Is there a Sunnah Prayer before Jumu’ah ?

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Abdullah ibn Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah
(sallahu alayhi wa salim) said, “There isn’t a single obligatory prayer, except bef
ore it are two Rak’ah”
Collected by Ibn Hibban (2455), Ad-Daraqutni ( 267) , Ibn Adee (2/524) At-Tabbar
ani in Mu’jam (29/ 210/2) Shaykh Al-Albnai (may Allah have mercy on him) graded th
is hadeeth Saheeh ( refer to 232 in Saheehah)
Benefits for this topic:
· TN (May Allah pardon Him).The scholars differ over this subject and some
say yes there is a Sunnah before Jumu’ah prayer, and others deny it. There were t
wo wonderful books authored on this particular topic: Bathu Howl Sunnatil Jumu’aht
il Qableeya by Al-Allamah Abdur Rahman Al-Muallimee and Sunnah Qableeyah by ibn
Mulaqqin (may Allah have mercy on them both). Both of these books examine the is
sue in detail, so the student of knowledge should have these books for a referen
ce. Al-Muallimee mentioned 24 hadeeth before going into the subject at hand.

· Shaykh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “Some of the later sc
holars use this hadeeth as proof for the legislation of a Sunnah prayer before J
umu’ah. Using this hadeeth for that position is wrong. Reason being, it’s been repor
ted in Bukhari and other books that during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace an
d blessings be upon him) for Jumu’ah there was an Athan , Iqamah and between them
was the Khutbah. I explained this in my book Al-Ajwabtul Nafi’
Each and every single hadeeth reported about the Sunnah prayer before Jumu’ah is w
eak. In fact, some are weaker than others. Az-Zayla’ee explained this in Nasbur Ro
wyah (2/206/207)

· Ibn Taymeeyah was asked, Question “Is there a prayer after the first Athan
on Friday? Did the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa Salim), his companions, the Tabi’oo
n or any Imam offer this prayer after the first Athan? Is this prayer mentioned
in any of the Mathabs. Furthermore the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salim) said, “Be
tween every Athan and Iqamah is a prayer” Is this specific for Jumu’ah or is this ha
deeth general for every prayer?

Answer: All praises belong to Allah. The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salim) didn’t
used to pray after the Athan (on Friday). Nothing about this prayer from him has
been reported. During the Prophet’s lifetime the Athan wasn’t called until he sat o
n the minbar. And once he did that, Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) used t
o call the Athan. After the Athan he would give the sermons. After the two sermo
ns were done Bilal would call the Iqamah and the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sali
m) would lead the prayer.

Therefore it wasn’t possible for him or any of the Muslims during that time to pra
y after the Athan. Additionally, no one reported that he (sallahu alayhi wa sali
m) prayed in his house before going to the masjid…
On the other hand, there are reports that when companions of the Prophet entered
the Masjid they would pray what was easy for them to offer. There were some com
panions who would offer 10, 12, 8 or less Rak’ah after entering the masjid (while
waiting for the Imam to come). Hence based on this action from the companions th
e scholars agree that that isn’t any specific time to offer the prayer before the
Khutbah, or is there a specific number of Rak’ah to be considered a Sunnah. A Sunn
ah is only legislated through the Prophet’s speech or actions. This is the positio
n of Malik, Shaf’I and Ahmed.

Moreover, the correct thing to say is there is no Sunnah Ratibah before the Jumu’a
h prayer. It has been authentically reported that the Prophet (salallahu alahi w
a salim) said, “Between every Athan and Iqamah is a prayer” He said this twice and a
fter the third time he said, “Whoever wishes”. He said it, disliking the people to t
ake that prayer between the Athan and Iqamah as a Sunnah. This hadeeth proves th
at before the Iqamah for Asr, Maghrib and Ishah, a person can pray. Nonetheless,
this prayer isn’t a Sunnah Ratibah.

In conclusion, Uthman ordered the second Athan during his lifetime after the Pro
phet‘s death when the numbers increased. This Athan is sunnah and accepted among t
he Muslims. Consequently, the prayer between the 1st Athan and 2nd Athan is perm
issible and acceptable, but it’s not a Sunnah Ratibah. This prayer resembles the o
ne before Maghrib. So, if a person does it he shouldn’t be prevented and if he do
esn’t he shouldn’t be condemned. This is the most just of all the views about this t
opic.

If the ignorant people think its a Sunnah Ratibah or Wajib, it’s better to leave
it until the people know this prayer isn’t a Sunnah Ratibah or Wajib… A person shoul
dn’t regularly practice this prayer either. [ Al-Fatawa Al-Kubara 2/ 351-354]

Prepared and Translated by Abu Aaliyah Abdullah ibn Dwight Battle

Doha, Qatar 1432 ©