Ruling on the Two Friday Sermons and Evidences for Their Obligation
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Two Khutbahs Before the Friday Prayer Are Prescribed
There are authentic Hadiths that establish the practice of delivering two sermons (خُطبَتان) before the Friday prayer:
كانت للنبي خطبتان يجلس بينهما
“The Prophet ﷺ used to deliver two sermons, sitting between them.”
[Muslim: 862 | Abu Dāwūd: 1093 | Nasā’ī: 1417]
❖ Scholarly Opinions on the Obligation of the Friday Khutbah
| Scholar | Opinion |
|---|---|
| Imam Shāfiʿī, Imam Abū Ḥanīfah, Imam Mālik | Consider the Friday sermon obligatory (واجب) |
| Imam al-Ḥasan, Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī | View it as only recommended (مستحب) |
| Ibn Ḥazm | The Khutbah is not obligatory |
| Imam Shawkānī | Holds the same view |
| Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān | Prefers the non-obligatory view |
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/555–556 | Al-Muḥallā bi al-Āthār: 263–264 | Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/345]
| Scholar | View |
|---|---|
| Imam al-Qurṭubī | Khutbah is farḍ (obligatory) |
[Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 18/114]
| Scholar | View |
|---|---|
| Shaykh al-Albānī | Considered the Khutbah obligatory |
[Tamām al-Minnah: p. 332 | Al-Taʿlīqāt al-Raḍiyyah ʿala al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/367]
❖ Arguments of Those Who Consider the Khutbah Non-Obligatory
• Their primary reasoning:
“An action alone (like the Prophet ﷺ delivering Khutbah) does not prove obligation unless accompanied by a command.”
❖ Evidences for the Obligation of the Friday Sermon
➊ Qur’anic Command:
فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ
“Then proceed to the remembrance of Allah.”
[Al-Jumuʿah: 9]
☞ The “remembrance of Allah” in this verse refers to the Khutbah, as explained by scholars.
➋ The Khutbah Replaces Two Rakʿāt of Ẓuhr
☞ This substitution implies an obligatory nature, because Ẓuhr is farḍ, and Jumuʿah cannot replace it without its own obligatory components—chief among them being the Khutbah.
➌ Condemnation for Missing the Khutbah
وَتَرَكُوكَ قَائِمًا
“And they left you while you were standing.”
[Al-Jumuʿah: 11]
☞ Imam al-Qurṭubī comments:
“This verse criticizes those who left the Khutbah, and such condemnation only occurs when a wājib (obligatory) act is abandoned—not for something merely recommended.”
[Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī: 18/114]
✅ Stronger View (Rājih):
✔ The evidences for obligation are stronger and more consistent with both Qur’ān and Sunnah.
✔ The majority of scholars and sound interpretation of texts affirm that the two Khutbahs before Jumuʿah are obligatory.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ
📚 For Further Detail:
Refer to:
Al-Lubāb fī ʿUlūm al-Kitāb – Tafsīr al-Qur’ān: 19/97
