Is the second sermon shorter than the first?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you. Some scholars say: There is no specific text regarding lengthening the first sermon and shortening the second; rather, it is derived from the general principles of the Shari'ah. So why don't we say: We shorten the first sermon so that it equals the second?
The Shaykh : The apparent practice of preachers from ancient times, and of our great Shaykhs, is that this is a correct practice, because the second sermon comes to the people when they are already bored and tired, so lengthening it for them is not appropriate.
The questioner : Do you mean that we should not compensate by shortening the first sermon so that they do not get bored?
The Shaykh : It is not contrary to shorten the first sermon, but we make this one even shorter, because no matter what, they will get bored, especially since people have become accustomed to this. Sometimes I hear that some preachers lengthen the second sermon as well; perhaps they take up an impromptu topic, and when a man speaks impromptu, he may lengthen his speech.
The Shaykh : The apparent practice of preachers from ancient times, and of our great Shaykhs, is that this is a correct practice, because the second sermon comes to the people when they are already bored and tired, so lengthening it for them is not appropriate.
The questioner : Do you mean that we should not compensate by shortening the first sermon so that they do not get bored?
The Shaykh : It is not contrary to shorten the first sermon, but we make this one even shorter, because no matter what, they will get bored, especially since people have become accustomed to this. Sometimes I hear that some preachers lengthen the second sermon as well; perhaps they take up an impromptu topic, and when a man speaks impromptu, he may lengthen his speech.