The short answer
Jummah prayer is the congregational prayer held on Friday after a sermon (khutbah). Quran 62:9 calls believers to hasten to the remembrance of Allah when the Friday call is made and to leave trading. The Shafi'i work al-Majmu says the prayer is two rakats. Who is obliged to attend, and when a late arrival counts, differs between the schools.
What happens at Jummah?
Jummah, also written Jumu'ah, is the Friday gathering. Surah Al-Jumu'ah 62:9 to 10 speaks to believers when the call is made for the prayer on Friday: hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave trading. The same verses say that after the prayer is ended, people may disperse and seek Allah's bounty.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا نُودِىَ لِلصَّلَوٰةِ مِن يَوْمِ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ فَٱسْعَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
At the mosque, the khutbah comes first and then the congregational prayer. Al-Majmu, the Shafi'i work by al-Nawawi, says the Friday prayer is two rakats, and cites a report from 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that it is two complete rakats and not shortened 6.
How do I pray Jummah for the first time?
These steps cover how to pray Jummah on a first visit. They are practical advice, not a ruling; where a school's rule matters, the sections below give it with its source.
- Check the times with your mosque. Ask when the khutbah starts and when the prayer starts, which may be listed separately, and where to enter.
- Make wudu at home if you can, or ask where the washing area is. The step-by-step guide is How to perform wudu.
- Arrive before the khutbah if you can. That leaves time to find a place and to listen from the start.
- Sit where the mosque directs you and listen to the khutbah. The report in Sahih al-Bukhari 934 treats telling a companion to listen during the khutbah as idle talk
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 934
- When the prayer begins, stand in the row and follow the imam. If you are learning the words and movements, go through them with a teacher first; the sequence is in How to pray salah.
What is the khutbah and when is the prayer?
The khutbah is the sermon before the Friday prayer. Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, gave the Friday sermon standing, then sat, then stood again. The report says that he sat; it does not say for how long
2AuthenticSahih Muslim 861
Each of the four works treats the khutbah as a condition of the Friday prayer. The rows give the wording of each named work.
| School | Position |
|---|---|
| Hanafi (al-Hidayah) | The khutbah is listed among the conditions of Jumu'ah; the work calls it "the condition of the prayer". 5 |
| Shafi'i (al-Majmu) | The Jumu'ah is not valid until two khutbahs come before it. 6 |
| Maliki (al-Qawanin) | The khutbah is obligatory, and on the sounder view a condition of the Friday prayer's validity. 7 Al-Kafi says a Friday prayer is not valid without a khutbah. 8 |
| Hanbali (al-Mughni) | The khutbah is a condition of Friday prayer, and the prayer is not valid without it. 9 |
This page does not set out what the khutbah should contain.
Who is required to attend?
Quran 62:9 addresses believers at the Friday call, but the schools differ on who is obliged to attend. The table gives each school's position on the exemptions, with its work.
| School | Position |
|---|---|
| Hanafi (al-Hidayah) | Not obligatory on a traveller, a woman, a sick person, a slave or a blind man. 5 |
| Shafi'i (al-Majmu) | Fard 'ayn (an obligation on each individual) for accountable Muslims, except those with the excuses the work names. A woman is not obliged, and neither is a traveller. 6 |
| Maliki (al-Qawanin) | Fard 'ayn according to most scholars. Besides the conditions for every prayer, it needs maleness, freedom, residence and nearness, within three miles or less; other views give six or twelve miles. 7 Al-Kafi says it is obligatory on a free adult male in the town and on whoever hears the call from outside it, and according to most scholars not on a traveller, a woman or a slave. 8 |
| Hanbali (al-Mughni) | Not obligatory on a traveller, a slave or a woman; most scholars hold that a traveller is not obliged. The work adds that attending is better for a traveller. 9 |
Those are the exemptions each work names. For anything beyond them, such as a traveller's case, a woman's arrangements at a particular mosque, or illness, ask your mosque and a qualified teacher.
What if I arrive late or miss Jummah?
The works differ on which arrivals count as catching the Friday prayer. The table gives each school's rule for a worshipper who joins the imam after the prayer has begun. It is a school position, not a ruling for your case.
