nor would mounting be difficult, and a blind person is likewise required to attend whenever he can find someone to lead him. The same obligation falls upon the residents of a nearby village if their own number is sufficient for a valid Friday congregation, or if, in calm weather, a loud voice raised from the edge of their side of the town can reach them; otherwise, they are exempt.

It is forbidden for anyone upon whom the Friday prayer is obligatory to set out on a journey after the sun has passed its zenith—unless he will be able to perform the Friday prayer along the way, or remaining behind would harm him by separating him from his party. According to Imam al-Shāfiʿī’s later view, the same ruling applies to leaving before the zenith when the journey is merely permissible; if the journey is for an act of obedience, however, it is allowed. I say: the sounder position is that a journey undertaken for obedience is treated exactly like one that is merely permissible, and Allah knows best.

For those upon whom Friday prayer is not obligatory, it is recommended—according to the sound view—to perform the Noon (ẓuhr) prayer in congregation; they should do so discreetly when their excuse is not obvious. Anyone whose excuse may lapse is encouraged to delay his Noon prayer until he has lost hope of attending Friday prayer, whereas others, such as women and the chronically infirm, should perform it promptly.

In addition to the general conditions shared with other prayers, the validity of the Friday prayer depends on several special requirements:

1. Time. It must be performed during the time of the Noon prayer. The Friday prayer is not made up after its time. If the time remaining is too short for it, they perform the Noon prayer. Should the time expire while they are still engaged in the Friday prayer, the Noon prayer becomes obligatory—either by completing what they have started, or, according to another opinion, by beginning it afresh. A latecomer is treated like the rest, though some hold that if they finish the prayer it still counts as Friday.

2. Place. It must be held within an area of permanent buildings that constitutes the hometown of those assembled. Even if tent-dwellers remain in the desert permanently, the preponderant opinion is that no Friday prayer is valid for them.

3. Uniqueness. No other Friday prayer may precede or coincide with it in the same town, unless the town has become so large that gathering in one place is difficult. Some jurists reject even this exception; others count the two halves of a town divided by a large river as two separate towns; yet others allow multiple Friday prayers when villages have expanded and joined together. If one gathering precedes another, the valid one is the first; another opinion validates the second if the ruler attends it. What counts, according to the dominant view, is whichever group first pronounces the opening takbīr; others say it is whichever concludes first, or begins its sermon first. If the two prayers occur simultaneously, or if precedence is uncertain, the Friday prayer must be repeated. When one of them did precede but cannot be identified—or was identified and later forgotten—they perform the Noon prayer instead, though another opinion allows a fresh Friday prayer.

4. Congregation. The prayer must be held with forty legally accountable, free, male residents who do not customarily travel in either summer or winter except out of necessity. The sound position is that exactly forty suffice and the imam counts as one of them. If all or some of the forty disperse during the sermon, anything done in their absence is not counted, though they may resume from where they left off if they return before a lengthy break. The same ruling applies if the dispersal occurs between the sermon and the prayer; if the interval is long, restarting is required according to the preponderant view. Should they scatter during the prayer itself, it becomes invalid—though another opinion holds that it remains valid so long as two worshippers remain. The Friday prayer is valid when led by a slave, a minor, or a traveller.