Ruling on holding Friday prayer in two or more places in one town

Q: Praise be to Allah alone, and blessings and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet, our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and his Companions. As for what follows:
A question of importance has reached us, the text of which is:
What is the ruling on holding Friday prayer in two or more places in a town or neighborhood, with an explanation of the conclusive evidence?

A: Know, may Allah guide you, that the majority of scholars hold that it is forbidden to hold multiple Friday prayers in one village, except out of necessity. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not hold more than one Friday prayer in his blessed city during his lifetime (peace and blessings be upon him). The same was the case during the era of his Rightly Guided Caliphs, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthman, and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them all). The same was the case in all Islamic cities in the early period of Islam. This was only because the congregation is encouraged by the pure Shari'ah, due to the cooperation in righteousness and piety, and the establishment of the rites of Islam, that comes from the gathering of Muslims in one place during the Friday and 'Id prayers. It also brings about mutual affection, getting to know one another, understanding Islam, and following one another in good. Furthermore, it increases merit and reward through the large congregation, and it angers the enemies of Islam, such as the hypocrites and others, by the unity of word and the absence of division.
Many texts in the Book and the Sunnah have come regarding the exhortation to gather and unite, and the warning against division and disagreement. Among these is the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Al-Imran: 103] and His saying: [Al-Imran: 105].
And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith: .
From what has preceded, it becomes clear to you that the obligatory thing is for the people of the town or village to gather for one Friday prayer, just as they gather for one 'Id prayer, where that is possible without hardship, due to the aforementioned evidence, the aforementioned reasons, and the great benefit in gathering.
However, if there is a strong necessity to hold two or more Friday prayers in a town or a large neighborhood, there is no harm in that according to the most correct of the scholars' opinions. This is like if the town is far-flung and it is difficult for its people to gather in one mosque; then there is no harm in holding Friday prayer in two or more mosques according to the need. Likewise, if the neighborhood is wide and the people cannot gather in one mosque, there is no harm in holding two Friday prayers there, as in a village. For this reason, when Baghdad was built and it was vast, two Friday prayers were held in it, one in the eastern side and the second in the western side. This was in the middle of the second century, in the presence of famous scholars, and they did not denounce it due to the necessity for it. And when it was said to the Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) during his caliphate: "There are weak people in Kufa for whom it is difficult to go out to the open field to attend the 'Id prayer," he ordered someone to hold the 'Id prayer for them in the town, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed with the majority of the people in the open field.
If that is permissible for the 'Id prayer out of necessity, then Friday prayer is like it in terms of hardship, necessity, and leniency toward Muslims. Many scholars have explicitly stated the permissibility of multiple Friday prayers when there is necessity. Mufadd al-Din Abu Muhammad 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book "Al-Mughni," page 184, volume two, regarding the statement of Abu al-Qasim al-Khiraqi (may Allah have mercy on him): "And if the town is large and needs congregational mosques, then Friday prayer in all of them is permissible." His text is: "The summary is that whenever a town is large and it is difficult for its people to gather in one mosque, and that is impossible due to the distance of its quarters or the narrowness of its mosque for its people, like Baghdad and Isfahan and similar large cities, it is permissible to hold Friday prayer in the number of congregational mosques needed. This is the opinion of 'Ata. Abu Yusuf permitted it in Baghdad and not elsewhere, because the hudud punishments are carried out in two places there, and Friday prayer is where the hudud are carried out. The implication of his statement is that if another town were found where the hudud are carried out in two places, it would be permissible to hold Friday prayer in two places of it, because Friday prayer is where the hudud are carried out. This is the opinion of Ibn al-Mubarak. Abu Hanifah, Malik, and al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on them) said: Friday prayer is not permissible in one town in more than one place, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not gather except in one mosque, and the Caliphs after him did the same. If it were permissible, they would not have left the mosques empty. Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) even said: 'Friday prayer is not held except in the largest mosque where the imam prays.'"
Then al-Muqaddam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Our evidence is that it is a prayer for which gathering and the sermon are legislated, so it is permissible in the places needed, like the 'Id prayer. It is established that Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to go out to the prayer ground on 'Id day and appoint Abu Mas'ud al-Badri to lead the weak people in prayer. As for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) leaving off holding two Friday prayers, it was because they were in no need of one of them, because his Companions used to hear his sermon and attend his Friday prayer even if their homes were far, because he is the one who conveys from Allah and legislates the rulings. When the necessity for that arose in the cities, it was prayed in various places and was not denounced, so it became a consensus. The statement of Ibn 'Umar means that it is not held in the small mosques and the large one is left."
As for considering that based on the carrying out of hudud punishments, there is no basis for it. Abu Dawud said: I heard Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) say: What hudud punishment was carried out in the city?
Mus'ab ibn 'Umar led them in prayer while they were hiding in a house, and he gathered with them, and they were forty. As for when there is no necessity, it is not permissible in more than one place. And if two are sufficient, the third is not permissible. Likewise, we do not know of any disagreement on this regarding what is more, except that 'Ata was told that the people of Basra do not fit in the largest mosque. He said: "For every group, there is a mosque in which they gather, and that suffices from gathering in the largest mosque." The opinion of the majority is more preferable, because it is not narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Caliphs that they gathered for more than one Friday prayer, as there was no necessity for it. And it is not permissible to establish rulings by arbitrary assertion without evidence." This is the end of his statement (may Allah have mercy on him).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the Friday prayer in the Qal'ah Mosque in Damascus: Is it permissible while there is another sermon in the town, or not?
He answered: "Yes, it is permissible to pray Friday there, because it is another city like Misr and Cairo. Even if it were not like another city, holding Friday prayer in two places in a large town out of necessity is permissible according to most scholars. For this reason, when Baghdad was built and it had two sides, they held a Friday prayer on the eastern side and a Friday prayer on the western side, and most scholars permitted that." This is the end of his statement (may Allah have mercy on him).
With what we have mentioned, it becomes clear to the questioner the permissibility of holding two or more Friday prayers in one town if there is a necessity for it, either due to the narrowness of the single mosque and its inability to accommodate the people of the town, or due to the vastness of the town and the distance of its quarters, and the severe hardship on them in gathering them in one mosque. Similarly, if the people of the town are two tribes or more, and there is estrangement and conflict between them, and there is a fear that their gathering will lead to fitnah and fighting among them, it is permissible for each tribe to gather on its own as long as the estrangement remains. And so with similar reasons.
Here is an important issue that should be pointed out: Some people in the later eras, when there are two or more Friday prayers in a town, pray the Dhuhr prayer after the Friday prayer, and they claim that this is a precaution out of fear that one of the Friday prayers is not valid. This is, in reality, a clear abomination and an innovation in Islam that is not permissible to approve of. The precise scholars who witnessed it denounced it, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) only obligated five prayers on the Muslims on Friday and other days, and these people obligate six prayers on the people on Friday. Likewise, if they did not obligate it but only recommended it or permitted it, all of that is not permissible, because it is from the newly invented innovations. It is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he used to say in the Friday sermon: narrated by Muslim in his Sahih. And in the two Sahihs from the hadith of 'Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: , and in a wording in Muslim: .
And Allah is the One asked to guide all Muslims to understanding in His religion and holding fast to His Shari'ah, and to beware of what contradicts that. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
And may Allah send blessings and peace upon His servant and Messenger Muhammad, and his family and his Companions and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
Written by the poor one in need of the forgiveness of his Lord
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz
President of the Islamic University in the Holy City of Madinah