Total Rakʿāt of Jumuʿah and the Ruling on Zawāl Time
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Volume 1, Page 244
❖ Question
➊ How many total rakʿāt are there for Jumuʿah?
➋ Does Zawāl (the sun’s decline from its zenith) occur on Friday or not?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, wa-ṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, Ammā Baʿd!
① Clarification of the Total Rakʿāt of Jumuʿah
◈ If a person arrives at the mosque before the Friday khuṭbah begins, then until the khuṭbah starts, he may perform as many nafl prayers as he wishes.
◈ Two ḥadīths are reported in this regard:
«فَصَلّٰی مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ»
«فَصَلّٰی مَا کُتِبَ لَهُ»
◈ If a person arrives after the khuṭbah has started, he should perform two light rakʿāt.
In this regard, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim records:
«اِذَا جَائَ اَحَدُکُمْ وَالْاِمَامُ يَخْطُبُ فَلْيَرْکَعْ رَکْعَتَيْنِ وَلْيَتَجَوَّزْ فِيْهِمَا»
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Jumuʿah, Bāb al-Taḥiyyah wa-l-Imām Yakhṭub]
“When one of you comes while the Imām is delivering the sermon, let him pray two rakʿāt briefly.”
◈ After the two obligatory rakʿāt of Jumuʿah, narrations mention different numbers of nafl rakʿāt:
✿ Some narrations state two rakʿāt.
✿ Some narrations state four rakʿāt.
✿ Some narrations state six rakʿāt.
◈ Therefore, considering all these narrations, one may estimate the total rakʿāt accordingly.
② Regarding Zawāl on Friday
◈ The time of niṣf al-nahār sharʿī (midday according to Sharīʿah), i.e., before Zawāl, occurs every day.
◈ On Friday, however, those attending Jumuʿah may perform as many nafl prayers as they wish before the khuṭbah begins.
◈ After the khuṭbah has started, only two rakʿāt are allowed.
Supporting aḥādīth:
«فَصَلّٰی مَا قُدِّرَ لَهُ»
[Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb al-Jumuʿah]
“Then he prayed as much as was destined for him.”
«فَصَلّٰی مَا کُتِبَ لَهُ»
[Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb al-Jumuʿah]
“He prayed as much as was written for him.”
Hādhā mā ʿindī wa-Allāhu Aʿlam bi-ṣ-ṣawāb.
