Is Listening to the Friday Sermon Necessary for Jumuah?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Ruling of Listening to the Friday Sermon
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: What is the ruling of listening to the Friday sermon? If one arrived late and was not able to listen to the sermon, will his salāh be valid?
Answer
The blessed aḥādith encourage arriving early for Jumuʿah salāh. The sermon holds great importance on Friday, which one must listen to in silence and with full attention. Therefore, arriving so late without a valid reason that one misses the sermon will deprive them of the full reward of Jumuʿah. However, listening to the sermon is not a condition for the validity of salāh. Therefore, if one was not able to listen to the sermon due of arriving late, but they joined the imām in salāh, their Jumuʿah salāh is valid, provided that the congregation of Jumuʿah was established in accordance with its conditions.
It is narrated in Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Saḥīḥ Muslim, Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Musnad Aḥmad, etc.:
عن أبي هريرة رضي اللہ عنه أن رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم قال: من اغتسل يوم الجمعة غسل الجنابة ثم راح فكأنما قرب بدنة ومن راح في الساعة الثانية فكأنما قرب بقرة ومن راح في الساعة الثالثة فكأنما قرب كبشا أقرن ومن راح في الساعة الرابعة فكأنما قرب دجاجة و من راح في الساعة الخامسة فكأنما قرب بيضة فإذا خرج الإمام حضرت الملائكة يستمعون الذكر
Translation: It is narrated from Abū Hurairah رضى الله تعالى عنه that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: Whoever performs ghusl on Friday in the same manner as the ghusl of janabah then goes for the prayer, it is as if he has given a camel (in the path of Allāh). The one who goes in the second hour, it is as if he has given a cow. The one who goes in the third hour, it is as if he has given a horned ram. The one who goes in the fourth hour, it is as if he has given a hen. The one who goes in the fifth hour, it is as if he has given an egg. When the imām comes out (for the sermon), the angels attend to listen to the sermon. (Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of Jumuʿah, Ch. The blessings of Jumuʿah, Vol. 01, p. 301, Ḥadīth No. 841, Publ. Dār Ibn Kasīr, Damascus) ʿAllāmah Mazhar-Uddin Hussain Bin Maḥmūd Mazharī Ḥanafī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 727 AH/1327 CE) writes:
فإذا خرج الإمام أي: فإذا صعد الخطيب المنبر تطوي الملائكة كتبهم و يحضرون استماع الخطبة يعني من دخل في هذا الوقت يكون ثوابه قليلا و لا تكتبه الملائكة من الذين لهم ثواب كامل
Translation: When the imam comes out, that is, when the khatīb climbs the pulpit, the angels close their registers and attend to listen to the sermon. This means that whoever arrives at this time receives a lesser reward, and the angels do not record him among those who receive the complete reward. (Al-Mafātīḥ Fī Sharḥ al-Masābīḥ, Book of Salāh, Ch. Cleansing and Heading out Early, Vol. 02, p. 322, Publ. Dār al-Nawādir, Kuwait)
ʿAllāmah Shams-Uddin Muḥammad Bin Abdullah Khatīb Tumurtāshī Ghazzī رحمۃ اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1004 AH/1596 CE) writes:
و من أدركها في تشهد أو سجود سهو يتمها جمعة
Translation: Whoever joins the jamāʿah (with the imām) in the tashahhud or the sajdah sahw should complete his salāh as Jumuʿah. (Tanwīr al-Absār, Book of Salāh, Ch. of Jumuʿah, p. 30, Publ. Al-Maktabah al-Nabawiyah, Egypt)
Muftī Waqar-Uddin Qādrī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1413 AH/1993 CE) was asked whether or not a person’s Jumuʿah salāh is valid if they did not listen to the sermon, to which he replied:
جو شخص تشہد میں بھی شریک جماعت ہوا، اس کی نماز جمعہ ادا ہو جائے گی۔ . . . لیکن احادیث میں جمعہ کی نماز کے جو فضائل بیان ہوئے ہیں کہ جمعہ کی نماز دس دنوں کے گناہوں کا کفارہ ہوتی ہے۔ اس ثواب سے وہ شخص محروم رہے گا جو خطبہ کی اذان شروع ہونے کے بعد آئے گا۔ حدیث میں فرمایا کہ مسجد کے دروازے پر فرشتے ایک کھاتہ لے کر بیٹھے ہوتے ہیں اور جمعہ کی نماز میں آنے والوں کے نام ترتیب وار لکھتے رہتے ہیں۔ جب امام ممبر کی طرف جانے لگتا ہے تو وہ اپنا کھاتہ بند کر کے خطبہ سننے میں مصروف ہو جاتے ہیں۔ . . . لہذا اس رجسٹر میں بعد میں آنے والوں کا نام نہیں لکھا جاتا۔
Translation: Whoever joins the congregation, even during the tashahhud, their Jumuʿah salāh will be valid… However, the virtues mentioned in the aḥādīth regarding Jumuʿah salāh, such as the Jumuʿah salāh is an expiation for the sins of ten days, will not be attained by the person who arrives after the adhān for the sermon has begun. It is stated in the ḥadīth that angels sit at the doors of the masjid with a register and they record the names of those who arrive for Jumuʿah in order of their arrival. When the imām starts proceeding towards the pulpit, they put away their register and listen to the sermon… Therefore, the names of those who arrive afterwards are not recorded in the register. (Waqār-Ul-Fatāwā, Vol. 02, p. 161-162, Publ. Bazm-E-Waqar-Uddin, Karachi)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FAM-1090
Date: 16th Shaʿbān al-Muʿazzam 1447 AH / 5th February 2026