❖ Common Misconceptions About Jumu‘ah and Their Legal Rulings
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
No sound Sharʿī evidence exists to suggest that Jumu‘ah prayer is distinct in a way that requires specific, additional conditions beyond other prayers. Thus, the imposition of man-made conditions—like a specific number of attendees, a particular location, or a designated imam—are innovations (بدعات) and additions to the religion.
مضت السنة أن فى كل أربعين فصاعدا جمعة
“The Sunnah has been that Jumu‘ah is obligatory upon forty or more.”
[Weak: Daraqutni: 3/2–4]
• This hadith is weak due to ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, who has been accused of fabricating and lying in Hadith.
[Al-Kāmil of Ibn ʿAdī: 5/1927 | Al-Ḍuʿafā’ wa al-Matrūkīn of al-Nasā’ī: 168, 415 | Ibn Ḥibbān: Al-Majrūḥīn: 2/138]
❖ Imam al-Shāfiʿī – 40 men
❖ Imam Aḥmad (one view) – 40 men
❖ Imam Mālik – 12 men
❖ Abu Ḥanīfah – Imam + 2 attendees
❖ Other views: 4, 7, 9, 12, 20, 40, 50, 70
[Al-Majmūʿ: 4/371 | Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/268 | Al-Mabsūṭ: 2/24 | Al-Hidāyah: 1/83 | Al-Mughnī: 3/203 | Baḥr al-Zakhkhār: 12/112 | Subul al-Salām: 2/655]
• Jumu‘ah requires at least three people (Imam + 2).
• Based on the general hadith: "When there are three, one should lead them in prayer."
→ This hadith is general and not specific to Jumu‘ah.
[Taʿliq ʿala Subul al-Salām: 2/654]
✔ No authentic Hadith confirms a minimum number for Jumu‘ah.
✔ Just as regular congregational prayer begins with Imam + 1, Jumu‘ah also suffices with two persons.
✔ Supported by:
• Imam Shawkānī – [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/512]
• Imam al-Ṣanʿānī – [Subul al-Salām: 2/655]
• Ibn Ḥazm – [Al-Muḥallā: 3/251]
• Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān – [Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/342–344]
Some claim Jumu‘ah is valid only in urban areas, not in villages. However, this view is:
✔ Unsupported by authentic evidence,
✔ Contradicted by historical practice, and
✔ Ignored even by those who hold this view, as they conduct Jumu‘ah in rural areas themselves.
➊ Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
“The first Jumu‘ah prayer after the Prophet ﷺ’s masjid was held in the village of Jawāthā in Bahrain.”
[Bukhārī: 892, 4371 | Abu Dāwūd: 1068 | Ibn Khuzaymah: 1725]
➋ Imam Bukhārī’s Chapter Heading:
باب الجمعة فى القرى والمدن
“Chapter: Jumu‘ah in Villages and Cities.”
➌ Umar (رضي الله عنه):
In a letter to Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه):
ان جمعوا حيث ما كنتم
“Wherever you are, offer Jumu‘ah together.”
[Weak: Tamām al-Minah: p. 332 | Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/486]
➍ Jumu‘ah in Alexandria and rural Egypt during the time of Umar and Uthmān (رضي الله عنهما) with the presence of Sahabah.
[Bayhaqī: 3/178 | Taʿliq al-Mughnī ʿala al-Dāraqutnī: 1/166]
➎ Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) did not criticize villagers who held Jumu‘ah.
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 5185 | Bayhaqī: 3/178 | Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/486]
➏ Qur’ānic evidence:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ
“O you who believe, when the call to prayer is made on Friday…”
[Al-Jumuʿah: 9]
→ This is a general command for all believers, urban or rural.
➐ The Prophet ﷺ led Jumu‘ah in the village of Banū Mālik.
[ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd: 1/414]
✔ Ḥanafīs: Only in major urban mosques.
