Sunnat al-Jumua

Sunnat al-Jumua (The Sunna of Friday Prayer) is a legal treatise by the Hanbali jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH / 1328 CE) addressing the legal status of supererogatory prayers performed before and after the Friday congregational prayer Sunnat al-Jumua.

Composition and Scope

The work was composed as an extended legal response to a query regarding whether the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Companions, the Successors, or the leading jurists performed a designated prayer following the first call to prayer on Friday Sunnat al-Jumua. The questioner also asked whether such a prayer is textually prescribed in any of the recognized schools of jurisprudence, and whether the Prophet's statement بين كل أذانين صلاة ("Between every two calls to prayer there is a prayer") applies generally to all times or specifically to Friday Sunnat al-Jumua.

Arguments on the Pre-Friday Prayer

Ibn Taymiyya demonstrates that the Prophet ﷺ did not perform any prayer after the Friday call to prayer, as the adhan during his era was only delivered once he had ascended and sat on the pulpit Sunnat al-Jumua. Immediately after the adhan of Bilal ibn Rabah, the Prophet delivered the two sermons, followed by the iqama and the congregational prayer, leaving no interval for either the Prophet or the congregation to pray Sunnat al-Jumua. Ibn Taymiyya explains that the Prophet never specified a fixed number of rak'ahs prior to Friday prayer, but instead encouraged unrestricted supererogatory prayer upon entering the mosque until the imam arrives Sunnat al-Jumua.

He rejects the argument that the pre-Friday prayer should be analogized to the regular sunna of the noon prayer (Dhuhr), pointing out that Friday prayer has distinct legal conditions and rulings Sunnat al-Jumua. Even if viewed as a shortened form of Dhuhr, the Prophet never prayed regular sunnas before or after shortened Dhuhr during travel Sunnat al-Jumua+1.

Regarding the additional early call to prayer instituted by the Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, Ibn Taymiyya argues that because the Muslims consented to it, it became a legitimate call to prayer Sunnat al-Jumua. Consequently, praying between Uthman's adhan and the second adhan falls under the general permissibility of praying between any two calls, making it a permissible and virtuous act (ja'iza hasana) rather than an established, fixed sunna (sunna ratiba) Sunnat al-Jumua+1. Neither those who perform it nor those who omit it are to be rebuked Sunnat al-Jumua. He adds that omitting it periodically is preferable if the public mistakenly assumes it to be obligatory or an established sunna, though performing it is commendable if done to maintain communal harmony or prevent discord Sunnat al-Jumua.

Post-Friday Prayer and Critique of Fabricated Devotions

In a dedicated section, Ibn Taymiyya discusses the prayer following Jumu'a, affirming that the Prophet's practice of praying two rak'ahs after Friday prayer is established in the two Sahih collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim Sunnat al-Jumua. He surveys the established regular sunnas across the five daily prayers based on reports from Ibn Umar, Aisha, and Umm Habiba Sunnat al-Jumua+1.

Ibn Taymiyya contrasts these authentic traditions with fabricated and weak narrations that specify invented daily, weekly, or annual devotions Sunnat al-Jumua+1. He explicitly critiques such non-canonical prayers recorded in spiritual and devotional works, including those cited by Abu Talib al-Makki, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, and Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, such as the Alfiyya prayer, the mid-Sha'ban prayer, and specific prayers assigned to the days of the week or nights of Rajab Sunnat al-Jumua.