What is the ruling on supplicating from the pulpit on Friday?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : My Shaykh, regarding supplication from the pulpit on Friday, it is known to be a religious innovation, but it is reported in Musnad Ahmad and also in Abu Dawud and others with a sound chain that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) Sunan Abi Dawud 989. Does the phrase "when he supplicated" not imply supplication from the pulpit? What does it imply?
The Shaykh : What is the wording of the hadith?
The questioner : He would point with his finger when he supplicated.
The Shaykh : This is the wording of the hadith.
The questioner : Yes, it is a hadith from a Companion named ... who said when he saw a person supplicating, "May Allah disfigure these two hands, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never used to say anything when he supplicated except that he would point with his finger."
The Shaykh : Yes, first, as you see, it is not explicit that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to supplicate in the sermon; rather, he is speaking in general terms to negate raising the hands in the sermon. This is the first point. Second, if we say that the apparent meaning of the hadith is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to supplicate in the sermon, we do not deny the permissibility of supplication in the sermon. Rather, we deny two things: first, making supplication in the Friday sermon a fixed practice, and second, making supplication part of the second sermon, which they call the sermon of ... Is this clear to you?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Based on that, I say that the hadith you are referring to does not establish the permissibility of these matters which we have detailed ... and their lack of prescription is clear.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of it.
The questioner : If the imam supplicates during the sermon and does not allocate a specific time for it, that is permissible for him.
The Shaykh : It is permissible for him according to the circumstances, if a need arises, as the Messenger (peace be upon him) did when that man asked for rain and he raised his hands, showing his armpits, and said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 1517Sahih (Darussalam). It is prescribed to raise the hands, and the people below him also raise theirs. However, making that a part of the sermon is what we deny.
The questioner : Yes, something came to my mind, Professor, when I read the hadith "he would point with his finger when he supplicated." I thought of his (peace be upon him) statement in the Farewell Pilgrimage:. I thought this contradicts that place, and Allah knows best. Is that not so?
The Shaykh : Contradicts what?
The questioner : Raising the finger, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would point with when he supplicated.
The Shaykh : No, he would point with his finger toward the sky.
The questioner : Toward the sky, then turn it over them.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : O Allah, be a witness.
The Shaykh : Ah, that is different from that.
The questioner : It is different from that.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : Well, do we imagine that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated, he would say, "O Allah, forgive us and have mercy on us," and point with his finger like this, as the Messenger of Allah did?
The Shaykh : It is most similar, my brother, to this gesture, like the gesture in the tashahhud.
The questioner : Yes, yes, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to point with his finger (at the end of the tashahhud)
كان يشير بأصبعه إذا دعاThe Shaykh : What is the wording of the hadith?
The questioner : He would point with his finger when he supplicated.
The Shaykh : This is the wording of the hadith.
The questioner : Yes, it is a hadith from a Companion named ... who said when he saw a person supplicating, "May Allah disfigure these two hands, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never used to say anything when he supplicated except that he would point with his finger."
The Shaykh : Yes, first, as you see, it is not explicit that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to supplicate in the sermon; rather, he is speaking in general terms to negate raising the hands in the sermon. This is the first point. Second, if we say that the apparent meaning of the hadith is that the Messenger (peace be upon him) used to supplicate in the sermon, we do not deny the permissibility of supplication in the sermon. Rather, we deny two things: first, making supplication in the Friday sermon a fixed practice, and second, making supplication part of the second sermon, which they call the sermon of ... Is this clear to you?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Based on that, I say that the hadith you are referring to does not establish the permissibility of these matters which we have detailed ... and their lack of prescription is clear.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : And beware of it.
The questioner : If the imam supplicates during the sermon and does not allocate a specific time for it, that is permissible for him.
The Shaykh : It is permissible for him according to the circumstances, if a need arises, as the Messenger (peace be upon him) did when that man asked for rain and he raised his hands, showing his armpits, and said:
O Allah, send us rain; O Allah, send us rain.
اللهم اسقنا اللهم اسقناThe questioner : Yes, something came to my mind, Professor, when I read the hadith "he would point with his finger when he supplicated." I thought of his (peace be upon him) statement in the Farewell Pilgrimage:
O Allah, I have conveyed the message, so be a witness
اللهم إني قد بلغت اللهم فاشهدThe Shaykh : Contradicts what?
The questioner : Raising the finger, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would point with when he supplicated.
The Shaykh : No, he would point with his finger toward the sky.
The questioner : Toward the sky, then turn it over them.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : O Allah, be a witness.
The Shaykh : Ah, that is different from that.
The questioner : It is different from that.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : Well, do we imagine that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated, he would say, "O Allah, forgive us and have mercy on us," and point with his finger like this, as the Messenger of Allah did?
The Shaykh : It is most similar, my brother, to this gesture, like the gesture in the tashahhud.
The questioner : Yes, yes, may Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.