Sunnah prayers before and after Jumu’ah

Sunnah Solāt before and after al-Jumu’ah

Ibn Salih

Is there a Sunnah prayer before and after al-Jumu’ah?

In the Name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful;

All praise and thanks are due to Allāh, May Allāh blessings and peace be upon His Messenger.

Scholars differ slightly in their opinion on the Solāt Sunnah before al-Juma‘ah. Some views that there is no regular Sunnah solāt before al-Jumu’ah except the Tahiyyatul-Masjid as contain in the hadith of Abu Qatadah who reported that the Prophet (sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever enters a masjid should perform two rak’at (Tahiyyatul-Masjid) before sitting" [Al-Bukhari, Muslim]

However, the Ummah could offer optional solah whatever Allāh enables them, before the imām comes out to deliver the khutbah as evidence from a hadith which the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: “The prayers [optional prayers] of the night and the day [i.e., other than the obligatory prayers] are two by two.”[Narrated by Imām Ahmad and the authors of Sunan with a hasan isnād; the original is to be found in al-Sahīh without any mention of the day]  

The Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) did not specify whether the number of raka’at, but with salam after every two raka’at. But the minimum is a two raka’ahs of Tahiyyatul-Masjid before sitting as a greeting to the House of Allāh. 

Their premise of the view was that Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to come out of his house on the day of Jumu’ah (Friday) and climb up on his minbar. Then the muadzin would pronounce the Adzān, and when he completed, Rasūlullāh (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) would begin his khutbah. If there were any Sunnah prayer to be done before Jumu’ah, he (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) would have told them about it and directed them to do it after the Adzān, and he would have done it himself. At the time of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) there was nothing apart from the Adzān just before the khutbah. [The first Adzān as we are having today was introduced during the Khalifah ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan (radiallāhu`anhu) the second adzān is in fact the first adzan during the time of Rasūlullāh]

Hence the majority of the scholars agreed that there is no Sunnah to be done at a specific time before al-Jumu’ah with a specific number of raka’ahs, because it was not reported from the words or actions of the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam). This is the view of Mālik, al-Shāfi’e and most of his companions, and is the view in the madzhab of Hanbali.

Al-‘Irāqi said:  “I have not seen anything to indicate that the three imāms recommended praying Sunnah (i.e after the 2^nd adzan) before it (Jumu’ah).” Albāni commented: “For that reason this so-called Sunnah is not mentioned in Kitāb al-Umm by Imām al-Shāfi’e, or in al-Masaa’il by Imām Ahmad, or by any of the other early imāms, as far as I know”.

Moreover, between the first adzan of al-Jumu’ah prayer and the second adzan, there should be sufficient time for people to get ready to pray, not just the time it takes to pray a two raka’ahs or thereabouts, as is done in some countries and some masjids.

Solat Sunnah before Solat al-Jumu’ah

Nevertheless, according to a renown scholar of ash-Shafi’ies, Imām al-Nawawi (rahimahullāh), who said that the basis for the solat sunnah before al-Jumu’ah is the general applicability of a sahih hadith recorded by Al-Bukhāri from ‘Abdullah bin Munghaffal (radiallāhu`anhu) who reported that Rasūllullāh said: “Between every two adzan [adzan and iqamah] there is a prayer [optional prayer], Between every two adzan there is a prayer”- and the third time Rasūlullāh said “For those who wish”. It is also a ruling by qiyas to the sunnahs performed before Solat Dzuhur. [Al-Majmu’, 3:504].

Some of the commentators of Minhaj al-Talibin appear to draw from the practice of a companion. Imam Al-Shirbini quotes from Imam al-Tirmidhi that “Ibn Mas’ud used to pray four raka’at before and after Jumu’ah.” [Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1:335]

Regular Sunnah prayer after Solat al-Jumu’ah

There is no dispute on Sunnah prayer after Solat al-Jumu’ah. Khatib al-Shirbini (rahimahullāh) states that:

The legal basis (of four raka’at after Jumu’ah; two raka’at being emphatically recommended whilst the other two merely recommended) rests in the hadith recorded by Imam Muslim, “When any one of you performs the Friday solat, he should perform four raka’at afterward.” [Mughni al-Muhtaj]

Rasulullah (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to pray a two raka’ahs after Jumu’ah in his house. Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullāh) said: When the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) had performed al-Jumu’ah, he would enter his house and do a two Raka’ahs of Sunnah, and he commanded those who had done al-Jumu’ah it to do a four raka’ahs afterwards.  

It was reported from ‘Ata’ that Ibn ‘Umar (radiallāhu`anhu) that when he prayed the Friday prayer in Makkah, he would moved forward and pray two raka’at then he moved forward and pray four raka’at. And if he prayed in Madinah he would pray two raka’at, and he would not pray that in   the masjid. When he was asked regarding this he said “This is what the Messenger (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to do” [Sunan Abu Dawud (1130): Sahih]

[Al-Zaad (1/440)]

Imam Nawawi (rahimahullāh) said that one may observe four raka'at Sunnah prayers before and after al-Juma'ah.

As a matter of fact, the differences of opinion would transcend by ahādīth that mentioned about the excellence of Optional Solāh as the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam) said:

• “Prostrate ( Solah) as much as you can, because whenever you prostrate, Allāh elevates your rank by a degree and wipes out a sin from your record” (Muslim)
• "Whenever a servant prostrates to Allāh, Allāh writes a reward for him, wipes out one of his sins and elevates his rank by one degree; so prostrate as much as you can” (Ibn Majah)
• “Solāh is the best thing that one can do, so perform as many as you possibly can” (At-Tabarani)
• “Two light raka’ahs which you may think as insignificant to add to you deeds, it is better for you than possessing the whole world” (Ibn Al-Mubarak)

In conclusion, the Solat Sunnah before the Solat Juma’ah has been established through the well-authenticated hadith recorded by Al-Bukhari: “Between every two adzan there is a solat” and another, “The prayers [optional prayers] of the night and the day [i.e., other than the obligatory prayers] are two by two.” It is also the qiyas to the sunnahs before dzuhur, and the practice of Ibn Mas’ud, (radiallāhu`anhu). The legal basis (of four raka’at after Jumu’ah; two raka’at being emphatically recommended whilst the other two merely recommended) rests in the hadith recorded by Imam Muslim, “When any one of you performs the Friday solat, he should perform four rak’ats afterward.” [Mughni al-Muhtaj]

Wallāhu’alam

[Adapted from Islam Q&A (Fatwa No: 6653 by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid and No: 14075)]