Jumu'ah (Friday Prayer) Guide

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“O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the salât (صلاة, prayer) on Friday (Jumu'ah prayer), come to the remembrance of Allâh [Jumu'ah religious talk (khutbah) and salat (صلاة, prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing), That is better for you if you did but know! (9) Then when the (Jumu'ah) salât (prayer) is ended, you may disperse through the land, and seek the Bounty of Allâh (by working, etc.), and remember Allâh much, that you may be successful (10)”
(Reference: Qur’an 62:9-10)

Introduction
Across Chicago, and throughout the United States and the rest of the world, Muslims all congregate on Fridays for a sermon and to together perform the Dhuhr (صلاة الظهر) Friday prayer (salat, صلاة - read more about the Muslim prayers in our Prayer Guide), which is referred to as Salat Al Jumu'ah (صلاة الجمعة) or simply Jumu’ah (جمعة‎, also spelled jumah, jum’ah). Jumu’ah is a tradition prescribed in the Qur’an in verses 62:9-10, which instructs Muslims to stop their activities on Fridays to come together and attend Jumu’ah. Adult male Muslims are obligated to attend Jumu’ah, female Muslims are encouraged to attend, and non-Muslims are also normally welcome. The entire Jumu’ah typically lasts about an hour and is generally around lunch time, and similar to the weekly services for Christians and Jews, before and after this Friday gathering, the congregation has an opportunity to receive announcements, discuss and plan important upcoming events, provide support to each-other, and generally build the sense of community.

Attending any prayer service for the first time can cause anxiety. Below, we have provided details regarding Jumu’ah. We hope this page answers any questions you may have, relieves all anxiety regarding this important weekly event, and leads to converts comfortably participating soon after conversion. If you would like someone to go with you to Jumu’ah, please do not hesitate to submit a request via our Buddy Program Page.


Who must/may go to Jumu’ah
In most mosques, both non-Muslims and Muslims, male and female, are welcome to attend Jumu’ah. Non-Muslims, however, should not perform the salat that is conducted following the sermon and should stand or sit quietly at the back of the room while that prayer is performed. Note that some mosques are male-only while others accommodate both men and women.

The Prophet (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, “If the wife of any one of you asks permission (to go to the mosque) do not forbid her." (Reference: Hadith narrated by Salim bin 'Abdullah in Bukhari Volume 1, Book 12, Number 832)

The Prophet (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "If your women ask permission to go to the mosque at night, allow them." (Reference: Hadith Narrated by Ibn 'Umar in Bukhari Volume 1, Book 12, Number 824).

Most mosques have spaces for both men and women for prayers. Occasionally, one will come across a mosque without a prayer space for women; therefore, women may want to ask beforehand if there is dedicated prayer space for women at a specific mosque.

Hadith prescribes that women who are menstruating are forbidden from conducting the Muslim prayers (Reference: Hadith narrated by A’isha in Bukhari Volume 1, Book 6, Number 327) "The Prophet said to me, "Give up the prayer when your menses begin and when it has finished, wash the blood off your body (take a bath) and start praying." . The areas of mosques in which menstruating women are allowed depends on the mosque. In some mosques, including the Muslim Community Center in Chicago, the ‘masjhid’ designations are such that menstruating women would be allowed in the women’s section of the prayer hall during Jumu’ah and may listen to the sermon, but the menstruating women would not pray the prayer that follows the sermon. Also note that menstruating women can listen to streaming Jumu’ah services online.


Where and when is Jumu’ah
Most mosques hold a weekly Jumu’ah service on Fridays during the prescribed time for the Dhuhr prayer. The Jumu’ah will often be held at the same pre-set time throughout a given month, but note that Jumu’ah will typically not be held exactly at the starting time of the Dhuhr prayer. For example, if the Dhuhr prayer time begins around 12:20 PM during a given month, a mosque may declare all their Jumu’ah services for that month to be at 1:00 PM. The weekly time for Jumu’ah is often posted ahead of time on mosque websites (please visit our Chicagoland Mosques Page for a list of local mosques) or mosque newsletters. You can typically call mosques and ask what time Jumu’ah will be held on a given Friday, or there will often be a voicemail recording stating the time of the Jumu’ah service.


