Specific Rakats Before Jumu’ah Prayer
The determination of rakats before Jumu’ah prayer is not established from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. See the research on the narrations regarding this:
First Narration:
1. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:
كان النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يركع قبل الجمعة أربعا،زاد الطبراني: وبعدها أربعا، لا يفصل فى شيء منهن.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to pray four rakats before and after Jumu’ah with one salam.
The Chain of Transmission Status of This Narration:
The chain of narration is very weak.
➊ Mubashir bin Ubaid is weak and abandoned.
He has been declared a liar by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him
and Imam Abu Zur‘ah al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him
. Imam Darqutni
, Imam Bukhari
, and Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him
have called him a denier of hadith.
➋ Hajjaj bin Artaṭah is weak and a fabricator according to the majority of hadith scholars.
➌ ‘Atiyyah ‘Awfi is weak according to the majority.
➍ Baqiyyah bin Walid committed tadlīs al-taswiyah (concealing a weak narrator by mentioning a trustworthy one). He did not perform continuous hearing.
❀ Hafiz Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
هو حديث باطل، اجتمع فيه هؤلاء الأربعة، وهم ضعفاء، ومبشر وضاع، صاحب أباطيل.
This narration is false; it contains four weak narrators. Mubashir is a fabricator and reports false narrations.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
هذا الحديث فيه عدة بلايا.
There are many problems in this narration.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
إسناده ضعيف جدا.
The chain of narration is very weak.
❀ Allama Zaili, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
سنده واه جدا، فمبشر بن عبيد معدود فى الوضاعين، وحجاج وعطية ضعيفان.
The chain of narration is very weak. Mubashir bin Ubaid is counted among fabricators; both Hajjaj and ‘Atiyyah are weak.
❀ Allama Zafar Ahmad Thanvi Deobandi wrote:
كلام الهيتمي مشعر بأن ليس فى سند الطبراني أحد غيرهما ليس متكلم فيه.
From the words of Allama Haithami, it is clear that in the chain of narration of al-Tabarani, apart from these two (Hajjaj bin Artaṭah and ‘Atiyyah ‘Awfi), there is no narrator who is reliable.
Whereas it is clear that in al-Tabarani’s chain, Mubashir bin Ubaid is abandoned and a fabricator is present. Therefore, it is not correct to call its chain good.
Second narration:
2. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him):
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي قبل الجمعة أربعا وبعدها أربعا، يجعل التسليم فى آخرهن ركعة.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray four rak’ahs before and after Jumu’ah and would turn the salam in the last rak’ah.
The chain of narration status of this narration:
The chain is weak.
➊ Abu Ishaq Sabi’i is a muddler and mixed narrator.
➋ Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman Sahmi is a subject narrator.
❀ Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لا يتابع عليه.
It was not followed in the hadith.
❀ Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بمشهور.
It was not famous.
Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) said it is weak.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
فيه محمد بن عبد الرحمن السهمي، وهو ضعيف عند البخاري وغيره، وقال الأثرم: إنه حديث واه.
In this chain, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Rahman Sahmi is weak according to Imam Bukhari and others; Imam Athir (may Allah have mercy on him) also said this hadith is weak.
Third narration
3. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
من كان مصليا، فليصل قبل الجمعة أربعا، وبعدها أربعا.
If one intends to perform Nafl on the day of Jumu’ah, then perform four rak’ahs before the prayer and four rak’ahs after the prayer.
The chain of narration status of this hadith:
The chain is weak; Abid ibn Aban Thaqafi is not strong.
❀ Imam Abu Hatim Al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس عندنا بالقوي، يكتب حديثه، وهو.
In our view, it is not strong, however, its narration will be recorded. He is a Sheikh.
Imam Dar Qutni (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned it in Al-Du’afa wal-Matrukoon
.
Only Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned him in Al-Thiqat: 86/6
Also, this hadith is rejected because Abid ibn Aban contradicted trustworthy narrators in its narration.
