Can I Pray at Home Instead of the Friday Prayer When the Mosque Is Very Far?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

Mosque to attend Jumah Salah is 11 km from my Institute. Can I pray Zuhr instead of attending Jumah ?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Yes, being far from the mosque can be an excuse to miss the Friday prayer because of the hardship entailed.

In a previous answer at SeekersGuidance it has been mentioned that to be free from those excuses that allow one to miss the congregation is a condition for the obligation of the Friday prayer.

Please see: The Detailed Rulings Related to Friday Prayer

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, may Allah protect him, mentions in a previous answer that being far from the mosque is one of these excuses:

“As for ‘being far from the mosque,’ major scholars have explained at being an Arab mile (1.85 km) away from the mosque is considered being far, and considered an excuse. Others have chosen to explain it as being ‘such that there is genuine hardship in getting to the mosque.’ When one is ‘far from the mosque,’ one is no longer blameworthy for not praying at the mosque.”

Related:

• Praying Friday Prayer
• The Virtues of the Friday Prayer

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.