Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Respectable Brother,

I wanted to know if the Juma prayers are still Fard on a person under the

following condition

1. If it is raining

2. The mosque is approx. 2 km away.

3. The only means to reach mosque is to go on foot or cycle.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Juma Friday Prayers

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 2.131a

Salatul Jumu'ah (Friday Midday Prayer) is an obligation upon every free, adult, sane, resident Muslim who has the ability to attend the prayer, and does not have a valid excuse to miss it. Salatul Jumu'ah, however, is not obligatory on the following:

1.                  Women and children.

2.                  The person who is ill and faces hardship if he goes to the mosque, or who fears that his illness will be increased by going to the mosque, or whose recovery will be delayed. This also includes the person who is nursing a very ill person if, especiallay, the ill person cannot manage in the absence of the nursing person.

3.                  For the traveler, even if he is staying at a certain place during the time of the beginning of Salatul Jumu'ah, it is not obligatory. This is based on the fact that the Prophet (saws) traveled and did not perform the salatul Jumu'ah but only prayed the zuhr and 'asr together during the time of the zuhr prayers.

4.                  Environmental restraints like rain, mud, extreme cold, and so on.

Ibn 'Abbas said to the mu'adhdhin on a rainy day: "When you say 'I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,' do not say 'Come to the prayer,' but say 'Pray in your houses."' The people objected to that and he told them: "One better than me did so [the Prophet (saws)]. Al-Jumu'ah is an obligation but I dislike that you should go out walking in the mud and slush." Abi Malih reports that his father had witnessed the day of Jumu'ah with the Prophet (saws), and it was raining and the people were troubled by their shoes so he ordered them to pray in their stopping places.

Related by Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah.

Your Question: I wanted to know if the Juma prayers are still Fard on a person under the following condition

1. If it is raining

2. The mosque is approx. 2 km away.

3. The only means to reach mosque is to go on foot or cycle.

If the condition is such that it is raining heavily and the only mosque where Jumua is held is at a great distance away and the only way to reach the mosque is by foot or cycle; if under such trying conditions one does not attend the Jumua prayers, it is expected that he would have a valid excuse in the Court of the Majestic Lord for missing an obligatory duty.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 64 Surah Tagabhun verse 16:

16 So fear Allah as much as ye can; listen and obey; and spend in charity for the benefit of your own souls: and those saved from the covetousness of their own souls they are the ones that achieve prosperity.

Allah and His Messenger (saws) have made the following of the deen of Islam easy for the believers, and the Lord Most Merciful has commanded the believers to fear Him as much as one can. If one for a genuine valid reason is unable to attend the obligatory Jumua prayer, it is expected that the Lord Most Merciful will not hold him to account.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and sincere well wisher in Islam,

Burhan