Among the rulings of Jumu‘ah is that whoever enters the mosque while the imam is delivering the sermon must not sit down until he has prayed two short rak‘ahs. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If any one of you arrives on Friday after the imam has come out, let him pray two rak‘ahs,” agreed upon; Muslim adds, “and let him shorten them,” meaning he should perform them quickly. If he has already sat, he should rise and perform them, for the Prophet ﷺ ordered the man who had sat before praying them, saying, “Stand up and pray two rak‘ahs.”

Another ruling of the Friday prayer is that it is impermissible to speak while the imam is addressing the congregation. Allah says, “When the Quran is recited, listen to it attentively and remain silent so that you may be shown mercy” (7:204). Some exegetes stated that this verse was revealed regarding the sermon and was called “Quran” because it contains Quranic verses. Even on the other view—that the verse was revealed about the regular prayer—its general wording nonetheless encompasses the sermon. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever says ‘Be quiet!’ has engaged in idle talk, and his Friday (reward) is void,” narrated by Ahmad. In another report, he said, “Whoever speaks is like a donkey carrying books…”