The Ruling on Tahiyyat al-Masjid and Sunnah Mu’akkadah Before the Friday Sermon
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Volume 1, Page 246
❖ Question
In the ḥadīth it is mentioned that if the Imām is delivering the Friday sermon, one should pray two light rakʿāt before sitting. Are these two rakʿāt considered Tahiyyat al-Masjid? And can the four rakʿāt Sunnah Mu’akkadah also be performed at that time?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, wa-ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
The two rakʿāt mentioned in the ḥadīth are indeed called Tahiyyat al-Masjid.
It is also reported in the ḥadīth:
«مَا مِنْ صَلاَةٍ مَّفْرُوْضَةٍ اِلاَّ وَبَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا رَکْعَتَانِ»
(Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah, Vol. 1, Ḥadīth 232, p. 411, Bāb al-Jumuʿah)
❖ Ruling on Four Rakʿāt Sunnah Mu’akkadah
- During the Friday sermon, four rakʿāt cannot be performed.
- The four Sunnah Mu’akkadah are connected with the time before Ẓuhr, not before Jumuʿah.
- If a person arrives before the Friday sermon begins, until the sermon starts he may pray two, four, six, eight, or ten rakʿāt—as many nafl as he is able.
Hādhā mā ʿindī wa-Allāhu Aʿlam bi-ṣ-ṣawāb.
