur'an and Sunnah (whatever reported from the Prophet) encouraging the unity of Muslims and warning against their disunity and breaking into sects. One Ayah (Qur'anic verse) reads:  And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allâh (i.e. this Qur’ân), and be not divided among yourselves In another Ayah, Allah (Glorified be He) says: And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them.According to one authentic Hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said:  Allah is pleased with you when you do three things and is displeased with you when you do three things: He is pleased that you worship Him without ascribing any partner to Him, that you hold fast unto the rope of Allah, that you are not divided, and that you give good counsel to the one to whom Allah gives command over you... | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 353) | |
Based on the proofs and reasons mentioned above, it is clear that people of one locality should, whenever possible, hold and attend the Jumu`ah Prayer at one Masjid in the same manner they gather at an open place to offer Salat-ul-`Eid.However, there is nothing wrong with holding Jumu`ah Prayers at two or more Masjids in one locality if need persists. This is the most correct of the two views held by scholars. This may happen at larger localities where people may find it hard to gather at one Masjid. The same applies to the case when the Masjid can not embrace the large number of the residents of a big area. When the far flung city of Baghdad was constructed, Muslims used to hold two Jumu`ah Prayers, one at the eastern side of the city and the other at the western side. This took place in the middle of the second century of Hijrah (Prophet's migration to Madinah). None of the renowned scholars at that time is reported to have disapproved of this practice which was dictated by circumstances. When Amir Al-Mu’minin (Commander of the Believers) `Aly ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed that there lived in Al-Kufah some weak people who had difficulty going out to the desert to attend Salat-ul-`Eid (the Festival Prayer), he ordered someone to help them arrange for Salat-ul-`Eid in the vicinity. In the meantime, `Aly (may Allah be pleased with him) led the multitudes in Prayer at the desert.The same applies to the Jumu`ah Prayer in case of difficulty. Many scholars have stated that | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 354) | |
it is permissible to hold Jumu`ah Prayer at more than one Masjid when necessary. Muwaffaq Al-Din Abu Muhammad `Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah (may Allah be merciful to him) stated in his book "Al-Mughni", p. 184, vol. 2, when coming across a quotation attributed to Abu Al-Qasim Al-Khiraqy (may Allah be merciful to him): "If the Muslim country happens to be large and a need to build a number of Masjids is persistent, then it will be permissible to offer the Jumu`ah Prayer at all these Masjids." Commenting on this quotation, Ibn Qudamah states: "In brief, whenever the Muslim country happens to be larger to the point that Muslims find it difficult to gather in one Masjid due to remote distances between towns like Baghdad and Asbahan or other similar big towns, it will be permissible to offer the Jumu`ah at any Masjid." This view is held by `Ata'. Abu Yusuf said that this may be permissible only in Baghdad because Hudud (prescribed penalties) are executed in two places there and the Jumu`ah has to be offered at the place where Hudud are executed. This means that if there exists a Muslim country where Hudud are executed in two places, it will be permissible to offer the Jumu`ah there. This same view is held by Ibn Al-Mubarak. Abu Hanifah, Malik, and Al-Shafi`y (may Allah be merciful to them) are of the opinion that it is not permissible to hold the Jumu`ah Prayer at various places of one locality. This is based on the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs used to hold Jumu`ah only at one Masjid. Had this been permissible, they would have permitted Muslims to offer it at other Masjids. Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The Jumu`ah has to be held at Al-Masjid Al-Jami` (the large mosque where Friday Prayers are held) where the leader of Muslims usually performs Prayer." Al-Muwaffaq (may Allah be merciful to him) added: "Since the Jumu`ah is a Prayer | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 355) | |
