Whoever is required to attend the Friday prayer yet performs the Dhuhr (midday) prayer before the Friday prayer has been held, his Dhuhr is invalid. For one who is not obliged to attend, it is nonetheless preferable to delay his Dhuhr until the Friday prayer has been completed.
On that day it is unlawful for a person upon whom Friday prayer is obligatory to set out on a journey after the sun has passed the zenith; travelling before that time is merely disliked, unless he will perform the Friday prayer on the way.
Section
[Conditions for the Validity of the Friday Prayer]
-
The prescribed time: it begins when the sun has risen roughly a spear’s length above the horizon and lasts until the ʿAsr (mid-afternoon) prayer. If the time ends before the opening takbīr (1), the congregation prays Dhuhr instead; otherwise, their prayer counts as Friday prayer.
-
The presence of forty residents upon whom attendance is obligatory, living permanently in one village. The prayer is also valid in an area adjoining their built-up settlement. Should their number fall below forty before completion of the prayer, they must restart it as Dhuhr.
-
A latecomer is considered to have caught the Friday prayer by joining one full rakʿah (unit of prayer) with the imam. If he joins for less than a rakʿah, he completes his prayer as Dhuhr—provided the time for Dhuhr has begun and he has intended it; otherwise it counts as a voluntary prayer (2).
Two sermons must precede the prayer. Their conditions are: praising Allah Most High, invoking blessings upon His Messenger—peace be upon him—reciting at least one Qur’anic verse, exhorting the congregation to fear Allah, the presence of the requisite quorum, and delivering the sermons aloud so that the people can hear. Observing both forms of ritual purification, covering the nakedness, and the sermons being delivered by the same person who leads the prayer are not among the conditions.