Likewise, it is related that they would pray and depart while the walls had yet to cast any shade. Whoever inferred from such reports that the Friday Prayer may be performed before the sun passes the meridian declared it permissible, whereas whoever understood them merely as an encouragement to pray early did not permit a pre-zawāl performance, lest the fundamental principles in this matter come into conflict. Indeed, it is firmly established from Anas ibn Mālik that “the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—used to lead the Friday Prayer once the sun had begun to decline.” Furthermore, because the Friday Prayer stands in place of ẓuhr, its time must correspond to ẓuhr’s time. Reconciling the various reports, therefore, obliges us to interpret those texts as recommending promptness only, for none of them explicitly states that the prayer was held before midday; and this is the view adopted by the majority.
As for the adhān: the overwhelming majority of jurists agree that it is called when the imam seats himself upon the pulpit. They differ, however, as to whether a single mu’adhdhin should call at that moment or more than one. Some hold that only one mu’adhdhin calls in front of the imam, and with that call trade becomes unlawful; others contend that two should call; still others say that three are required.
The cause of their disagreement lies in the differing reports on the subject. Al-Bukhārī relates from al-Sāʾib ibn Yazīd:
“In the time of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, the call to prayer on Friday was made when the imam sat on the pulpit; but when the era of ʿUthmān began and the people had grown numerous, he added a third call at al-Zawrāʾ.”
Al-Sāʾib also said, “On the Prophet’s Fridays there was only one mu’adhdhin.” Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib likewise reported:
“During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—and of Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, there was but a single adhān on Friday when the imam came out. When the time of ʿUthmān arrived and the congregation became large, he introduced the first adhān so that the people could prepare for the prayer.”
By contrast, Ibn Ḥabīb transmitted that “in the Prophet’s time the mu’adhdhins on Friday were three.”
Some scholars adopted the outward sense of al-Bukhārī’s report and concluded that two mu’adhdhins should call on Friday. Others maintained that there is only one, explaining that the “third call” in ʿUthmān’s time refers to the iqāmah, which would make the original number two. Yet others followed the report of Ibn Ḥabīb, though the ḥadīths transmitted by him are deemed weak by the experts in ḥadīth, particularly those that he alone relates.