What the mosque and prayer hall is like
The essential arrangement of a mosque is not unlike that of a synagogue or a church. There is typically a main entrance which leads into a small entry space for greeting and filing in/out, and then doors leading into a large prayer hall. There are often other rooms used for meetings or classes and often an office for the head of the mosque. While there will be restrooms within the mosque, often these are only used for cleaning up prior to entering the prayer hall, and sometimes the toilets are located in separate restroom facilities in a building separate from the mosque.

Unlike synagogues or churches, the prayer hall will not have chairs or pews – at most there will be a couple of chairs at the back of the room for people with physical health problems. The floor of the prayer hall will be covered either by carpet or by many prayer rugs. There are often windows. There will be no images or carvings or sculptures. There will sometimes be bookshelves along the walls with Islamic books for adults and children.

The prayer hall will be a large open space with a platform for the person giving the sermon, and there will most likely be a separation of some sort designating the women’s space. Jews who attend orthodox synagogues may not find this unusual, but this will likely be an adjustment for Christians. Unfortunately, the separation of space is often such that women may not have a direct view of the imam delivering the sermon. In some cases (there is only one such mosque in a Chicago suburb), the men will be downstairs and the women upstairs, whereby both men and women are able to directly see and hear the Imam during the sermon. Sometimes the women’s space will have a TV streaming the person speaking (the Downtown Islamic Center in Chicago is set up this way), and at other places like the Masjid Al-Faatir on 47th Street and the Muslim Community Center, a simple curtain is used which permits the sound of the sermon but provides a screen.


What to bring to the mosque for Jumu’ah
One does not need to bring anything special to a mosque for Jumu’ah. Personal prayer rugs aren’t used, and there are usually copies of the Qur’an if one would like to read. One can bring socks if desired since shoes are not permitted in the main prayer hall. Some people bring mini-rugs that they lay where their face contacts the floor/carpet during prostrating.


How to prepare for Jumu’ah
If one falls under the conditions that prescribe ghusl (غُسْل) before praying (please visit this website for more information about wudu and ghusl), then one must perform ghusl at home prior to going to the mosque. Hadith prescribes preparing for Jumu’ah by taking a bath on Friday prior to the prayer: : The Prophet (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "The taking of a bath on Friday is compulsory for every male (Muslim) who has attained the age of puberty." (Reference: Hadith narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri in Bukhari Volume 2, Book 13, Number 4-5).

If after bathing on Friday one requires wudu (وضوء), wudu should be performed prior to going to the mosque or in the mosque before entering the prayer hall. If you choose to perform wudu at the mosque, be sure to arrive beforehand to allow time prior to the beginning of Jumu’ah, and follow common courtesy to wipe up any water that spills in the mosque bathroom while performing wudu’. One should avoid prior any foods that may emit offensive scents, and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم) forbade eating particularly two foods, raw onions and garlic and said: "Whoever eats garlic or onion should keep away from our mosque or should remain in his house." (Reference: Hadith reported by Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: in Bukhari Volume 1, Book 12, Number 814; Hadith reported by Muslim Book 004, Number 1141-1152). This hadith equally applies to Jum’ah prayer or any other trip to the mosque.


What to wear to Jumu’ah
One must adhere to Islamic clothing requirements (please visit our Islamic Clothing Page for more information) when walking into and while in a mosque, as one should be always do even when outside the mosque in social setting.


Entering the mosque building
Mosques will sometimes have separate entrance doors for women and men – be sure to look to for signs to avoid walking through the wrong door. If you do not know where to go once inside a mosque, feel free to ask someone – people are generally happy to guide you.

As you enter the mosque building, people may greet you “Assalamu Alaykum” – your response is “Wa Alaykum As-Salam.” Don’t worry – this is usually the extent to which conversational Arabic will likely be spoken with you.


Preparing to enter the prayer hall
The mosque will have separate restrooms for men and women to perform wudu’. Sometimes the restrooms are among the rooms that lead to the prayer hall. So if you cannot find the room for the prayer hall, try walking through the men's or women's restroom.

