Is it permissible to perform the Friday prayer before the sun reaches its zenith?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. Regarding the Friday prayer, is it valid to perform it before the sun reaches its zenith?
The Shaykh : Yes, if your imam in your country prays, then pray. Even if he prays before Fajr, you should pray. You know now that the Friday prayer is not performed by anyone except after the sun reaches its zenith, because the majority of scholars hold that it is not performed except after the zenith, and I do not know of anyone who differed and performed it before the zenith.
As for the scholars, they have differed regarding the entry of its time. Some say: The time for the Friday prayer begins when the sun rises to the height of a spear, meaning the time for the Friday prayer enters like the time for the Eid prayer, until Asr. Some say: The time for the Friday prayer enters after the fifth hour, meaning at the sixth hour, i.e., one hour before the zenith. Some say: It does not enter except after the zenith, like the Zuhr prayer. The matter is one of scholarly disagreement, but we, praise be to Allah, are governed by a government that follows the Shari'ah, and a person should not deviate from the people. The Committee of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom has issued a prohibition against any of the Friday imams advancing the prayer before the zenith, following the majority of scholars, so that the word is unified, and so that no one advances and prays before the zenith, which would then be an excuse for one who lags behind the Friday prayer if he is ordered to pray, saying: "I prayed in such-and-such a mosque." Do you understand? So now you know the scholars' disagreement.
As for the practical aspect, it is obligatory for the imams to follow what the one in authority orders them to do, because this is among the permissible matters, not forbidden. And I told you a moment ago: If your imam prays before Fajr, from the standpoint of hypothesis, otherwise no one would pray the Friday prayer before Fajr. Yes, but a person follows what the authorities order him to do. Yes.
The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you. O Shaykh, is it permissible, O Shaykh, to deal in buying and selling with a man whose wealth is mixed with lawful and forbidden?
The Shaykh : What?
The Shaykh : Yes, if your imam in your country prays, then pray. Even if he prays before Fajr, you should pray. You know now that the Friday prayer is not performed by anyone except after the sun reaches its zenith, because the majority of scholars hold that it is not performed except after the zenith, and I do not know of anyone who differed and performed it before the zenith.
As for the scholars, they have differed regarding the entry of its time. Some say: The time for the Friday prayer begins when the sun rises to the height of a spear, meaning the time for the Friday prayer enters like the time for the Eid prayer, until Asr. Some say: The time for the Friday prayer enters after the fifth hour, meaning at the sixth hour, i.e., one hour before the zenith. Some say: It does not enter except after the zenith, like the Zuhr prayer. The matter is one of scholarly disagreement, but we, praise be to Allah, are governed by a government that follows the Shari'ah, and a person should not deviate from the people. The Committee of Senior Scholars in the Kingdom has issued a prohibition against any of the Friday imams advancing the prayer before the zenith, following the majority of scholars, so that the word is unified, and so that no one advances and prays before the zenith, which would then be an excuse for one who lags behind the Friday prayer if he is ordered to pray, saying: "I prayed in such-and-such a mosque." Do you understand? So now you know the scholars' disagreement.
As for the practical aspect, it is obligatory for the imams to follow what the one in authority orders them to do, because this is among the permissible matters, not forbidden. And I told you a moment ago: If your imam prays before Fajr, from the standpoint of hypothesis, otherwise no one would pray the Friday prayer before Fajr. Yes, but a person follows what the authorities order him to do. Yes.
The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah reward you. O Shaykh, is it permissible, O Shaykh, to deal in buying and selling with a man whose wealth is mixed with lawful and forbidden?
The Shaykh : What?