Less Than 40, No Jumu'ah

Munyatul Musolli 19th October 2008

Responsibilities Within Community
People of authority are responsible to make sure that the common folks learn how to perform solah correctly. Everybody should learn at least how to recite Fatihah and identify which elements are rukun and which are not. The authorities are entitled to use force if necessary. Scholars and people of knowledge are under obligation to teach, because in some cases a handful of ignorant people could cause the whole Jumu’ah to become invalid.

As much as we show anger towards anybody who ruins our property, we should show even more anger towards folks who take their solah carelessly.

If there are not enough qualified people to make up the 40-congregant minimum, then it is not sinful to skip Friday solah for that community. In fact it is compulsory that everybody perform Zuhur instead. However the authority must force the ignorant ones to learn day and night. There are ulama who take this issue even more seriously - saying it is haram for the authority to sit alone performing worship, while neglecting to educate his people.

Indeed it has been an ittifaq (agreement among Shafi’i scholars) that Jumu’ah is not valid until there are 40 qualified congregants. There is a weak position that Jumu’ah could be performed with only 3 congregants – we really should steer away from this. It has been an ikhtilaf (disagreement among scholars) whether Imam Shafi’i *really* took that position.

Refuting Other (Lame) Excuse
Some crafty Muslim may give excuse that he is following (doing taqlid) opinion of Imam Abu Hanifah (rh) in performing Jumu’ah with 3 people, or taqlid on Imam Malik (rh) doing Jumu’ah with 8, or 12, or 20 people. In this case his Jumu’ah is still invalid unless he follows the Jumu’ah and solah requirements exactly as demanded by those mazhabs.

Mixing up acts of worship according to different mazhabs is called ‘talfiq mazhab’ and is not allowed to a common Muslim. A Shafi’i follower has no business assuming acts of worship as recommended by other mazhab while being careless to educate himself with Shafi’i rulings. It would be very bad to the whole community if they perform Jumu'ah which is invalid due to failure to observe the rules. Add to this the sin of abandoning Zuhur.

Safeguard Your Obligatory Solah
Showing disregard towards demands of religion – particularly solah – is the worst kind of defiance, the worst kind of sin among major sins, the most degenerate among the haraams. It has been conveyed to us that a Muslim who has abandoned his solah is no longer a Muslim.

Said Rasulullah (saw):

العهدالذي بيننا و بينهم الصلاة فمن تركهافقد كفر

The pledge that is between us and them is to perform solah. So whoever abandons
solah has become a disbeliever.

من ترك الصلاة متعمدا فقدكفر جهارا

Whoever deliberately abandon his solah, then he clearly turns a disbeliever.

من ترك الصلاة فقد برءت منه ذمة الله وذمة رسوله

Whoever abandons his solah, indeed he has wandered beyond the protection of
Allah and His messenger.

من حافظ على الصلاة كانت له نورا و برهانا ونجاة يوم القيامة

Whoever safeguards his solah, so for him nur (light) and burhan (guidance) and
escape from the trials of the Qiamah.

ومن لم يحافظ عليهالم تكن له نورا ولا برهانا ولا نجاة وكان يوم القيامة مع فرعون وقارون وهامان و أُبَيِّ بن خلف

Whoever does not safeguard his solah, there shall be neither nur nor burhan nor
escape. And at the day of Qiamah, he is grouped together with Fir’aun, Qarun,
Haman, and Ubai son of Khalaf.

Ustaz Zakaria said:

• It is haram for the authority to do personal acts of worship until he fulfil his responsibility with amar ma’ruf nahi munkar.
• Never do talfiq on mazhab. In extreme cases where you have to perform solah according to Hanafi, then you must take wudu’ according to their method.
• If you have skipped many obligatory solah before, you must make them up day and night. You are not allowed to do sunnah/nawafil until finish making up the missed ones.
• All Muslims must learn. One of neighboring masjids did ‘Eid Takbir after completing solah ‘Eidul-Fitr – this incorrectly done probably due to ignorance.
• Takbir for ‘Eidul-Fitr can be said anytime night of 1st Syawal until the imam commence sunnah solah ‘Eidul-Fitr. Takbir for ‘Eidul-Adha can be said Subuh (dawn) of 9 Zulhijjah until Asr (afternoon) 13th Zulhijjah.

Wallahu a'lam

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Permissibility For Multiple Jumu'ah

Munyatul Musolli 12th October 2008

Need for Multiple Jumu'ah
Due to various reasons (masjid overflowing etc), it could be inevitable that multiple Jumu'ah be performed in a single vicinity. The final position of Mazhab Syafi'i (Qaul Mu'tamad) is that it is permissible to do this in accordance with the need. However, significant to note that:

• Jumu'ah performed in the first (main) masjid is accepted. It is not allowed (haram) to follow it with Zuhur.
  
