FirdayPrayers, The Background. AchaySathi.com Page 1
Juma Khutbah Background and Etiquettes!
Sourced verbatim from: https://www.prayerinislam.com/fatwas-rulings/friday-khutbah-sermon/ March 22, 2019 1 |
www.AchaySathi.com
It is a FARD (Required). It cannot be waived except for an acceptable
excuse as ordained by the jurists. Please see sura / chapter "Jumaa No.
62" in the Holy Qur’aan" aya / verse 9 and 10.
It is a weekly "State of the Community" address and the best forum for
motivating, galvanizing, educating and bonding the community.
It is the most important activity of any Islamic Center or Islamic
Community.
The Jumaa Khutba is the most important part. It is the tool of educating and
bonding the community, uniting the community, giving hope to the community,
guiding the community, improving the quality of the community and
propagating Islam (dawa).
FirdayPrayers, The Background. AchaySathi.com Page 2
Juma Khutbah Background and Etiquettes!
Sourced verbatim from: https://www.prayerinislam.com/fatwas-rulings/friday-khutbah-sermon/ March 22, 2019 1 |
www.AchaySathi.com
One of the most important aspects of worship performed on Friday is the deliverance of Khutbah
(sermon).
The Friday Prayer is one of the distinct symbols that distinguishes the religion of Islam from
other religions. The Almighty Allah has blessed Muslims with this grant as a day of
congregational worship. One of the most important aspects of worship performed on that
day is the deliverance of Friday Khutbah (sermon). Here are some etiquettes and conditions
concerning it:
Ruling concerning khutbah:
The majority of the people of knowledge are of the opinion that Friday Sermon is obligatory
and they support this by an authentic hadith which state that the Prophet (peace be upon
him) always made the khutbah with the Jumu`ah.
they also quote the saying of the Prophet: “Pray as you have seen me pray,” and
the Qur’anic verse:
O you who believe, when the call is proclaimed for salat Al-jumu`ah, hasten unto the
remembrance of Allah… ( Al-Jumu`ah 62:9)
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This verse contains an order to hasten unto the remembrance, which implies that it is
obligatory, and (the scholars) interpret the remembrance of Allah to include the khutbah.
Ash-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy upon him) refutes the first argument by saying
that hadith simply states the action of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and does not
necessarily prove that such an action is obligatory. As to the verse, he regards it as simply a
command to be present at the prayer which is obligatory and excludes khutbah… Regarding
their argument relating to the commandment to “hasten unto the remembrance of Allah,”
he says it refers to prayer only, which is the real cause for making haste.
There is, however, an agreement that the Friday Prayer is obligatory while there is a dispute
over whether or not the khutbah is obligatory. Ash-Shaukani concludes by saying that
apparently the correct view is the one held by al-Hassan Al-Basri, Dawud az-Zahiri and al-
Juwaini that the khutbah is only a highly recommended act.
The Greeting of the Imam:
The imam should greet the people when he comes upon the pulpit, followed by
the adhan (call to prayer) which is to be made when he sits. The imam should face the
people during the adhan.
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that when the Prophet (peace be upon him)
mounted the pulpit, he would greet the people. (Ibn Majah)
`Ata’ and others also reported in a mursal form that when the Prophet walked to the top of
the pulpit, he would turn to the people and say: “Peace be upon you.” According to Ash-
Sha’bii: “Abu Bakr and `Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) used to do that [also].”
As-Sa’ib ibn Yazid informs: “The first adhan to prayer made on the day of Friday was made
when the imam sat upon the pulpit during the time of the Prophet, Abu Bakr, and `Umar.
Then, during the time of `Uthman, since there were many people, he instituted a
third adhan outside the mosque. The Prophet only had one muezzin.” ( Al-Bukhari and Abu
Dawud)
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Ahmad and an-Nasa’i recorded: “Bilal would make the adhan to prayer when the Prophet
(peace be upon him) sat upon the pulpit, and he would make the iqamah when the Prophet
came down from the pulpit.”
Contents of the Khutbah:
It is preferred that the Friday khutbah include praises of Allah, the Exalted, prayers upon the
Prophet, admonitions, and Qur’anic recitations.
Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Every speech that does
not begin with the praises of Allah is defective.” (Abu Dawud)
In another version, it is stated: “The Friday khutbah that does not contain the testimony
[“There is no God except Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger] is like the defective
hand.” ( Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and At-Tirmidhi)
Jabir ibn Samurah says: “The Messenger of Allah would deliver his khutbah standing, would
sit in between the two khutbahs, would recite some verses, and would remind the people
[about Allah].” (Muslim)
Jabir also related that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not make his admonitions on
Friday too long, but give a very short khutbah. (Abu Dawud)
Ibn Majah records from Ubay that the Messenger of Allah recited: “Blessed is He…” (Surat
Al-Mulk) on Friday while he was standing. In Ar-Rawdah An-Nadiyah, it is stated: “Thus the
required khutbah, in terms of Islamic law, should be modeled after the
Prophet’s khutbah exhorting people to do good and warning them against dire
consequences of the evil. This is the spirit of the address which the Islamic law has
instituted. As to the other contents of the khutbah, like praising Allah, saying prayers upon
His Messengers or reciting a portion of the Qur’an, none of these is its main purpose, which
is to admonish people.
