If the khatib stands on Friday and says, “Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,” should we return the greeting?
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The questioner : This is a questioner for the program from Hadramawt. He asks: If the khatib stands on Friday and says, “Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings,” should we return the greeting?
The Shaykh : Yes. If the khatib greets, he is greeting the congregation, and it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah) for the congregation to return the greeting. If the first row or some of them return it and the khatib hears it, that is sufficient. This applies if the person is in the mosque. As for if he is outside the mosque, we look at the situation: if he intends to pray in the mosque where the imam has come, he should return the greeting. If he does not intend to pray in it, he does not return the greeting, because the khatib is only greeting those in the mosque and those who intend to pray in that mosque. Therefore, we say: if a person intends to pray in a mosque in the west of the town and passes by a khatib who is delivering the sermon in the middle of the town, is it obligatory for this person to listen to the imam’s sermon, or do we say that since he does not intend to pray with him, it is not obligatory? The answer is the latter: it is not obligatory for him to listen to this sermon because he did not intend to pray in the place where its khatib is. For this reason, if he buys or sells while listening to the sermon of an imam with whom he does not intend to pray, the sale and purchase are valid, because the khatib has not started the Friday prayer in the mosque he intends to use, nor has the call for Friday prayer been made in it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, Shaykh Muhammad.
The Shaykh : Yes. If the khatib greets, he is greeting the congregation, and it is a collective obligation (fard kifayah) for the congregation to return the greeting. If the first row or some of them return it and the khatib hears it, that is sufficient. This applies if the person is in the mosque. As for if he is outside the mosque, we look at the situation: if he intends to pray in the mosque where the imam has come, he should return the greeting. If he does not intend to pray in it, he does not return the greeting, because the khatib is only greeting those in the mosque and those who intend to pray in that mosque. Therefore, we say: if a person intends to pray in a mosque in the west of the town and passes by a khatib who is delivering the sermon in the middle of the town, is it obligatory for this person to listen to the imam’s sermon, or do we say that since he does not intend to pray with him, it is not obligatory? The answer is the latter: it is not obligatory for him to listen to this sermon because he did not intend to pray in the place where its khatib is. For this reason, if he buys or sells while listening to the sermon of an imam with whom he does not intend to pray, the sale and purchase are valid, because the khatib has not started the Friday prayer in the mosque he intends to use, nor has the call for Friday prayer been made in it. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, Shaykh Muhammad.