According to another report from him, the imamate of the Friday prayer is one of the obligatory offices, and Friday prayer is not valid unless the ruler, or someone he appoints to it, is present.

May a slave serve as its imam? There are two reports, based on whether Friday prayer is obligatory upon a slave. If we say that it is not obligatory upon a slave, then he may not lead it; but if we say that it is obligatory upon him, then he may serve as its imam. A child may not lead the Friday prayer.

Friday prayer may be established only in a settled habitation comprising a cluster of homes, inhabited by those whose presence makes the Friday prayer valid, and who do not leave it in winter or summer except to travel for some necessity—whether the place is a town or a village.

Ahmad said, according to a report from Ibn al-Qāsim, when he was asked, “Upon whom is it obligatory?”—meaning the Friday prayer—“As for those upon whom it is obligatory: whoever hears the call to prayer, or the people of a village, provided its homes are clustered together.” Thus, he regarded the gathering of homes as a condition in the case of a village. According to a report from Abū al-Naḍr al-ʿAjalī, he said: “The Friday prayer is not incumbent upon the desert dwellers, because they move from place to place.” Thus, he exempted them from the Friday prayer on the grounds that they are not settled residents.