16
He was also asked:
A group of people residing in a village number fewer than forty. Which prayer must they perform: the Friday prayer or the noon prayer?
He replied:
If there are fewer than forty men in the village, they perform the noon prayer according to most scholars, including al-Shāfi‘ī and Ahmad, according to the best-known view reported from him. Abū Hanīfah holds the same view. However, al-Shāfi‘ī, Ahmad, and most scholars say that if they number forty, they perform the Friday prayer.
وَسُئِلَ:
عَنْ قَوْمٍ مُقِيمِينَ بِقَرْيَةِ وَهُمْ دُونَ أَرْبَعِينَ مَاذَا يَجِبُ عَلَيْهِمْ؛ أَجُمُعَةٌ؟ أَمْ ظُهْرٌ؟
فَأَجَابَ:
أَمَّا إذَا كَانَ فِي الْقَرْيَةِ أَقَلُّ مِنْ أَرْبَعِينَ رَجُلًا فَإِنَّهُمْ يُصَلُّونَ ظُهْرًا عِنْدَ أَكْثَرِ الْعُلَمَاءِ:
كَالشَّافِعِيِّ وَأَحْمَد فِي الْمَشْهُورِ عَنْهُ وَكَذَلِكَ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ لَكِنَّ الشَّافِعِيَّ وَأَحْمَد وَأَكْثَرَ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُونَ: إذَا كَانُوا أَرْبَعِينَ صَلَّوْا جُمُعَةً.