in which people's gathering is prescribed and Khutbah (sermon) is delivered, it will be permissible to offer it at any place like Salat-ul-`Eid. It was authentically reported that `Aly (may Allah be pleased with him) used to offer Salat-ul-`Eid in an open place in the desert and would appoint Abu Mas`ud Al-Badry to lead weak Muslims in town. As for the fact that only one Jumu`ah Prayer was held during the Prophet's lifetime, the reason is that the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) would deem it best to listen to the Khutbah delivered by the Prophet, the main legislator of rulings and conveyer of the Message of Islam. They would pay no attention to the fact that they might have been living somewhere very far from the Prophet's Masjid. When lands of the Muslim world extended, it became permissible to hold the Jumu`ah Prayer at various Masjids. No one is known to have disapproved of this practice which later became Ijma` (consensus of scholars). The above statement of Ibn `Umar means that the Jumu`ah Prayer should not be offered in small Masjids instead of Al-Masjid Al-Jami`.There is no rationale behind holding Jumu`ah Prayer at a place where Hudud are executed. Abu Dawud said: "I heard Ahmad (may Allah be merciful to him) saying: 'Which Hadd (prescribed penalty) used to be executed in Al-Madinah? When Mus`ab ibn `Umayr came to Madinah, he led forty people in Jumu`ah Prayer.'" However, the Jumu`ah Prayer should not be held in more than one Masjid in one area unless there is a reasonable necessity. If holding Juma`ah Prayer in two Masjids is enough, it will not be permissible to hold it in a third one. No one among the scholars is known to have held a different view. When `Ata' was told that the residents of Basra were incapable of gathering in one Masjid Jami`, he replied: "It is permissible for every group of Muslims to gather at their Masjid and they do not have to go to Al-Masjid Al-Jami`. However, the preponderant opinion is the one held by the Jumhur (dominant majority of scholars). The reason is that neither the Prophet (peace be upon him) nor any of his Rightly-Guided Caliphs are known to have held more than one Jumu`ah unless there was a reasonable necessity. Rulings of Shari`ah (Islamic Law) can not be passed without proofs." | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 356) | |
When asked about the permissibility of holding the Jumu`ah Prayer at Al-Qal`ah Masjid in Damascus, Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be merciful to him) replied: "Yes, it is permissible to hold Jumu`ah Prayer there as it is considered to be another city like the case with different towns in Egypt or Cairo. Even if it is not considered to be another town, it is permissible to hold more than one Jumu`ah Prayer in larger cities when necessary. This is the view held by most scholars. When Baghdad was constructed, Muslims used to hold two Jumu`ah Prayers, one at the eastern side of the city and the other at the western side. Most scholars have permitted that.Based on what we mentioned above, it becomes clear to the questioner that it is permissible to hold more than one Jumu`ah Prayer at different Masjids of one locality when there is a need for it. This need may include narrowness of the Masjid or vastness of the locality which makes it difficult for Muslims to gather at one Masjid. This may also take place if there are two disputing tribes living in one Muslim locality. If their gathering in one Masjid is expected to bring about fighting with each other, then each tribe can have a Masjid of its own.Here I need to stress an important matter: Some | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 357) | |
Muslims nowadays offer the Zhuhr (Noon) Prayer after the Jumu`ah Prayer under the pretext that they do this as a precautionary measure to ensure the validity of the Jumu`ah. This practice, in fact, constitutes an act of Munkar (Islamically disapproved act). Every Muslim has to disregard and disapprove of this practice. The reason is that Allah (Glorified be He) has made it obligatory upon Muslims to offer only five obligatory Prayers a day whether on Friday or any other day. How then can some people make it obligatory to offer six obligatory Prayers on Friday by offering the Zhuhr Prayer following the Jumu`ah Prayer? This is not permissible even if they claim that it is only commendable to do this practice. This is because such a practice falls under the category of Bid`ah (innovation in religion). It was authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would constantly recite these words while delivering the Friday Khutbah: The best speech is that embodied in the Book of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance given by Muhammad. The most evil affairs are their innovations; and every innovation is an error. (Related by Muslim in his Sahih) It is also reported in the Two Sahih on the authority of `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: He who innovates things in our affairs for which there is no valid (reason) (commits sin) and these are to be rejected. In the version narrated by Muslim the Hadith states: He who does any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected. | | (Part No. 12; Page No. 358) | |
We ask Allah to grant all Muslims good understanding of His Din (religion), to hold them steadfastly to His Shari`ah, and to guide them to refrain from whatever contradicts it. Allah has power over all things. Praise be to Allah, Lord of all creation.Peace and blessings be upon His Servant and Messenger Muhammad, his family, Companions, and whosoever follows them in righteousness til the Day of Resurrection. Dictated by one who is in need of his Lord's pardon `Abdul-`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz Head of the Islamic University at Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah |
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