Before entering the prayer hall, there will be a place dedicated to storing shoes, and sometimes there will be a spot for coats. Your shoes MUST be taken off here. Never wear shoes in the room with the carpet where the prayer will be performed (the prayer hall). If your shoes are on and you hit the carpet, you’ve probably gone too far. But do not worry, someone will stop you if they see you have gone too far, and they should kindly guide you to where you should store your shoes. You can wear your clean socks in the prayer hall.

Women often take purses into the prayer room and set it in the back of the room or along a wall. If you have a backpack or briefcase and do not want to leave it unattended, you can bring that with you and leave it along a wall.

If you bring your cell phone into the mosque, make sure to turn it off. Out of courtesy, do not talk on your cell phone in the main prayer room, and if you must make a call, make it outside the prayer room (ideally outside the mosque) and speak quietly so people in the prayer room have tranquility to focus on their prayers. Prior to Jumu'ah there will be a buzz of activity outside the mosque, in the hallways, or in the prayer room entrance; the prayer room itself, however, is to remain quiet and peaceful.


Entering the prayer hall
If you are clean, have your shoes are off, and your cell phone is turned off, you are ready to enter the prayer hall. First, make sure you enter the correct door - sometimes there are separate doors for men and women, in which case they will be labeled accordingly.

When you enter the prayer hall, take note that if you arrive while the sermon is ongoing, there is to be no conversation as everyone should be listening to the sermon. If the sermon is ongoing and someone speaks to you, then the extent of your response cannot exceed a gesture to signal that a sermon is in progress. The Prophet Mohmmad (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم) even forbade responding with “listen, or pay attention” and said: "When the Imam is delivering the Khutba, and you ask your companion to keep quiet and listen, then no doubt you have done an evil act." (Reference: Hadith narrated by Abu Huraira in Bukhari Volume 2, Book 13, Number 56)

If you brought in a coat, purse, or bag, set it against the wall somewhere within the prayer hall. Then find an empty space, and take care not to cross the path in front of someone praying.

It is a sunna (sayings, actions, and general way of life of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم), including instances when he endorsed actions he saw being done by others) to conduct a 2-rakat sunna prayer (صلاة تحية المسجد, or prayer of greeting to the masjid/mosque - for information on Islamic prayers please visit our Prayer Guide Page) upon entering the main prayer room prior to the sermon, unless the sermon is underway. This is also the case when entering the mosque for any other prayer, provided the prayer is not underway. Narrated Abu Qatada Al-Aslami: Prophet Mohammad (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "If anyone of you enters a mosque, he should pray two rakat before sitting." (Reference: Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari; Volume 1, Book 8, Number 435) When conducting this prayer, make sure you are facing the appropriate direction (facing Kabbah كعبة)– sometimes the carpet will have lines where people should line up, so if you place your two feet on one of the lines you should be facing the correct direction. You can also look to see which direction others who are praying are facing.

After the 2-rakat sunna prayer, sit on the floor. Do not sit so your feet are facing Kabbah. You may sit with your back against the wall. You can softly and briefly talk with others until the sermon service begins, but no talk is permitted during the sermon, as discussed above.


The Jumu’ah service and prayer
The Jumu'ah service can be summarized thusly: First, a call to prayer is announced. Next, a sermon of two segments is given to the congregation (it is viewed by some that the 2 segments account for 2 sets of the 4-set Dhuhr prayer). After this, another call to prayer is announced. Finally, the congregation lines up and prays 2 segments of the Dhuhr prayer together. Further details regarding these activities are provided below.

The “call to prayer” / athan (أذان, for more information please visit our Athan & Iqama Guide Page) will be recited by a muathin (مؤذن) at the time of Dhuhr prayer and again when the Jumu’ah service is about to begin. The athan will be said completely in Arabic in a melodic tone. When you hear the athan, you should repeat the same words silently, except when the muathin says hayya 'alas-salah or hayya 'alal-falah, you should silently say la hawla wa la quwata illa billah (there is no strength or power except from Allâh, SWT, سبحانه وتعالى). You can optionally recite a supplication (du'a, دعاء) after the athan is recited (there will be enough time provided).