✔ Majority (Jumhūr): Valid in villages and cities alike.
[Al-Umm: 1/328 | Al-Majmūʿ: 4/353 | Al-Mabsūṭ: 2332 | Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/259]
✔ Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله):
“Jumu‘ah is valid in both villages and cities.”
[Al-Fatāwā al-Islāmiyyah: 1/399]
✔ Stronger Opinion (Rājih):
The evidences support the Jumhūr’s view: Jumu‘ah is valid anywhere Muslims live.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/514 | Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/344 | Al-Muḥallā: 3/254]
The Ḥanafīs require that only the official ruler or someone appointed by him may lead Jumu‘ah.
[Qudūrī: p. 53 | Al-Durr al-Mukhtār: 1/747 | Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 1/408 | Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/259]
Islam places no such condition. Evidence:
➤ During the siege of ‘Uthmān (رضي الله عنه), ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) led the people in Jumu‘ah, and ʿUthmān approved of it.
➤ No one objected, even though he was not appointed by the ruler.
[Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 2/1298]
✔ Thus, any capable Muslim man may lead Jumu‘ah if the conditions of knowledge and integrity are met.
✦ Imposing conditions such as:
① Specific number (e.g., 40 men)
② Specific location (e.g., only in big cities)
③ Specific Imam (e.g., appointed by the state)
✦ Are not from the Sunnah, and have no sound evidence.
✦ These are baseless restrictions that may lead to Bidʿah (innovation).
✔ Jumu‘ah is like other congregational prayers, with no artificial or political restrictions imposed by Islam.
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Jumu‘ah Is Like Other Prayers—Not Opposed to Them
No sound Sharʿī evidence exists to suggest that Jumu‘ah prayer is distinct in a way that requires specific, additional conditions beyond other prayers. Thus, the imposition of man-made conditions—like a specific number of attendees, a particular location, or a designated imam—are innovations (بدعات) and additions to the religion.
◈ Misconception ①: A Specific Number of Attendees Is Required for Jumu‘ah
✦ Weak Hadith Often Cited:
مضت السنة أن فى كل أربعين فصاعدا جمعة
“The Sunnah has been that Jumu‘ah is obligatory upon forty or more.”
[Weak: Daraqutni: 3/2–4]
• This hadith is weak due to ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, who has been accused of fabricating and lying in Hadith.
[Al-Kāmil of Ibn ʿAdī: 5/1927 | Al-Ḍuʿafā’ wa al-Matrūkīn of al-Nasā’ī: 168, 415 | Ibn Ḥibbān: Al-Majrūḥīn: 2/138]
✦ Scholarly Differences on Minimum Number:
❖ Imam al-Shāfiʿī – 40 men
❖ Imam Aḥmad (one view) – 40 men
❖ Imam Mālik – 12 men
❖ Abu Ḥanīfah – Imam + 2 attendees
❖ Other views: 4, 7, 9, 12, 20, 40, 50, 70
[Al-Majmūʿ: 4/371 | Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/268 | Al-Mabsūṭ: 2/24 | Al-Hidāyah: 1/83 | Al-Mughnī: 3/203 | Baḥr al-Zakhkhār: 12/112 | Subul al-Salām: 2/655]
✦ View of Ibn Taymiyyah & Ibn al-Qayyim:
• Jumu‘ah requires at least three people (Imam + 2).
• Based on the general hadith: "When there are three, one should lead them in prayer."
→ This hadith is general and not specific to Jumu‘ah.
[Taʿliq ʿala Subul al-Salām: 2/654]
Correct and Stronger Opinion (Rājih):
✔ No authentic Hadith confirms a minimum number for Jumu‘ah.
✔ Just as regular congregational prayer begins with Imam + 1, Jumu‘ah also suffices with two persons.
