Virtue of Short Friday Sermons and Balanced Prayers
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ Concise Sermon and Extended Prayer
➊ Ḥaḍrat ʿAmmār bin Yāsir (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إِنَّ طُولَ صَلَاةِ الرَّجُلِ وَقِصَرَ خُطْبَتِهِ مَئِنَّةٌ مِنْ فِقْهٍ
“Indeed, a man’s lengthy prayer and short sermon are a sign of his understanding (fiqh).”
[Muslim: 869 | Kitāb al-Jumuʿah: Bāb Takhfīf al-Ṣalāh wa al-Khuṭbah | Ibn Khuzaymah: 1782 | Aḥmad: 263/4]
➋ It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Jābir bin Samurah (رضي الله عنه) that:
كَانَتْ صَلَاةُ رَسُولِ اللهِ قَصْدًا وَخُطْبَتُهُ قَصْدًا
“The prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his sermon were both moderate (neither too long nor too short).”
[Muslim: 866 | Also in: Tirmidhī: 507 | Nasā’ī: 191/3 | Ibn Mājah: 1106]
❖ Explanation of “Moderate”
According to Imām Ibn al-Athīr (رحمه الله), the word “قصد” (moderate) means:
الوسط بين الطرفين
“The middle point between the two extremes.”
[Al-Nihāyah fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth: 4/67]
❖ Reconciliation of the Texts
Imām Nawawī (رحمه الله) explains that there is no contradiction between the above narrations:
➤ “Lengthy prayer” refers to the prayer being longer than the sermon,
➤ Not that it becomes so lengthy that it brings difficulty to the congregation.
[Sharḥ Muslim: 3/326]
❖ Key Takeaways
✔ The wise and insightful khaṭīb (preacher) is one who uses concise and comprehensive words in his sermon.
✔ A brief speech is easier to remember, internalize, and act upon.
The Prophet ﷺ himself avoided long sermons.
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ لَا يُطِيلُ الْمَوْعِظَةَ، إِنَّمَا هُنَّ كَلِمَاتٌ يَسِيرَاتٌ
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not give lengthy sermons. Rather, he sufficed with a few concise words.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd: 979 | Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Bāb Iqṣār al-Khuṭab | Abū Dāwūd: 1107]
❖ Scholarly Disagreement
Scholars have differed on the minimum requirement for a valid Friday sermon.
These discussions are extensively recorded in classical fiqh texts:
📚 Al-Majmūʿ: 4/392
📚 Al-Umm: 1/346
📚 Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ: 1/262
📚 Al-Mabsūṭ: 2/300
📚 Al-Hidāyah: 1/83
📚 Al-Mughnī: 3/180
