Does a traveler lead the Friday prayer?

The questioner : May Allah forgive you. As for the traveler, does he lead the Friday prayer?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Does he lead the Friday prayer?

The Shaykh : A traveler, yes, there is no blame on you based on this hadith unless he is the imam of a mosque, in which case he has authority over it. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And if he is not the imam of a mosque, then the one most knowledgeable of the people in reciting the Qur'an is the most deserving of leading the prayer, even if he is a young boy. 'Amr ibn Salama al-Jarmi (may Allah be pleased with him) was a young boy and was the most knowledgeable of his tribe in reciting the Qur'an. He was the most knowledgeable of his tribe because he received the Qur'an from the Companions who passed by him. So they put him forward, and he was six or seven years old. Imagine that! They put him forward to lead his entire tribe in prayer, not just one or two or three people, but his whole tribe. He was wearing a short garment, so when he prostrated, his private parts might be exposed. One day, a woman from the tribe came out and said: "Cover your companion's backside for us." The backside is not the front private part; the backside is the rear. He said: "So they bought me a garment" to replace what he was wearing. "I have not been happier since Islam than I was with that garment." Because he was a small boy, six or seven years old, he was happy with everything, wasn't he? Yes, that is right. The important thing is that you follow this hadith. Who is excluded from this? The imam of the mosque, because the imam of the mosque has authority in the mosque. Likewise, the supreme ruler, the head of the country, is more deserving than anyone else. If he attends the mosque, he is more deserving than anyone else. Do you understand? But the problem, the whole problem, is that people nowadays compete for the position of imam. "Pray, so-and-so." "No, you pray." "Pray." "No, you pray." "Pray, my brother." Thank your Lord. If you are told, "Pray," and you are the most deserving of the people to lead the prayer, thank Allah. For the servants of the Merciful One Complete the verse. Yes, that is right. You preceded him. You preceded him. Yes.