Fourth narration:
4. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him):
إنه كان يصلي قبل الجمعة ركعتين، وبعدها ركعتين.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to pray two rak’ahs before Jumu’ah and two rak’ahs after Jumu’ah.
The chain of narration status of this hadith:
The chain of narration is very weak:
➊ Imam Darqutni, may Allah have mercy on him, has declared Hasan bin Qutaybah Khuzai as a narrator whose hadiths are abandoned.
He has also been called weak.
❀ Imam Abu Hatim Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
ليس بقوي الحديث، ضعيف الحديث.
This hadith is neither strong nor reliable.
Hafiz ‘Aqili, may Allah have mercy on him, called him full of doubt.
Hafiz Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, said he is weak.
➋ It is the ‘an‘anah (repeated narration) of Sufyan al-Thawri.
➌ Ishaq bin Sulayman al-Baghdadi is not authenticated.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
في إسناده ضعف.
There is weakness in this chain.
It is also rejected because a weak narrator contradicted trustworthy narrators.
Fifth narration:
5. It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him:
كان رسول الله عليه وسلم يصلي قبل الجمعة وبعدها أربعا.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray four rak‘ahs before Jumu‘ah and four rak‘ahs after Jumu‘ah.
The chain of narration status of this hadith:
It is weak and disconnected.
➊ Abu Ubaidah does not have a narration from his father, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him.
❀ Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
الراجح أنه لا يصح سماعه من أبيه.
He has no narration from his father; this is the stronger view.
❀ He also says:
إنه عند الأكثر لم يسمع من أبيه.
According to the majority, Abu Ubaidah did not hear from his father.
❀ Furthermore, he says:
في إسناده ضعف والقطع.
There is weakness and discontinuity in its chain.
➋ Sulayman bin Umar bin Khalid Ruqi is not reliable.
Sixth narration:
6. It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her:
إن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصلي قبل الجمعة ركعتين فى أهله.
Sayyidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reports that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to pray two rak’ahs at home before Friday.
The chain status of this narration:
It is fabricated (Mawdu’).
Ishaq bin Idris Aswari was called a liar by Imam Yahya bin Ma’in.
❀ Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
تركه الناس.
The hadith scholars have declared it abandoned.
❀ Imam Nasai, may Allah have mercy on him, called it an abandoned hadith.
Seventh narration:
7. It is about Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him:
كان يصلي قبل الجمعة أربعا.
The Prophet ﷺ used to pray four rak’ahs before Jumu’ah.
The chain of narration status of this hadith:
The chain is weak; Abu Ubaidah did not hear directly from his father Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him. In Musannaf Abdul Razzaq
, Qatadah narrated from Abu Ubaidah, which is also weak because Qatadah did not hear directly from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him.
Eighth narration:
8. It is narrated from Abu Ishaq, may Allah have mercy on him:
Abdullah bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray four rak’ahs before and after Jumu’ah.
The chain of narration status of this hadith:
It is weak; Abdul Razzaq and Abu Ishaq’s narration is ‘an’anah’ (continuous but not direct).
Ninth narration:
9. It is narrated from Ibrahim Nakha’i, may Allah have mercy on him:
كانوا يصلون قبلها أربعا.
(The Companions and the Tabi’in) used to pray four rak’ahs before Jumu’ah.
The chain of narration status of this hadith:
The chain is weak; it is narrated through Hafs bin Ghiyath and A’mash’s ‘an’anah’.
Benefit
Regarding Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar رضي الله عنهما:
إنه كان يصلي قبل الجمعة أربعا، لا يفصل بينهن بسلام، ثم بعد الجمعة ركعتين، ثم أربعا.
He used to pray four rak’ahs before Jumu’ah with one salam, then two rak’ahs after Jumu’ah, and then four rak’ahs.
Conclusion:
He may pray as many rak’ahs as he wishes before Jumu’ah; however, declaring the four rak’ahs as Sunnah Mu’akkadah is unfounded and baseless. All the narrations regarding this are weak.