| School | Position |
|---|---|
| Hanafi (al-Hidayah) | Whoever catches part of the imam's Friday prayer prays with him what he catches and builds the Jumu'ah on it. Muhammad al-Shaybani, Abu Hanifa's companion, holds that he builds Jumu'ah only if he catches most of the second rak'ah, and Dhuhr if he catches less. 5 |
| Shafi'i (al-Majmu) | Catching the bowing of the second rak'ah with the imam counts as catching the Jumu'ah. If he does not catch it, the Jumu'ah is lost. 6 |
| Maliki (al-Qawanin) | If a follower does not catch the bowing of the last rak'ah, and enters prostration or sitting, he has missed the whole prayer. For Friday he prays Dhuhr of four rak'ahs. 7 Al-Kafi says that whoever catches one rak'ah with the imam completes Friday, and whoever does not catch a rak'ah has missed Friday and prays Dhuhr alone. Al-Kafi tests the arrival by a rak'ah; al-Qawanin tests it by the bowing of the last rak'ah. 8 |
| Hanbali (al-Mughni) | Catching one rak'ah with the imam, with its two prostrations, lets him add another and complete the Jumu'ah. Catching less than one rak'ah means he builds Dhuhr. 9 |
The Maliki tests in the table come from two named works, al-Qawanin and al-Kafi. Whether your own case meets them, and which prayer to pray if you miss the congregational prayer or join mid-prayer and are unsure what you caught, is a question for your imam or a qualified teacher. This page does not give that ruling.
What if I enter while the sermon is underway?
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that a man came into the mosque while the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was giving the Friday khutbah. The Prophet asked whether he had prayed. When the man said no, the Prophet told him to get up and pray
3AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 930
The Arabic gives no number of rakats; the English translation on sunnah.com adds "two". This page does not give the schools' positions on praying during the khutbah. Ask your mosque how it handles someone who arrives during the sermon.
How should I prepare before going?
Salman al-Farsi, may Allah be pleased with him, reports the Prophet's words on Friday conduct. The report lists bathing, purifying as far as one can, and anointing or perfuming with the scent of one's home. It adds going to the prayer without separating two people who are sitting together, praying what is written, and staying silent when the imam speaks. For this conduct, the report says, the sins between that Friday and the next are forgiven
4AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 883
The report does not give Friday bathing a legal status, and this page does not give the schools' positions on it. In practice: arrive a little early, make wudu if you can, and sit where you are directed.
When to ask, and who
Ask your imam or a qualified teacher about travel, illness, a missed prayer, or arriving during the sermon. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
My first Jumu'ah was at a mosque in a terraced house, so full that we prayed in the hallway. My dad took me, and I sat by the shoe racks because that was where there was room. I remember hearing the khutbah through a speaker on the stairs.
Try it: three questions
Pick an answer.
1What did the report in Sahih al-Bukhari 934 call telling a companion to listen during the khutbah?
Answer: Idle talk (laghw). The Arabic word is laghw, idle talk. The report is about speech during the sermon, not about every kind of speech.
2What did the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, tell a man who came in during the khutbah?
Answer: Get up and pray. Sahih al-Bukhari 930. The Arabic gives no number of rakats. Source 3
3Which school's work says a traveller may attend Jumu'ah, and that attending is better for him?
Answer: Hanbali (al-Mughni). Al-Mughni says attending is better for a traveller, because it is more complete (volume 2, page 253).
Questions people ask
Is Jummah the same as Jumma Mubarak?
No. Jumma Mubarak is a Friday greeting. On 21 October 2026 we searched sunnah.com and the dorar.net hadith encyclopedia and found no narration of a fixed Friday greeting, or of a reply to one. This page covers the prayer; the greeting is on the Jumma Mubarak page.
Can a woman go to the Jummah prayer?
The Hanafi, Shafi'i and Hanbali works listed here name women among those not obliged to attend, and the Maliki work makes maleness a condition of the obligation. This page gives those exemptions and does not rule on whether or how a woman attends. Ask your mosque about its arrangements, and a qualified teacher about your own situation.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, called telling a companion to listen during the Friday khutbah idle talk (laghw).
Sahih al-Bukhari 934 Book 11, Hadith 58
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari (Al-Bukhari); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Al-Bukhari); sahih (Al-Zurqani); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Muslim); sahih (Ibn al-Arabi); its chain is sahih (Ahmad Shakir); sahih (Al-Albani); sahih (Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut). Remarks: verdict as listed on dorar.net (Al-Tabarani); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn al-Qaysarani); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn Khuzaymah); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn 'Abd al-Barr); its chain is sahih (Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn al-Mundhir); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn Hibban); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Al-Ayni); silent about it (Abu Dawud); يرويه الزُّهريُّ، واختُلِفَ عنه؛ [ثمَّ حكى فيه الخِلافَ على الزُّهريِّ، ثمَّ قال]: والمحفوظُ حديثُ الزُّهريِّ، عن ابنِ المُسَيَّبِ، عن أبي هُريرةَ. وحديثُ الزُّهريِّ، عن عُمَرَ بنِ عبدِ العزيزِ، عن إبراهيمَ بنِ عبدِ اللهِ بنِ قارظٍ: غيرُ مدفوعٍ. ورُوِيَ عن مالكٍ، وعن ابنِ عُيَينةَ وورقاءَ، وابنِ عَجلانَ، عن أبي الزِّنادِ، عن الأعرَجِ، عن أبي هُريرةَ. (verdict as listed on dorar.net) (Al-Daraqutni)
- 2
Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, gave the Friday sermon standing, then sat down, then stood up again.
