Is It Sinful To Miss the Sunnas of Friday Prayer Due to Work?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

If I miss the 4 sunna before the fard and miss the 4 and 2 sunna after the fard due to work am I sinful?

If I miss the 4 sunnah before the fard of jumma, do I have to read it after the fard if I am able to read it?

Answer

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

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

1. It is an emphasized sunna to pray four cycles of prayer before the Friday prayer and four cycles after the Friday prayer.

Making it a habit to miss them without excuse is sinful. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

It is obligatory (fard) for you to provide for yourself and your immediate family. One of the best ways to do so is by working. [Mawsuli, al-Ikhtyar]

Failing to do so when able is sinful.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) was asked about the best job, and he replied by saying, “A job that is done by one’s own hand, and every decent trade.” [Ahmad]

Thus, if praying the emphasized sunnas of Friday would make you lose your job, you will be excused to miss them. In a previous answer at SeekersGuidance we read that:

It is permissible to make up the four sunna cycles, due before the obligatory (fard) prayer after the congregation has ended. Similarly, you would make them up if you forgot to perform them beforehand.

Aisha reported that if the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) did not pray four [cycles] before Zuhr, he would pray them afterward. [Tirmidhi] The basis is that sunna prayers are not formally made up. But the following are considered exceptions to the general rule: (1) the sunna of Fajr, when missed with the obligatory (fard) prayer, and made up on the same day before Zuhr, and (2) the sunna before Zuhr, in all cases.

Please see: Is It Permissible to Pray the Four Sunna Cycles, Due Before Zuhr, After the Congregation Has Ended?

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.