• Jumu'ah at other masjids due to the need are also accepted. It is sunnah to follow those Jumu'ah with Zuhur in respect of the other qaul that disallows multiple Jumu'ah.
  

40 People To Make It Valid
Jumu'ah is not accepted if you have doubt that there are 40 qualified congregants in the masjid. However if you sure there 40 present, you need not make sure every one of them perform their solah correctly.

Some people claim that within mazhab Syafi'i itself, there is a Qaul Qadim (older position) that permits Jumu'ah with only 3 congregants. We counter that fallacy as follows:

1. Did Imam Syafi'i himself said that? Ulama disagree on this. Hence this is a weak argument.
2. Even if Imam Syafi'i had said that, this allowance had been directed specifically at people of rural communities where it is difficult to group together 40 congregants. And this permissibility was merely harus (allowed), netiher sunnah (encouraged) nor wajib (compulsory).

As a general rule, steering away from committing haram is more preferred than threading the difficult line trying to commit a sunnah. Considering importance of solah, falling into this trap is very grave and catastrophic to the ummah as a whole. Performing solah incorrectly due to lack of learning is equivalent to no solah at all.

We should follow the stronger position that says 'haram' (disallowed) to perform Jumu'ah with less than 40 congregants.

The authorities is responsible to make sure all muslims learn and be well-informed. They have the rights to hand out harsh punishment to the jama'ah that ignore the 40-congregant rule. This is part of commanding to do good and preventing from doing bad. Authorities that fail to enforce this will place the sin of muslims onto themselves.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

1. Basic ruling of Mazhab Syafi'i is that only one Jumu'ah performed within a vicinity. Exception given if the masjid cannot accommodate all congregants.
2. Don't worry if you have exactly 40 people, and there are unlearned people among them. Jumu'ah still valid.
3. It is preferred we follow the position that says Jumu'ah is invalid if you have less than 40 people. Play it safe.
4. We seek islamic knowledge to satisfy the obligation of seeking knowledge. We don't do it for the sake of paper certificates.
5. It is no good if you don't know basics of Islam, even if you hold high-ranking job.

Wallahu a'lam

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Solah Jumu'ah in Jama'ah

Munyatul Musolli 28th Sept 2008

Solah Jumu'ah = weekly solah on Friday
Jama'ah = congregation, a group of people, or a community.

Solah Jumu’ah (continued)
A latecomer who joins Jumu’ah during the second rak’ah counts as having fulfilled the Jumu’ah. Consider a second person coming to the masjid even later - after the imam concludes the solah - and follows this latecomer as a masbuq. If he joins before the ruku’ of the second rak’ah, this second person would get counted as part of the original Jumu’ah as well.

Prerequisites for Jumu’ah

The first prerequisite is the need for a jama’ah (congregation). There has to be at least 40 qualified congregants. Each of them has to be:

• ‘Aqil baligh – achieved puberty and having sane mind.
• Free – not owned as a slaved.
• Mastautin - a local resident.

In addition, each congregant should also be reliable to fulfil all requirements for individual solah.
A person (literate or not) unable to recite al-Fatihah well enough and neglects to learn and improve himself should not be counted as reliable. Thus he should not be counted among the 40. This is a consensus between Syaikh Ibn Hajar (rh) and Syaikh Ramli (rh).

In contrast, a person unable to recite well, but continually tries to learn and improve; or simply too unintelligent to improve, counts as reliable. Syaikh Ramli had the opinion that this person can be counted among the 40 provided that other competent congregant taking responsibilities as the imam and khatib. Syaikh Ibn Hajar however disagreed - this person should not be counted among the 40 no matter if he is the imam or khatib or neither.

It is acceptable if a congregant is not well versed with elements of solah, such as which element is obligatory(rukun) and which is only encouraged (sunnah). This holds true as long as he does not skip a rukun (convinced it being a sunnah). Both Syaikh Ibn Hajar and Syaikh Ramli concur that this person is reliable and included in the 40.

Zuhur and Jumu’ah
Once Friday solah (Jumu’ah) is fulfilled, then it is disallowed (haram) to accompany it with Zuhur because it is not right to perform 2 fardu solahs within a prescribed period. Nabi (saw) never did so, neither did the 4 Guided Caliphs nor the ulama of the old (mutaqaddimin) or the recent (muta’akhirin).

There may be some exceptions as done in Mesir (Egypt) due to the large population, many cities and different mazhab (fiqh school of thought). According to Hanafi mazhab, it is acceptable to have multiple Jumu’ah congregations within a city or village, even if each masjid is not filled to maximum capacity. However, within Syafi’I mazhab there is an opinion (qaul) that multiple jama’ah is not allowed within a city limit regardless of masjids being overflowed or not. When these two mazhab are practiced within the same city, inevitably the Syafi’I is at odd, because Hanafis perform Jumu’ah at many masjids due to distance or comfort. So Syafi’I jama’ah usually opt to perform Zuhur after their Jumu’ah in respect of the offended qaul. In this case, both their Jumu’ah and Zuhur are valid.