Sahih Muslim 861 Book 7, Hadith 44
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim (Muslim); verdict as listed on dorar.net (مسلم). Remarks: verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ibn Hazm)
- 3
Jabir ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that a man entered the mosque while the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was giving the Friday khutbah. The Prophet asked whether he had prayed; when the man said no, the Prophet told him to get up and pray.
Sahih al-Bukhari 930 Book 11, Hadith 54
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari (Al-Bukhari); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Al-Bukhari); sahih (Al-Albani); hasan sahih (Al-Albani). Remarks: silent about it (Abu Dawud)
- 4
Salman al-Farsi, may Allah be pleased with him, reports the Prophet's list of Friday conduct, and says that sins between that Friday and the next are forgiven for it.
Sahih al-Bukhari 883 Book 11, Hadith 8
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari (Al-Bukhari); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Al-Bukhari); sahih (Ibn Baz); sahih (Al-Albani). Remarks: verdict as listed on dorar.net (Al-Daraqutni); its chain is sahih (Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut); verdict as listed on dorar.net (Ali ibn al-Madini)
- 5
Hanafi position on Jumu'ah, as the named work states it (obligation, khutbah, late arrival, read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026).
Burhan al-Din al-Marghinani (d. 593 AH), al-Hidayah fi Sharh Bidayat al-Mubtadi, Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Jumu'ah: shamela.ws book 11820, pages 108 to 110 (printed volume 1, pages 82 to 84 as shamela shows them; Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi edition as on shamela.ws). Obligation at page 109 (1/83); khutbah at 108 (1/82); late arrival at 109 to 110 (1/83 to 84). Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026. Print not checked.
- 6
Shafi'i position on Jumu'ah, as the named work states it (obligation, khutbah, late arrival, read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026).
Abu Zakariyya Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (d. 676 AH), al-Majmu Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, Kitab al-Salah, Bab Salat al-Jumu'ah (Muniriyya edition as on shamela.ws), shamela.ws book 2186: the chapter begins at vol. 4, page 482 (page id 2139); obligation and women at 4/483 (id 2140); travellers at 4/485 (id 2142); two khutbahs at 4/513 (id 2170); two rakats at 4/530 (id 2187); the latecomer matn of al-Muhadhdhab at 4/555 (id 2212); al-Nawawi's statement of the school's view at 4/558 (id 2215). Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026. Print not checked.
- 7
Maliki position on Jumu'ah, as the named work states it (obligation, khutbah, late arrival, read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026).
Muhammad ibn Ahmad Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi (d. 741 AH), al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah, shamela.ws book 6193: page 46 (chapter 18, on the rak'ahs of the prayer, the follower's rulings); page 51 (chapter 21, on Friday, first section); page 52 (chapter 21, the khutbah). The shamela edition shows no printed page numbers in the text read; this record cites shamela page ids. Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026. Print not checked.
- 8
Maliki position on Jumu'ah in al-Kafi, as the work states it: the obligation and its conditions, the khutbah as a condition of validity, and the late-arrival test (one rak'ah).
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, al-Kafi fi fiqh ahl al-Madina, volume 1, pages 248 and 250 Read on 28 October 2026 from the OpenITI electronic text (a Shamela copy, book 7367). Print not checked.
- 9
Hanbali position on Jumu'ah, as the named work states it (obligation, khutbah, late arrival, read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026).
Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (d. 620 AH), al-Mughni, Kitab Salat al-Jumu'ah, shamela.ws book 8463: the khutbah condition at page id 672 (vol. 2, p. 224); issue 1310 at id 679 (2/231); issue 1311 at id 680 (2/232); issue 1349 (no Friday for a traveller, slave or woman) at id 698 (2/250); the better-to-attend passage at id 701 (2/253). Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026. Print not checked.
- 10
A search of sunnah.com and dorar.net on 21 October 2026 for a fixed Friday greeting, and for a reply to one: none found in the first results scanned.
Ilmwell team, Search of sunnah.com and dorar.net, Search date 2026-10-21 Search record: sunnah.com and dorar.net, 21 October 2026.
- Q
Quran 62:9 to 10, Arabic and English through the site helpers.
Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations.
Next
- How to pray salahGuide
- How to perform wuduGuide
- Jumma MubarakPhrase
- Adhan and iqamah: wording and meaningWords lesson
- How to do ghuslGuide
- How many rak'ahs in each prayerGuide
- Sunnah and nafl prayers: how they fit togetherGuide
- Start at AlifThe hub
For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
Join the email list
New guides by email, now and then. No spam, and you can leave at any time.
Ilmwell is free and kept going by readers. See how to support it.