Question # 16: How many rak’ah did our Beloved Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) prayed after Jumu’ah prayer. Did he used to go home and pray some Sunnah?


bismi-llahi r-raḥmani r-raḥīm,

Assalamu ‘laikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,

All praise and thanks are due to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

Dear questioner,

First of all, we implore Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) to help us serve His cause and render our work for His sake.

Offering supererogatory prayer is a sunnah ratibah (a regularly-observed supererogatory prayer) after the jumu’ah prayer for it is recorded in Sahih Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) that Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “When anyone of you performs the jumu’ah prayer, he should perform four (supererogatory rak’ahs) afterwards.”‘

It is also recorded in the two Sahihs that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) used to perform two (supererogatory) rak’ahs after the jumu’ah prayer”. Ibn ‘Umar, said, “The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) would not pray after the jumu’ah prayer until after he had left and he would then pray two rak’ahs in his house.” (Recorded by Bukhari (without mentioning ‘־in his house”) and Muslim)

To reconcile the two ahadith, it can be said that when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) performed this supererogatory prayer at home, he made it two rak’ahs and when he (صلى الله عليه و سلم) performed it in the mosque, he made it four rak’ahs (‘AI-Mulakhkhas AI-Fiqhi’ by Dr. Salih AI-Fawzan). Alternatively, whoever wants to perform four rak’ahs can do so and whoever wants to perform two rak’ahs can so, and this view has been attributed to Ahmad (‘Al-Fiqhul-Muyassaru minal-Qur’ani was-Sunnah’ by Muhammad M. ‘Abdul-Fattah). Another way of reconciling these two ahadith is that the minimum regular Sunnah following the Friday prayer is two rak’ahs and the maximum is four, whether they are performed in the house or in the mosque. (Fatawa Islamiyah, The Permanent Committee and the decision of the Fiqh Council).

Allahu A’lam (Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) knows best) and all Perfections belong to Allah, and all mistakes belong to me alone. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) forgive me, Ameen.

 Wassalaam

 

Sub-Question: Is there any prayer before juma’ah prayer other than tahiyatt al-masjid?

Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is more entitled for a Muslim who goes early to the mosque for the jumu’ah Prayer to perform voluntary prayers until the imam comes (to deliver the sermon)… It is also narrated that the Companions used to perform voluntary prayers as much as they could when they entered the mosque before the sermon on Friday. [However,]… the majority of scholars agree that there is no specific time or number for the voluntary prayer before the jumu’ah Prayer and this voluntary prayer is considered a good deed, not a sunnah ratibah (a regularly-observed supererogatory prayer)…” (Majmu’ul –Fatawa) (‘AI-Mulakhkhas AI-Fiqhi’ by Dr. Salih AI-Fawzan)