✔ Supported by:
• Imam Shawkānī – [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/512]
• Imam al-Ṣanʿānī – [Subul al-Salām: 2/655]
• Ibn Ḥazm – [Al-Muḥallā: 3/251]
• Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khān – [Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/342–344]
◈ Misconception ②: Jumu‘ah Must Be Performed Only in Cities
Some claim Jumu‘ah is valid only in urban areas, not in villages. However, this view is:
✔ Unsupported by authentic evidence,
✔ Contradicted by historical practice, and
✔ Ignored even by those who hold this view, as they conduct Jumu‘ah in rural areas themselves.
✦ Evidences Supporting Jumu‘ah in Villages:
➊ Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما):
“The first Jumu‘ah prayer after the Prophet ﷺ’s masjid was held in the village of Jawāthā in Bahrain.”
[Bukhārī: 892, 4371 | Abu Dāwūd: 1068 | Ibn Khuzaymah: 1725]
➋ Imam Bukhārī’s Chapter Heading:
باب الجمعة فى القرى والمدن
“Chapter: Jumu‘ah in Villages and Cities.”
➌ Umar (رضي الله عنه):
In a letter to Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه):
ان جمعوا حيث ما كنتم
“Wherever you are, offer Jumu‘ah together.”
[Weak: Tamām al-Minah: p. 332 | Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/486]
➍ Jumu‘ah in Alexandria and rural Egypt during the time of Umar and Uthmān (رضي الله عنهما) with the presence of Sahabah.
[Bayhaqī: 3/178 | Taʿliq al-Mughnī ʿala al-Dāraqutnī: 1/166]
➎ Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) did not criticize villagers who held Jumu‘ah.
[ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 5185 | Bayhaqī: 3/178 | Fatḥ al-Bārī: 1/486]
➏ Qur’ānic evidence:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ
“O you who believe, when the call to prayer is made on Friday…”
[Al-Jumuʿah: 9]
→ This is a general command for all believers, urban or rural.
➐ The Prophet ﷺ led Jumu‘ah in the village of Banū Mālik.
[ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd: 1/414]
✦ Scholarly Positions:
✔ Ḥanafīs: Only in major urban mosques.
✔ Majority (Jumhūr): Valid in villages and cities alike.
[Al-Umm: 1/328 | Al-Majmūʿ: 4/353 | Al-Mabsūṭ: 2332 | Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/259]
✔ Ibn Bāz (رحمه الله):
“Jumu‘ah is valid in both villages and cities.”
[Al-Fatāwā al-Islāmiyyah: 1/399]
✔ Stronger Opinion (Rājih):
The evidences support the Jumhūr’s view: Jumu‘ah is valid anywhere Muslims live.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/514 | Al-Rawḍah al-Nadiyyah: 1/344 | Al-Muḥallā: 3/254]
◈ Misconception ③: A Designated Government-Imposed Imam Is Required
The Ḥanafīs require that only the official ruler or someone appointed by him may lead Jumu‘ah.
[Qudūrī: p. 53 | Al-Durr al-Mukhtār: 1/747 | Fatḥ al-Qadīr: 1/408 | Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/259]
❖ Refutation of This Condition:
Islam places no such condition. Evidence:
➤ During the siege of ‘Uthmān (رضي الله عنه), ʿAlī (رضي الله عنه) led the people in Jumu‘ah, and ʿUthmān approved of it.
➤ No one objected, even though he was not appointed by the ruler.
[Al-Fiqh al-Islāmī wa Adillatuhu: 2/1298]
✔ Thus, any capable Muslim man may lead Jumu‘ah if the conditions of knowledge and integrity are met.
Summary:
✦ Imposing conditions such as:
① Specific number (e.g., 40 men)
② Specific location (e.g., only in big cities)
③ Specific Imam (e.g., appointed by the state)
✦ Are not from the Sunnah, and have no sound evidence.
✦ These are baseless restrictions that may lead to Bidʿah (innovation).
✔ Jumu‘ah is like other congregational prayers, with no artificial or political restrictions imposed by Islam.
