Is attending the congregation obligatory if the mosque is far from us, such that we do not hear the mu'adhdhin when he calls to prayer without a loudspeaker?

The questioner : Regarding the same adhan for Jumu'ah, may Allah reward you with good; if the mosque is far from the house and the adhan is not heard naturally, is it obligatory for him to attend the mosque?

The Shaykh : It is not obligatory, but this does not mean that it is not permissible.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : It does not mean that it is not permissible to pray Jumu'ah; it is not obligatory, and in that case, if he does not pray Jumu'ah, he must pray four rak'ahs.

The questioner : Yes, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh: Yes.

Another questioner : ... the mount?

The Shaykh : Yes?

Another questioner : And if the mount is available, the car? Five minutes and they arrive.

The Shaykh : His answer, and if the car is available, and if the airplane is available, is it obligatory? Huh?

Another questioner : It is not obligatory, but...

The Shaykh : The answer is from your own mouth; I hold you to it.

The questioner : If airplanes and cars did not exist in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : You did not give an answer! You gave an answer and saved me the trouble of detailing it, but I feel your answer is a bit weak. If it is truly weak, this is just a feeling, not certainty from me, so I am asking for your support; either make this weakness a certainty and I will be at ease, or if it is not truly as I felt that your answer is weak, then I will go back and continue my research.

Another questioner : What is your opinion?

The Shaykh : I mean, the mount existed in the time of the Prophet; huh? The car did not exist, the airplane did not exist, so I gave you an implied answer, this is called an implied answer. And if there is a car, we leave the mount, what does "and if there is a car" mean? I mean, there are ten kilometers between him and the mosque, but he has a car; is it obligatory? The question returns to you, is it obligatory?

Another questioner : It is not obligatory.

The Shaykh : The car did not exist in the time of the Prophet, what do you say?

The questioner : It is not obligatory.

The Shaykh : Good; now I know a certain answer, the opposite of the first; ah, there are fifty kilometers between him and the mosque where the Jumu'ah prayer is held, and he has an airplane, is it obligatory?

The questioner : It is not obligatory.

The Shaykh : But it is far... how will your answer differ [The Shaykh laughs!], it is all - my brother - one answer - may Allah bless you - , the important thing is why we asked the doctor, who is one of those who knows these places: Is the adhan heard from the mosque naturally?

The questioner : He does not hear.

The Shaykh : It is not heard, otherwise the loudspeaker would make you hear it from ten kilometers, and perhaps more.

The questioner : In some of your fatwas, you said that the criterion is not hearing the adhan directly, but the criterion is the entry of the time.

The Shaykh : By knowing the entry of the time.
Yes.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : This is correct, but this has absolutely no relation to our topic; meaning, the mosque is next to me; okay? And I did not hear the adhan for some reason, but I knew that the adhan had entered, so I know from before that it is obligatory for me to pray in the mosque; huh? And here I say the criterion is knowledge, but I heard the adhan with a loudspeaker, and there are deserts between me and the mosque; huh? Is it obligatory for me?

The questioner : It is not obligatory.

The Shaykh : So this topic that you read or heard from a tape is one thing, and what we were discussing just now is another thing; is that clear?

The questioner : May Allah preserve you.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah.

Another questioner : Clarification, if this gathering, is it obligatory for them?

The Shaykh : If this gathering? What gathering?

Another questioner : I mean, we are gathered now, is it obligatory for us as an obligation, or in terms of permissibility?

The Shaykh : No, it is obligatory for them, how could it not be? The day of Jumu'ah is not as some of the fuqaha say - and I do not say some of the jurists - the day of Jumu'ah, the Jumu'ah prayer is not a substitute for the Zuhr prayer, but it is the original obligation, but the substitute is the prayer of four rak'ahs for the one who missed Jumu'ah or caught Jumu'ah but only at its end, but he did not catch it as the Messenger (peace be upon him) said and ordered him to pray four, so the Jumu'ah prayer on the day of Jumu'ah is the original; is that clear? Good.