Khutbat al-Jumua wa Ahkamuha al-Fiqhiyya
- Author died
- 1442 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Da‘wah, and Guidance - Center for Islamic Research and Studies
Khutbat al-Jumua wa Ahkamuha al-Fiqhiyya (The Friday Sermon and its Jurisprudential Rulings) is a specialized treatise on Islamic comparative jurisprudence by Abd al-Aziz al-Hujaylan (d. 1442 AH / 2021 CE), examining the legal rulings, conditions, pillars, and etiquette governing the Friday sermon.
Background and Purpose
Al-Hujaylan stated that he composed the book because existing literature on the Friday sermon primarily approached the subject from homiletic, literary, historical, or brief corrective perspectives, leaving a lack of detailed, dedicated research into its comparative jurisprudential rulings. His motivation was also informed by his personal experience delivering Friday sermons as a reserve imam, as well as observing deficiencies and recurring errors among preachers due to unfamiliarity with the legal rulings of the khutbah. The author limited the scope of the work specifically to the rulings pertaining to the sermon itself and the preacher (khatib), omitting rulings concerning attendees except where they directly intersect with the preacher, such as speaking during the sermon.
Structure and Contents
The work consists of an introduction, five main chapters, and a conclusion:
- Chapter One: Defines the linguistic and legal meanings of khutbah and Jumuʿah, the naming of Friday, the legal ruling (hukm) of the Friday sermon and whether it is a condition or a recommended practice for the prayer, and whether one or two sermons are required.
- Chapter Two: Examines the conditions (shurut) of the Friday sermon across eight sections: intention (niyyah), the presence of the required congregation, delivering it after the entrance of Friday prayer time, preceding the prayer, standing, audibility (jahr), delivery in Arabic, and uninterrupted continuity (muwalah).
- Chapter Three: Details the essential pillars (arkan) of the sermon in six sections, discussing praising God, invoking blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, admonition (mawʿizah), reciting Quranic verses, the sequence of these pillars, and whether they must be repeated in both sermons.
- Chapter Four: Covers the recommended practices (sunan), divided into those preceding or pertaining to the preacher—such as physical purity, covering the ʿawrah, adornment, ascending a pulpit or elevated platform, greeting the congregation, facing them, sitting until the call to prayer ends, leaning upon a staff or sword, and projecting the voice—and those within the delivery itself, including the sitting pause between the two sermons.
- Chapter Five: Addresses thirteen miscellaneous practical issues and widespread practices, including relying entirely on antiquated written texts without preparation, diverting the sermon from its intended religious purpose, performing the greeting prayer of the mosque (tahiyyat al-masjid) before ascending the pulpit, supplication upon ascending, preaching from written sheets, striking the pulpit with a sword, hand gestures, turning left and right, raising hands during supplication, and habitual concluding phrases.
Methodology and Findings
The author adopted a comparative fiqh method by compiling the opinions of the major schools of jurisprudence and early scholars alongside their textual proofs, analyzing counterarguments, and adopting weighted conclusions (tarjih) based on textual strength. In the book's conclusion, al-Hujaylan noted that many classical arguments concerning the conditions and pillars of the khutbah rely on bare prophetic actions (afʿal mujarradah), which according to the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh) indicate recommendation (istihbab) rather than strict obligation (wujub). Consequently, he favoured the ruling of recommendation for several issues traditionally categorized by many jurists as binding conditions or pillars.
Publication
The book was published in 1423 AH (2002 CE) by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Dawah and Guidance in Riyadh, issued under the auspices of its Center for Islamic Research and Studies, featuring a foreword by the then Minister of Islamic Affairs, Salih ibn Abd al-Aziz Al al-Shaykh.
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