A reading from the commentary.
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The reader: Is it a lot, Shaykh?
The Shaykh : That does not contradict [the ruling].
"A reading from the commentary"
The reciter: "The chapter on Friday prayer in villages and towns. We mentioned this hadith at the beginning of the book on Friday prayer, and we mentioned some of the disagreement in its chain of narration and its text. Its meaning is that after the gathering in Madinah, Friday prayer was not established in Islam except in the mosque of 'Abd al-Qays in Bahrain. So it appears that the first place where Friday prayer was established was Madinah, and after that, the village of Jawatha in Bahrain. This indicates that 'Abd al-Qays embraced Islam before the conquest of Makkah, and they gathered in their mosque. Then Makkah was conquered after that, and Friday prayer was established there. The point is that they established Friday prayer in the village of Jawatha during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and this occurred from them by the permission of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his command to them. For the delegation of 'Abd al-Qays embraced Islam willingly, and they came desiring Islam, and they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the essentials of the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained to them the foundations and principles of faith. Their hadith was previously mentioned in the book on faith, which indicates the permissibility of establishing Friday prayer in villages, and that a large, gathering town is not a condition for establishing Friday prayer, as a group of scholars said. Among those who held the view of the permissibility of establishing Friday prayer in villages are 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'Ata, Makhlad, 'Ikrimah, al-Awza'i, Malik, al-Layth ibn Sa'd, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Al-Qanad narrated from Sufyan something similar to this."
And Ibn 'Umar would pass through al-Ma'wa between Makkah and Madinah, and he would see its people gathering for Friday prayer, and he did not criticize them for it.
'Abd al-Razzaq mentioned it, from al-'Umrani, from Nafi', from him.
And Ibn al-Mubarak narrated, from Usamah ibn Zayd, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar: "There is no Friday prayer in travel, and there is no Friday prayer except in a large, gathering town." And this, along with what came before it, indicates that he intended by "town" the villages.
And al-Athram narrated with his chain, from Abu Dharr, that he used to lead Friday prayer with the people in al-Rabizah.
And a group said: There is no Friday prayer except in a large, gathering town. That was narrated from 'Ali, and al-Nakha'i and al-Thawri held this view (in the well-known report from him), as did Abu Hanifah and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. And al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin said: There is no Friday prayer except in a town. And something contrary to that was narrated from 'Ali. Waki' narrated, from Qays ibn al-Rabi', from Talib ibn al-Samida', from his father, that 'Ali led Friday prayer in al-Mada'in.
And from Sufyan, from Ata ibn al-Sa'ib, from Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, that Hudhayfah led Friday prayer in al-Mada'in. And from Shu'bah, from Ata ibn Abi Maimunah, from Abu Rafi', from Abu Hurayrah, who said: I wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asking him about Friday prayer in Bahrain? So he wrote to me: "Gather wherever you are." And Imam Ahmad said: This is a good chain.
And Waki' narrated with his chain, from al-Nakha'i, that he led Friday prayer in Halwan. And all of this indicates that whoever said: There is no Friday prayer except in a large, gathering town, he intended by that the villages in which there is a governor appointed by the imam. So his meaning is that there is no Friday prayer except by the permission of the imam, in a place where he has a deputy who establishes Friday prayer by his permission. And Ahmad explained it that way in a narration from him. Similarly, it was narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (the companion of Abu Hanifah) explaining "town": if the imam sends a deputy to a village to establish the hudud, it is a town. So if he dismisses him, it is classified as a village.
And something similar was narrated from Abu Yusuf, and from Abu Hanifah as well.
Ahmad said: A town is one where the ruler is, and villages are not called towns.
And Ishaq said: Every village with forty men is called a town, and this is very far-fetched.
And from Sufyan there are two narrations regarding the explanation of "town" .
The Shaykh : That does not contradict [the ruling].
"A reading from the commentary"
The reciter: "The chapter on Friday prayer in villages and towns. We mentioned this hadith at the beginning of the book on Friday prayer, and we mentioned some of the disagreement in its chain of narration and its text. Its meaning is that after the gathering in Madinah, Friday prayer was not established in Islam except in the mosque of 'Abd al-Qays in Bahrain. So it appears that the first place where Friday prayer was established was Madinah, and after that, the village of Jawatha in Bahrain. This indicates that 'Abd al-Qays embraced Islam before the conquest of Makkah, and they gathered in their mosque. Then Makkah was conquered after that, and Friday prayer was established there. The point is that they established Friday prayer in the village of Jawatha during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and this occurred from them by the permission of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his command to them. For the delegation of 'Abd al-Qays embraced Islam willingly, and they came desiring Islam, and they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about the essentials of the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained to them the foundations and principles of faith. Their hadith was previously mentioned in the book on faith, which indicates the permissibility of establishing Friday prayer in villages, and that a large, gathering town is not a condition for establishing Friday prayer, as a group of scholars said. Among those who held the view of the permissibility of establishing Friday prayer in villages are 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, 'Ata, Makhlad, 'Ikrimah, al-Awza'i, Malik, al-Layth ibn Sa'd, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Al-Qanad narrated from Sufyan something similar to this."
And Ibn 'Umar would pass through al-Ma'wa between Makkah and Madinah, and he would see its people gathering for Friday prayer, and he did not criticize them for it.
'Abd al-Razzaq mentioned it, from al-'Umrani, from Nafi', from him.
And Ibn al-Mubarak narrated, from Usamah ibn Zayd, from Nafi', from Ibn 'Umar: "There is no Friday prayer in travel, and there is no Friday prayer except in a large, gathering town." And this, along with what came before it, indicates that he intended by "town" the villages.
And al-Athram narrated with his chain, from Abu Dharr, that he used to lead Friday prayer with the people in al-Rabizah.
And a group said: There is no Friday prayer except in a large, gathering town. That was narrated from 'Ali, and al-Nakha'i and al-Thawri held this view (in the well-known report from him), as did Abu Hanifah and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan. And al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin said: There is no Friday prayer except in a town. And something contrary to that was narrated from 'Ali. Waki' narrated, from Qays ibn al-Rabi', from Talib ibn al-Samida', from his father, that 'Ali led Friday prayer in al-Mada'in.
And from Sufyan, from Ata ibn al-Sa'ib, from Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, that Hudhayfah led Friday prayer in al-Mada'in. And from Shu'bah, from Ata ibn Abi Maimunah, from Abu Rafi', from Abu Hurayrah, who said: I wrote to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab asking him about Friday prayer in Bahrain? So he wrote to me: "Gather wherever you are." And Imam Ahmad said: This is a good chain.
And Waki' narrated with his chain, from al-Nakha'i, that he led Friday prayer in Halwan. And all of this indicates that whoever said: There is no Friday prayer except in a large, gathering town, he intended by that the villages in which there is a governor appointed by the imam. So his meaning is that there is no Friday prayer except by the permission of the imam, in a place where he has a deputy who establishes Friday prayer by his permission. And Ahmad explained it that way in a narration from him. Similarly, it was narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (the companion of Abu Hanifah) explaining "town": if the imam sends a deputy to a village to establish the hudud, it is a town. So if he dismisses him, it is classified as a village.
And something similar was narrated from Abu Yusuf, and from Abu Hanifah as well.
Ahmad said: A town is one where the ruler is, and villages are not called towns.
And Ishaq said: Every village with forty men is called a town, and this is very far-fetched.
And from Sufyan there are two narrations regarding the explanation of "town" .