Question:
Is there a sunnah prayer before the Friday prayer?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
In answering the above question, we would like to state that basically there is a prophetic evidence that state the great benefit of Friday prayer and performing sunnah prayer before the Friday prayer. This is clear when we study the hadith narrated by Salman al-Farisi, where the prophet PBH said:
مَنِ اغْتَسَلَ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ، وَتَطَهَّرَ بِمَا اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْ طُهْرٍ، ثُمَّ ادَّهَنَ أَوْ مَسَّ مِنْ طِيبٍ، ثُمَّ رَاحَ فَلَمْ يُفَرِّقْ بَيْنَ اثْنَيْنِ، فَصَلَّى مَا كُتِبَ لَهُ، ثُمَّ إِذَا خَرَجَ الإِمَامُ أَنْصَتَ، غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجُمُعَةِ الأُخْرَى
"Anyone who takes a bath on Friday and cleans himself as much as he can and puts oil (on his hair) or scents himself; and then proceeds for the prayer and does not force his way between two persons (assembled in the mosque for the Friday prayer), and prays as much as is written for him and remains quiet when the Imam delivers the Khutba, all his sins in between the present and the last Friday will be forgiven."
Sahih al-Bukhari (910)
The cause as to why there is an issue regarding this is the khilaf (difference of opinions between scholars) regarding sunnah prayer before the Firday prayer. The matter which is discussed is whether the sunnah prayer is considered as the rawatib prayer, which is the prayers accompanying the obligatory prayer. See: al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah, Qism al-Ibadah (284).
The first opinion states that there is sunnah prayer before Friday prayer and it is considered as rawatib prayer:
- Al-azhar (clearest) opinion according to madhab al-Syafie as stated by Imam al-Khatib al-Syarbini:
وبعد الجمعة أربع، وقبلها ما قبل الظهر
And after Friday prayer is four rakaat and before it (Friday prayer) is the same as before zohor prayer. (See: al-Mughni al-Muhtaj 91/220)
- The opinion of madhab al-Hanbali as stated by Ibn ‘Abidin:
وسُنَّ مُؤَكَّدًا أربعٌ قبلَ الظُّهر، وأربعٌ قبلَ الجمعة، وأربعٌ بعدَها
It is sunnah muakkadah before zohor prayer, four rakaat before Friday prayer and four rakaat after it. See: al-Radd al-Mukhtar ‘ala al-Dur al-Mukhtar (1/452).
The second opinion states there is no sunnah rawatib prayer before Friday prayer:
- The opinion of madhab al-Maliki which states there is no specific sunnah prayer that accompanies obligatory prayer (before or after it), however, it does not prevent one from performing absolute sunnah prayer. See: ‘Aqd Jawahir al-Tsaminah (1/133)
- Opinion of madhab al-Hanbali, stated by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali:
وقال كثير من متأخري أصحابنا: ليست سنةً راتبة، بل مستحبة
“And most of our contemporary scholars have agreed; it is not sunnah ratibah prayer, it is just something that is sunnah.” See: Fath al-Bari Syar Sahih al-Bukhari li Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (8/333)
Conclusion
According to the above evidences and discussion, we state that sunnah prayer before the Friday prayer is one of the sunnah rawatib prayer and it is one of the sunnah on Friday. This is clearly stated in a hadith from Jabir RA:
جَاءَ سُلَيْكٌ الْغَطَفَانِيُّ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَاعِدٌ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ فَقَعَدَ سُلَيْكٌ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم " أَرَكَعْتَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ " . قَالَ لاَ . قَالَ " قُمْ فَارْكَعْهُمَا
Sulaik Ghatafani came on Friday (for prayer) while the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sitting on the pulpit. Sulaik also sat down before observing prayer. The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) said: Have you observed two rak'ahs? He said: No. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Stand and observe them.”
Sahih Muslim (875)
May Allah SWT give us His guidance in understanding His religion. Amin.