Can the time of the sermon be measured by the time of scholarly gatherings?

The questioner : Something has come up, my Shaykh.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner : Yes, if Allah wills. I mean, the Friday sermon is measured by the prayer in terms of time. Otherwise, is the sermon measured by other forms of discourse? If the speaker were to speak in another gathering, would it be measured the same way?

The Shaykh : No, in other gatherings, a person might sit for two hours...

The questioner : I mean, it is considered by the custom of people that he has lengthened the sermon.

The Shaykh : We are not now in a recent custom, but in a past Sunnah.

The questioner : I mean, if it is measured against the prayer, it is not possible to measure a prayer against another prayer.

The Shaykh : I said earlier that if a matter arises that requires lengthening, we do not impose lengthening on the attendees as an obligation, because this does not benefit them. Rather, we refer them to what comes after the prayer. In this manner, we combine preserving the Sunnah with the eagerness to teach people, or in other words, the eagerness to present knowledge to people, rather than the eagerness to impose knowledge on people.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.