The virtue of arriving early for Jumu'ah and when a person catches up with Jumu'ah

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Question:
May Allah bless you. This person, may Allah preserve you, has used the symbol for his name, which is Muhammad. He says: If you could speak about the virtue of arriving early for Jumu'ah, and if a person for whom Jumu'ah is obligatory intentionally comes to the mosque after the khutbah and during the prayer, is his prayer invalid?

Answer:
Arriving early for Jumu'ah is a confirmed sunnah (recommended practice). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Whoever arrives early and starts early, walks and does not ride, waits and does not speak during the khutbah, Allah will write for him the reward of the time between the two Jumu'ahs and an additional three days.

من بكر وابتكر ومشى ولم يركب وانتظر ولم يتكلم في الخطبة كتب الله له ما بين الجمعتين وزيادة ثلاثة أيام

of the reward. These are the etiquettes, so one should arrive early. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also said:

Whoever comes in the first hour

من جاء في الساعة الأولى

it is as if he had sacrificed a camel (in Allah's cause); and whoever goes in the second hour it is as if he had sacrificed a cow; and whoever goes in the third hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a horned ram; and if one goes in the fourth hour, then it is as if he had sacrificed a hen; and whoever goes in the fifth hour then it is as if he had offered an egg.

فكأنما قرب بدنة، من جاء في الساعة الثانية فكأنما قرب بقرة، ومن جاء في الساعة الثالثة فكأنما قرب كبشا، ومن جاء في الساعة الرابعة فكأنما قرب دجاجة، من جاء في الساعة الخامسة فكأنما قرب بيضة،

Sahih al-Bukhari 881

There is a difference in the reward for attending Jumu'ah; the earlier a person arrives, the better it is, the better it is. So a person should hasten to do this. As for if he is late and catches up with one rak'ah of Jumu'ah, he has caught up with it. If he comes before the imam raises his head from the bowing of the last rak'ah and bows with him, he has caught up with Jumu'ah. But he has missed the other rewards; he has missed many rewards, but he has fulfilled the fard (obligatory duty). Yes.

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 7824- فضل التبكير للجمعة ومتى يدرك الإنسان الجمعة - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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