The Permissibility of Establishing the Friday Prayer in Small Villages, Even if There Are Only Three
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A message was received by the program from one of the female listeners. She says: I am a teacher in a village in Najran, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and my father, who is my mahram, accompanies me. We are from Jordan, and we have some questions if you would be so kind:
The first question: We are in a village that is about twenty kilometers away from the large village, and the people of the village do not perform the Friday prayer. We do not have a means of transportation to the neighboring village, to the extent that we cannot even bring drinking water without difficulty. We ask you to issue a ruling on our matter. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: You must pray the Zuhr prayer, because the distance is long, so you are not obligated to go there and go to the trouble. However, the people of the village where you are should establish the Friday prayer. It is obligatory for them to establish the Friday prayer in their village, even if they are fewer than forty. The condition of forty is not a valid condition according to the correct opinion. So they must establish the Friday prayer and request the religious authorities or the court to appoint an imam to lead them in prayer. They can also contact the Waqf Administration to provide them with an imam.
So the result is that it is obligatory for the people of the village to pray the Friday prayer, even if they are ten, or even twenty, or even as few as three. The minimum number for which the Friday prayer becomes obligatory is three, according to the most correct of the opinions of the scholars. If they are settled in a village, the Friday prayer is obligatory upon them, and it is not permissible for them to pray the Zuhr prayer. The imam can be obtained through the responsible Waqf authority, or through the court, or through the good and righteous people who know their situation. Some students of knowledge can go to them to lead them in prayer.
The point is that this is obligatory upon them, and they have no right to be lenient in this matter. And you, O questioner, are among them. If they establish the Friday prayer, you pray with them. Yes.
The first question: We are in a village that is about twenty kilometers away from the large village, and the people of the village do not perform the Friday prayer. We do not have a means of transportation to the neighboring village, to the extent that we cannot even bring drinking water without difficulty. We ask you to issue a ruling on our matter. May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: You must pray the Zuhr prayer, because the distance is long, so you are not obligated to go there and go to the trouble. However, the people of the village where you are should establish the Friday prayer. It is obligatory for them to establish the Friday prayer in their village, even if they are fewer than forty. The condition of forty is not a valid condition according to the correct opinion. So they must establish the Friday prayer and request the religious authorities or the court to appoint an imam to lead them in prayer. They can also contact the Waqf Administration to provide them with an imam.
So the result is that it is obligatory for the people of the village to pray the Friday prayer, even if they are ten, or even twenty, or even as few as three. The minimum number for which the Friday prayer becomes obligatory is three, according to the most correct of the opinions of the scholars. If they are settled in a village, the Friday prayer is obligatory upon them, and it is not permissible for them to pray the Zuhr prayer. The imam can be obtained through the responsible Waqf authority, or through the court, or through the good and righteous people who know their situation. Some students of knowledge can go to them to lead them in prayer.
The point is that this is obligatory upon them, and they have no right to be lenient in this matter. And you, O questioner, are among them. If they establish the Friday prayer, you pray with them. Yes.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.