A man who works as a shepherd in the desert and has not attended any Friday prayer for sixteen months because he is far from the town says, “And when I ask my sponsor for permission to go to the Friday prayer, he does not agree and says, ‘Pray in your place.’”

The questioner : The questioner is Sudanese and resides in the Kingdom. He states that he works as a shepherd in the desert and has not attended any Friday prayer for sixteen months because he is far from the town. He says, “And when I ask my sponsor for permission to go to the Friday prayer, he does not agree and says, ‘Pray in your place.’” Is there any sin on me for missing the Friday prayer?

The Shaykh : There is no sin on this questioner because he is unable to reach the Friday prayer due to the distance of his location. However, if he prays in his location, he should not pray two rak'ahs, but rather four, meaning he should pray the Zuhr prayer as four rak'ahs.