It has been customary among the Muslims [in the light of the Sunnah] that if one wanted to
make some sort of proclamation, he would begin with praises of Allah and prayers upon His
Prophet, or something of that nature. Still, that is not the purpose of the khutbah; indeed,
the purpose is that which is said after praises of Allah and prayers for the prophet. If a
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person delivers a khutbah and confines it to only praising Allah and saying prayers upon the
Prophet, his khutbah would hardly be acceptable. Any person with common sense could
understand that.
Posture during and between the khutbahs:
It is proper for the imam to stand for the two khutbas and to sit for a short while in between
them. Ibn `Umar said: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) would deliver the Khutbah,
he did so standing, and then he would sit, and then he would stand [again, for the
second khutbah] as the people do today.” (Agreed upon)
Jabir ibn Samurah said: “The Prophet would deliver the khutbah while standing, and then he
would sit, and then he would stand and speak again. Whoever says that he gave
the khutbah while sitting has lied. Verily, I prayed with him more than two thousand prayers
[including the five daily prayers].” (Ahmad, Muslim, and Abu Dawud)
It is preferred to raise one’s voice, to keep the khutbah short, and to the point:
Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that he heard the Messenger of
Allah say: “Prolonging prayer and shortening one’s khutbah is a sign of one’s understanding
of the religion. So, prolong the prayer and shorten the khutbah.” (Ahmad and Muslim)
Shortening the khutbah and prolonging one’s prayer shows one’s understanding of religion,
for such a person is able to comprehend and express much in a few words.
Jabir informs: “When the Prophet delivered the khutbah, his eyes became red, his voice rose,
and his anger increased as if giving a warning to the enemy.” (Muslim and Ibn Majah)
An-Nawawi says: “It is preferred for the khutbah to be in an eloquent and proper Arabic, and
it should be an organized speech that the people can understand. It should not be a speech,
which is over the heads of the people, nor should it be shallow or contain foul language as
that would defeat its purpose. Its words should be chosen carefully to make them attractive
and meaningful.”
The Imam Interrupting his Khutbah for some Reason:
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Abu Hurairah reports: “The Prophet was delivering a khutbah and Al-Hassan and Al-Hussayn
[his grandsons] came and they were wearing two red shirts and they were tripping while
walking. The Prophet came down from the pulpit and picked them up and placed them in
front of himself, and then he said: ‘Allah and His Messenger have told the truth. Verily, your
wealth and children are a trial. I looked to these two children walking and tripping, and I
could not be patient, so I cut off my khutbah and went to pick them up.”‘ (Agreed upon)
Abu Rifa`ah Al-`Adawi says: “I went to the Prophet while he was delivering a khutbah, and I
said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, this strange man has come to ask about his religion as he does
not know what his religion is.’ The Prophet turned to me and left his speech, he came to me
and he was given a wooden chair with four iron legs, and he started to teach me what Allah
had taught him and then he went back to complete his khutbah.” ( Muslim and An-Nasa’i)
Sometimes he would descend from the pulpit due to some need and then return and
complete his khutbah, as he did when he picked up Al-Hassan and Al-Hussayn. He took
them and then returned with them to the pulpit. Sometimes he would interrupt
his khutbah to say things to certain people, [e.g.,] ‘Sit, so and so,’ ‘Pray, so and so.’
[Sometimes] he ordered them to take care of certain things during his khutbah.”
It is Forbidden to Speak during the Khutbah:
The majority of the scholars are of the opinion that it is obligatory to be silent during
the khutbah, and one is not to indulge in conversation during the khutbah, not even if it is
to order one to do some good or to stop some evil, and this rule applies whether or not the
person sitting in the mosque can actually hear the khutbah.
Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If, during the Jumu`ah
while the imam is delivering khutbah, you tell your companion to be quiet, then you have
spoken needlessly.” (Agreed upon)
Abu Ad-Darda’ says: “The Prophet was upon the pulpit and was addressing the people and
he recited a verse, and next to me was Ubay ibn-Ka`b and I asked him: When was that verse
revealed?’ He refused to talk to me until the Messenger of Allah came down from the pulpit
and then he said to me: ‘You have nothing from your Jumu`ah, except your useless talk.’
When the Prophet had finished, I went to him and informed him of what had happened, and
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he said: ‘Ubay has told the truth. If you hear your imam speaking, be quiet until he is
finished.”’ (Ahmad and At-Tabarani)
At-Tirmidhi records that Ahmad and Ishaq made an exception for replying to a salutation
and responding to a sneeze while the imam is delivering the Friday khutbah. According to
Ash-Shafi`i: “If a person sneezes [during the khutbah] and someone says: ‘May Allah bless
you,’ I wish I could have accommodated it since such a reply is a sunnah. In my view it is
disliked that a person should greet someone with salam [while they are listening to
the khutbah]. [What makes it worse is] that his salam is not returned, even though
saying salam is a sunnah while responding to it is obligatory.
Indulging in Conversation when the Khutbah is not
being Delivered, is Permissible:
Tha`labah ibn Abi-Malik says: “We would be talking on Jumu`ah while `Umar was sitting on
the pulpit and when the call to prayer was finished `Umar would stand and no one would
utter a word until he had completely finished both of his khutbahs. When the iqamah was
made and `Umar came down from the pulpit, the people would then speak.” (Ahmad)
Juma Khutbah Background and Etiquettes!
Sourced verbatim from: https://www.prayerinislam.com/fatwas-rulings/friday-khutbah-sermon/ March 22, 2019 1 |
www.AchaySathi.com