After the athan, the sermon-giver (khatib) will always begin the sermon (khutbah - الخطبة, or خطبة الجمعة) with the words al-hamd. During the khutbah, you should not speak with others, read the Qur’an, eat, or do anything else besides listen attentively. The sermon is not unlike Christian Sunday service. During the sermon there will be stories about the Prophet (PBUH, SAW, صلى الله عليه وسلم), other Prophets (AS, عليهم السلام), lessons about life, and quotes from the Qur’an and hadith. The khatib may have a tone more powerful sounding than in Christian or Jewish services, but that depends on the khatib’s personal style. In most American mosques, the khutbah will be said in English, and Qur’an and hadith references will be in Arabic and then translated into English. Some khatibs deliver the khutbah in both English and Arabic interlaced. Others deliver each part of the the khutbah in two pieces, the first in Arabic followed by the equivalent version in English. There are some mosques with the khutbah completely in Arabic, however. Unlike Christian or Catholic service, there are no songs sung during Jumu’ah or any other Islamic service. The athan and the prayer will be recited in a melodic tone, but it is not a song. Unlike Catholic services, the khutbah does not involve standing and kneeling or responding vocally to the sermon-giver - you simply need to sit and listen attentively. The khutbah will be broken into two portions (separated by a 10-30 second break) - some perceive each portion to represent one raka’at of the dhuhr prayer. There is nothing you need to do during that break, except you can recite a brief du'a of your choice.

The khutbah concludes with a du'a, and then another call to prayer, the iqama (إقامة - please visit our Athan & Iqama Guide Page for information about the iqama) is recited to summon Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayer. Do not stand up until the iqama is completed.

Once the iqama is complete, the congregation will stand up and walk to the front of the room and form rows lining up shoulder-to-shoulder. If you are not a Muslim, or do not feel comfortable yet praying with the group, this is the time to walk to the back of the room where you will remain until the prayer is over. If you are a Muslim and would like to pray with the group, stand up and line up with the rest of the Muslims in your room, and continue adjusting with others until a line is formed with no gaps between people. When starting a new line behind a line that has been completed, the new line should be started from the center outward (as opposed to starting to build the line from one end inward or randomly or from both ends until they meet) with the first two people forming the line starting at the spot right behind the imam. This is the case for any Islamic prayer in congregation.

After about a minute (giving the congregation time to straighten lines and prepare themselves for the prayer), the 2 raka’at for the Jumu’ah prayer will begin. Conduct the prayer (please visit our Prayer Guide Page for guidance on conducting the prayer), guided by the imam leading the prayer, and performing the normal physical motions of the prayer, at the same time as those around you (immediately following the imam in each step). Do not recite the prayer out loud. The imam leading the prayer will not recite all portions out loud, but will provide cues as to when it is time to conduct the next portion of the prayer. Since everyone will be conducting the prayer in synchronization, you will know what to do and when to do it.

When the prayer is complete, some people may continue praying, and the speaker may provide general announcements. You may stand up and leave at any time, but take care again to not cross in front of people who are praying. On your way out of the prayer hall and the mosque, again people will likely greet you “Assalamu Alaykum” – again your response is “Wa Alaykum As-Salam.” You can introduce yourself to other people of the same gender. This is a great opportunity to develop your support network of Muslims. And they will likely love to hear your conversion story.

It may be intimidating for you to go to Jumu’ah for the first time, or to navigate a new mosque. We are happy to provide a ‘buddy’ to take you to a Jumu’ah service or to a mosque – simply submit a request on our Buddy Program Page.


Online Jumu’ah
Some mosques in the United States videotape Jumu’ah so people can watch it or listen to it live from home. Women can watch even during periods of menstruation. However, note that there is not unanimous agreement among experts regarding Jumu’ah remotely attended from home to be in lieu of and exempt one from the Dhuhr prayer. Therefore, if you listen to a streaming Jumu’ah, it is safest to also conduct the full 4-raka’at Dhuhr prayer.


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