Friday Prayers during the Pandemic
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
CA
Holding Friday sermons and prayers online has become a hotly contested issue among Muslims in the US and European countries where extended lockdowns have restricted public assemblies. There is no central religious authority among Muslims that can implement its decisions on any opinion on this issue. The power rests with the rulers or the elites. They can validate and implement an idea they deem relevant in their circumstances.
Muslim scholars in America and Europe have relied primarily on the opinions of earlier scholars on this sensitive issue. Quoting several of them, these scholars say that an unreasonable gap in between the lines breaks congregational prayers (Jamaa) and concluding that there is no Jumah with many households praying miles apart. In their opinion, people are watching the sermon cannot offer two units of Friday prayers. Instead, they should observe noon Zuhr prayers.
Based on a statement prepared by an eminent famous Muslim scholar in the USA, Yasir Qadhi, the Fiqh Council of North America recommended that families should not hold Friday prayers in their homes. But the Council is also of the opinion that families can offer Friday prayers at home if they have the required number. Even though they differ on the physical presence of persons needed to offer Friday prayers, they all agree that a congregation comprises of at least two people.
The Fiqh Council statement is an opinion, and it is not necessary to accept it as the only opinion, primarily when it did not address the real issue of online sermons and distant prayers at home. The Friday prayer consists of two units of prayer, preceded by a sermon that makes it unique. In normal circumstances, people visit the masjid to offer this prayer even though many reach the places of worship towards the concluding part of the sermon. However, the rules that are applicable in normal circumstances may be changed in emergencies and unusual situations, as is well established from the Qur’anic text and the Prophetic actions.
Wudu is a procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution. It involves washing the hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, head, and feet with water. The Qur’an says: O YOU who have attained to faith! When you are about to pray, wash your face, and your hands and arms up to the elbows. And pass your [wet] hands lightly over your head, and [wash] your feet up to the ankles. And if you are in a state. requiring total ablution, purify yourselves. “(5:6) But in the same verse, it exempts people from performing wudu in the manner mentioned above during emergencies. “But if you are ill, or are traveling, or have just satisfied a want of nature, or have cohabited with a woman, and can find no water - then take resort to pure dust. Rub that lightly over your face and your hands. God does not want to impose any hardship on you but wants to make you pure and to bestow upon you the full measure of His blessings so that you might have cause to be grateful. (5:6) The Qur’an establishes the rule that during emergencies, rules are flexibles.
The guiding principle is that God does not want to impose any hardship. The prayer is one of the essential pillars of Islam. Believers must offer them on time. “For all believers, prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to particular times [of the day]. (4:103) Yet the Prophet allowed combining the prayers during travel or emergencies. Sahih Muslim, a book on the sayings of the Prophet, records: “When the Messenger of Allah intended to combine two prayers on a journey, he delayed the noon prayer till came the early time of the afternoon prayer, and then combined the two. (Book 6:57) On Friday prayers, the Qur’an says: “O You who have attained to faith! When you listen to the call of prayers on the day of congregation, hasten to the remembrance of God. And leave all worldly commerce: this is for your good if you but knew it.” Yet the Sunan Abu Dawood, an authentic collection of Prophet’s sayings and actions records: “ibn Umayr al-Huzali said” Usamah attended the Prophet ( ﷺ ) on the occasion of the treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah on Friday. The rain fell as little as the soles of the shoes of the people. He (the Prophet) commanded them to offer Friday prayer in their dwellings.” We do not have many details on this prayer. All we know is that the Prophet did not call it Zuhr prayers. Did the people hear the khutbah of the Prophet without being in his physical proximity? We do not know the method. Thus, we find that in matters of worship, God and his messenger allow people to adjust in emergencies, ensuring that their intention is pure and they do not overburden them.
Coronavirus has created a very rare emergency, the like of which the world never experienced before. Until we return to a normal situation, we have the flexibility of observing the Friday prayers at home following an Imam who is physically miles apart from us within the timeframe of the prayer. It is an opinion, non-binding. Those who accept its rationale can offer Friday prayers at home. Those who are still in doubt can offer Zuhr prayers. However, we must realize that the differences in opinion would not ostracize its holders from Islam. It’s an emergency, and we will return to a social life soon, inshallah resuming prayers in Masajid and Islamic centers. We must realize that consensus of scholars is not the consensus of all scholars of Islam. It is the consensus of scholars who subscribe to a particular view. The Qur’an is the criterion, and every opinion is subject to its validation.
(Dr Aslam Abdullah is resident scholar at islamicity.org. He is editor in chief of Muslim Observer and a trustee of American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin. He gives Friday sermons at Islamic centers in California and other states)
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