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

• People of Mastautin – local residents who do not intend to relocate elsewhere.
• People of Muqim – temporary residents who intend to relocate after 3 days.
• People of Musafir – those traveling beyond the boundary of his qariah (neighborhood).
• At Masjid Jamek and Masjid Negara (Kuala Lumpur), some more-knowledgeable people follow-up Friday solah with Zuhur.
• A person who has gone for lessons yet still fail to recite correctly is not qualified to become an imam if there is a more able person. His solah is valid for himself only.
• If you fail to recite a rukun correctly, then your solah is invalid. If you fail to recite a sunnah correctly, then you don’t get the reward. Your solah is still valid.

Wallahu a'lam

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Friday Solah (MM 21/9/08)

Munyatul Musolli 21st Sept 2008

Solah in Jama’ah (continued)
Solah in jama’ah is preferred over solah singly. All fardu solah is ranked as follows in the need for jama’ah:

1. Solah Jumu’ah (Friday congregational solah) – compulsory to perform it in jama’ah.
2. Subuh
3. Isya’
4. ‘Asr
5. Zuhur
6. Maghrib

Solah Jumu’ah (Friday)
It is bad enough if a Muslim miss a solah in jama’ah. It is even worse to miss Friday solah - the whole community should declare enmity towards the offender and burn down his house. This demand goes to show how immoral and appalling the offense is. It is a consensus among ulama that Friday solah is ‘fardu ain’ – obligatory on each Muslim, and skipping it is haram and sinful.

Nabi (saw) said:

من ترك ثلاث جمع من غير عذر طبع الله قلبه

Whoever misses 3 Friday solah without excuse, Allah will seal shut his heart.

Once Saidina ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas (ra) was asked:
A man who regularly stand up at night to pray and fast during the day, but attend netiher Jumu’ah nor jama’ah, what will happen to him?

He answered: His place is in Hell!

Moreover Nabi (Saw) said:

من ترك الجمعة ثلاثا من غير عذر فقد نبذ الاءسلام
وراء ظهره

Whoever misses out on Friday solah 3 times without excuse, really he has tossed
Islam behind his back.

Virtues of Friday
Make it known that to Allah, Friday is the noblest among all days of the week. Adam (as) was created on Friday and the end of the world will also be on Friday.

Friday is also the best day of the week that the sun set to rise. On Friday, 600,000 people in Hell are forgiven and let out. It is no surprise either that a Muslim who dies on Friday is recorded a martyr and he is safeguarded from trials in the grave.

We are encouraged to say a lot of salawat to Nabi (saw), and recite surah al-Kahf on Friday and the night preceding it.

It is sunnah to make intention (niat) for Friday when starting morning shower. Then go to the masjid early before solah, and listen carefully to the sermon (khutbah). Some folks intentionally delay Friday solah in waiting for the congregants to fill up the masjid. This is bid’ah (later-day innovation) and you should take care to avoid it.

The community leader has the obligation to force all muslims to attend Friday solah. Failure to attend should be made punishable by law. The enforcement is mandatory upon the leader, and shall not be taken half-heartedly. Friday solah is one of symbols of Islam, and enforcing it shows that religious duties should not be taken lightly.

If the authority take enformencent lightly, the sin of the offender is borne on him as well. This is for neglecting “amar ma’ruf wa nahyu ‘anil munkar” (Command people to do good and prevent them from doing evil).

Coming Late For Friday Solah
To qualify as having performed Friday Solah, a latecomer has to make sure he joins the jama'ah at least 1 full rak'ah. If he joins when the imam is doing ruku' of the 2nd rak'ah, then his Friday Solah is fulfilled. Of course after the imam gives salam, this latecomer must raise and perform 1 more rak'ah alone (taking care to recite loud because this is a Friday solah).
On the other hand, if the latecomer join the jama'ah when the imam has completed ruku' of the 2nd rak'ah, then he misses that Friday Solah. Once the imam gives salam, he should raise and perform 4 rak'ahs of zuhur (and recite silently).

Said Ustaz Zakaria:

1. We Malays recite Yasin and tahlil on Thursday night taking advantage of Friday's special status, and in line with 600,000 people being relieved from Hellfire.
2. Other surahs recommended recited on Friday: ad-Dukhan, al-Qiyamah etc.
3. Those who die on Friday counted as 'syahid aakhirah', so we still wash them and give proper burial.
4. Some masjids wait until khutbah, then start collecting donation from the congregants. This is not good practice as it spoils the reward Allah reserves for being attentive to khutbah.
5. Friday shower is sunnah only to those having intention to attend solah Jumu'ah.
6. A latecomer who is aware that he is too late to be counted as Friday solah can opt to state his niat (at takbiratul-ihram) as performing Zuhur.

Wallahu a'lam

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