What Is
The Ruling On Solāh Jumu’ah For The Traveller?
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Question: Could we
leave Solāh al-Jumu`ah when we’re travelling (safar)?
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;
All the praise and thanks
is due to Allāh, the Lord of al-‘ālamīn. I testify that there is none worthy of
worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu alayhi wasallam, is His
Messenger.
Solāh al-Jumu’ah (Friday
prayer) is not obligatory on the traveller. This is the opinion of the Hanafi,
Māliki, al-Shāfi’ie and Hanbali schools of
Jurisprudence of. So he should observe Solāt Dzuhur, shortening it
to a two raka`at, and he may join it with ‘Asar at the time of the earlier or
later prayer, according to what he needs to do. But it is better not to join it
unless he needs to do so, if it will be difficult for him to perform each
prayer at its own time.
Traveling
on a Friday
Ka`ab bin
Malik (radiyallāhu`anhu) reported: “The Prophet (Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) set out on
Thursday for the expedition of Tabuk. He liked to set out on a journey on
Thursdays”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Sakhr bin Wada'ah Al-Ghamidi (radiyallāhu`anhu) reported: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallāhu`alayhi wasallam) said, "O Allah! Bless my people in the early part of the day (morning). Whenever he dispatched a detachment or an army-unit, he would dispatch it at the beginning of the day (soon after dawn).” The narrator, Sakhr (radiyallāhu`anhu) was a merchant, and he used to send off his merchandise at the beginning of the day. So his trade flourished and he made a good fortune. [At-Tirmidzi and Abu Dawud]
The two Ahadith mentioned above point out the desirability to set
off on a journey, business trip, Jihad or anything on
Thursdays and at the beginning of the day (soon after dawn).
On the other hand there is no harm in traveling on a Friday if it
is not during the time of the Solāh. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (radiyallāhu`anhu)
heard a man say: “If today was not Friday, I
would have left.” ‘Umar said: “Leave. Friday
does not keep one from traveling.”
Abu ‘Ubaidah (radiyallāhu`anhu) traveled on Friday and he did not
wait for the solāh. Az-Zuhri wanted to travel before noon on Friday and the
people mentioned something to him, and he said: “Rasūlullāh (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) traveled on Friday.”
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn
Taymiyah (rahimahullāh) said:
“The correct opinion,
without a doubt… is that this (Solat of Jumu’ah and Eid) are not obligatory for
the traveller. The Messenger of Allāh (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) used to
travel frequently: he performed ‘Umrah three times, besides the ‘Umrah he
performed along with Hajj. He performed his Farewell Pilgrimage accompanied by
thousands upon thousands of people, and he went on more than twenty military
campaigns, but there are no narrations at all that say he observed Solāh
al-Jumu`ah or Eid when travelling; he just observed Solāh two raka`at [i.e.,
qasar (shortened prayers)] as on all the other days.
There are also no reports
indicated that say he delivered a khutbah on a Friday when he was travelling,
neither standing on his own two feet or from atop his camel, as he used to do
on Eid, or from a minbar, as he used to do on Fridays. Rasūlullāh (Sallallahu
‘alayhi wasallam) occasionally used to deliver an address to the people when he
was travelling, and this was narrated by them… but no-one reported that he
delivered a khutbah to them before the Solāt on a Friday whilst travelling, and
no-one reported that he recited Qur’ān aloud on a Friday (i.e., during Solāt
al-Dzuhur, on a journey). Of course, if he had done something out of the
ordinary and recited aloud or delivered a khutbah, they would have reported it.
On the Day of ‘Arafāh, he
delivered a khutbah, then he came down and led them in a two-raka’ah solat, but
no one reported that he recited aloud in that solāt. That khutbah was not for
Jumu’ah – because if it had been for Jumu‘ah, he would have done the same
(delivered a khutbah) on every other Friday (when he was travelling); that
khutbah was given because it was part of the rituals (of Hajj).
Hence all the Muslim
scholars said that he would have given a khutbah at ‘Arafāh even if it had not
been a Friday. This mutawātir report proves that it was a khutbah for the Day
of ‘Arafāh, not for Friday.”
[Majmu’ al-Fatāwa (24/178)]
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(rahimahullāh) said:
“The traveller does not
have to observe Jumu’ah, and the evidence for that is the fact that during his
journeys, the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) did not observe Jumu’ah,
even though he had many people with him; rather he would observe solāh Dzuhur
and shorten it.”
[Al-Sharh al-Mumti’
(5/10)]
It indicates that Jumu`ah
is not obligatory for the traveller; all he has to do is to observe Solāh
Dzuhur. However, if he observes Solāh al-Jumu’ah with
the people of the place he is visiting, this is a permissible and worthy act
too.
It says: “Whoever of these
people – travellers, slaves and women – attends Jumu’ah does not have to
observe Solāh Dzuhur, and we know of no dispute on this point. Their exemption from
having to attend Jumu’ah is to make things easy for them, but if they attend,
it is permissible too, as is the case with the sick person. It is preferable
for the traveller to attend Jumu’ah, because this is better deed, and is on the
safe side (because some scholars hold that al-Jumu’ah is obligatory for the
traveller who is stopping; staying in a particular place, but not for the
traveller who is on the road), as he comes under the general meaning of the
ayah which means:
“O You who believe!
When the call is proclaimed for the Solāh on the Day of Friday (Solāh
al-Jumu’ah), come to the remembrance of Allāh, and leave off business (and
every other thing), that is better for you, if you did but know!” (Al-Jumu’ah
62:9)
[Al-Sharh al-Kabeer
(2/154)]
However majority of
scholars hold that Al-Juma’ah is waived, not obligatory for a traveller.
And Allāh Almighty knows
best.
[Via Islam Q&A (Fatwa
No: 2905)]
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