If, in the Friday prayer, the imam holds that it is not valid with fewer than forty people, while those being led—who are fewer than forty—hold that it is valid with their number, he may not lead them. Rather, he must appoint one of them to lead them in his place. If, however, the imam holds that it is valid with fewer than forty, while those being led do not hold this view—and they are fewer than forty—the imam and those being led are not required to establish it, because those being led do not consider it valid, and the imam cannot find anyone with him with whom to perform it.
If the sultan orders the imam not to lead the Friday prayer except with forty people, he may not lead it with fewer than forty, even if that is his own legal position, because his authority has been restricted to forty and withdrawn with respect to fewer than that. Nor may he appoint someone to lead it in his place, since his authority over it has been withdrawn. If the sultan orders him to lead it with fewer than forty, while he himself does not hold that view, the authorization is invalid, since he is unable to exercise it.
If a city encompasses villages whose buildings have become contiguous, so that it has expanded on account of its large population, as in Baghdad, it is permissible to hold the Friday prayer in its established locations, and the buildings do not prevent holding it in those locations. Abu Dawud reported that Aḥmad was asked about the two mosques in Baghdad where the Friday prayer is held: “Is there any precedent for this?” He replied: “The strongest precedent is that ʿAlī commanded someone to lead the weak in prayer,” may Allah be pleased with him.
If, however, the city was originally laid out as a single, spacious settlement, and its congregational mosque can accommodate all its inhabitants, as in Mecca and Medina, it is not permissible to hold the Friday prayer there except in one location.
If the city is a single settlement with contiguous buildings, but its congregational mosque cannot accommodate all its inhabitants because of their large numbers, as in Basra, there are two narrations. According to the first, it is permissible, out of necessity caused by the large population, to hold the Friday prayer in two locations within it. Aḥmad indicated this in the narration of al-Marwadhī. He was asked about performing the Friday prayer in a place with two mosques, and he said: “Pray. I follow the view of ʿAlī concerning the Eid prayer: he commanded a man to lead the weaker people in prayer.” This was the position chosen by al-Khiraqī, who said: “If a town is large and requires several congregational mosques, performing the Friday prayer throughout it is permissible.”
According to another narration, this is not permissible. If the mosque is too small to accommodate them, the streets can accommodate them, so they are not forced to divide the Friday prayer among several locations. Aḥmad indicated this in the narration of al-Athram, who asked him: “Do you know of anyone who held two Friday prayers in a single city?” He replied: “I do not know of anyone who did so”—meaning among the earlier generations—“and I do not know of one Friday prayer being held after another.”
According to this narration, if the Friday prayer is held in two locations in a city whose inhabitants have been prohibited from dividing the Friday prayer, it has been said that it belongs to whichever of the two was first to establish it, and the one who came later must repeat his prayer as the noon prayer.