Fatwa ID: 05208
Answered by: Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Question
My question is about Friday prayer. Am I sinning if I don’t go to Jumuah prayer because I do not wish to wear a mask or provide my personal info for contact tracing due to “pandemic”?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Allah (SWT) says in the Quran
إذا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الجُمُعَةِ فاسْعَوْا إلى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ﴾ [الجمعة ٩
O you who have believed, when (the adhan) is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu’ah, then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you if you only knew.[1]
عَنْ أبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قالَ: قالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «مَن تَوَضَّأ فَأحْسَنَ الوُضُوءَ، ثُمَّ أتى الجُمُعَةَ فاسْتَمَعَ وأنْصَتَ غُفِرَ لَهُ ما بَيْنَ الجُمُعَةِ، إلى الجُمُعَةِ، وزِيادَةَ ثَلاثَةِ أيّامٍ، ومَن مَسَّ الحَصى فَقَدْ لَغا»
Sayyiduna Abu Huraira( رضى الله عنه ) reported Allah’s Apostle(s.a.w) as saying: “He who took a bath and then came for Jumu’ah prayer and then prayed what was fixed for him, then kept silence until the Imam finished the sermon, and then prayed along with him, his sins between that time and the next Friday would be forgiven, and of three days more”.[2]
Abu Ja’d Ad-Dhamri( رضى الله عنه ) narrates that the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم)of Allah (عز و جل)said:
عَنْ أبِي الجَعْدِ الضَّمْرِيِّ، وكانَتْ لَهُ صُحْبَةٌ، أنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قالَ:مَن تَرَكَ ثَلاثَ جُمَعٍ تَهاوُنًا بِها، طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلى قَلْبِهِ
“Whosoever misses three Jumu’ah prayers by taking the matter lightly, Allah will seal his heart.”[3]
The importance of the Friday prayer is evident from the above-mentioned Ayah and Ahadith. A Muslim should, therefore, never attempt to miss it. To miss even one Jumu’ah prayer without a legally valid excuse is highly sinful, and to miss three is totally unacceptable, with Allah (عز و جل) sealing the heart of the transgressor, due to which no good enters his heart.
In the aforementioned case, you should still try to go for Jumuah and not miss it because you do not wish to wear a mask or provide your personal information for contact tracing due to “pandemic”, as it is not excusable unless you are medically exempted, then you should display your medical card to the Masjid committee and that should bring ease as;
المشقة تجلب التيسير
Hardship brings ease [4]
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Syed Johir Miah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1] Quran, Surah Jumuah, Verse 9
[2] Sahih Muslim, Hadith 857, 588/2, Dar IhyathTurab, Beirut, Lebanon
[3] Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1052, 277/1, Al-Maktabatul Asriyyah, Sunan Tirmidhi, Sunan Nasa’I, Hadith 1369, 88/3, Sunan Darami, Hadith 1612, 980/2,
[4] Al-Qawaidul Fiqhiyyah, Page 40
