❖ Ruling on Responding to Salām and Other Dhikr During the Friday Khutbah
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Opinions on Responding During the Khutbah
✔ Permissible According to Some Scholars:
According to Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمه الله), Imam Ahmad (رحمه الله), and Imam Ishaq (رحمه الله):
➤ It is permissible during the khutbah to:
• Respond to someone who sneezes
• Reply to a salām
[Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 3/58; ʿUmdat al-Qārī: 5/321]
✖ Not Permissible According to Others:
✔ Imam Al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) ruled that:
➤ Neither responding to salām nor saying “yarḥamukallāh” to someone who sneezes is permissible during the khutbah.
[Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 3/58; ʿUmdat al-Qārī: 5/321]
✔ Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله) said:
➤ The more correct opinion is that responding to salām or saying “yarḥamukallāh” to a sneezer during the khutbah is prohibited and impermissible.
[Tamām al-Minnah, p. 339]
✔ Imam al-Nawawī (رحمه الله) stated:
➤ This is the explicit and correct view of the Shāfiʿī school.
[Al-Majmūʿ: 4/524]
❖ View of Imam Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله)
Imam Ibn Ḥazm (رحمه الله) maintains that silence during the khutbah is obligatory, but he makes specific exceptions:
✔ Saying salām
✔ Replying to salām
✔ Saying “alḥamdulillāh” after sneezing
✔ Saying “yarḥamukallāh” in response
✔ Saying “yahdīkumullāh wa yuṣliḥu bālakum” thereafter
✔ Sending ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ if the Imam does so
✔ Saying Āmīn to the Imam’s supplication
✔ Responding when the Imam addresses someone directly
✔ Responding if the Imam initiates conversation with someone
All these are permitted, as they do not fall under the category of general conversation.
[Al-Muḥallā bil-Āthār: 3/268]
❖ Clarification by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī (رحمه الله)
✔ The prohibition of speech during the khutbah, according to him, refers specifically to:
➤ Engaging in mutual conversation among the people,
➤ Not to silent remembrance (dhikr) of Allah.
He explains:
➤ If a person remains silent from worldly talk but silently:
• Responds to a salām in his heart
• Replies to a sneezer silently
• Sends ṣalawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ in his heart
Then such a person is not violating the prohibition. He is in line with the instruction to listen attentively and avoiding speech.
[Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi: 3/59]
✔ This is also supported by Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (رحمه الله).
❖ Fatwa of Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله)
✔ Shaykh Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله) said:
Just as one does not respond with “yarḥamukallāh” to a sneezer during ṣalāh, similarly, it should not be done during the khutbah either.
[Al-Fatāwā al-Islāmiyyah: 1/390]
✅ Rajih (Preferred) Opinion:
✔ The most balanced and rajih opinion is that of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Mubārakpūrī (رحمه الله) and those who agree with him:
➤ The prohibition of speech during the khutbah applies only to worldly and mutual conversations.
➤ Silent forms of dhikr such as salām response in the heart, saying alḥamdulillāh, yarḥamukallāh, ṣalawāt, āmīn, etc., do not contradict the command of silence nor the obligation of listening attentively.
