Friday Prayer When Traveling in the Maliki School

Answered by Shaykh Rami Nsour

Question: Assalaam alaykum,

I will be traveling on a Friday for a work conference. I will be leaving for the conference right after Fajr salah and will be coming back home from the conference the same day, around the time that Dhuhr comes in.

I wanted to know if I should go attend Jumah in the city I will be in at the time or if I should pray Dhuhr and then be on my way home.

Thank you.

Answer: If I understand it correctly, you will be outside your city of residence at time of Dhuhr on Friday. If that is the case, then you have the choice to pray Jumu’ah in the city of the conference or you could pray dhuhr there. You could also pray dhuhr when you return home.

If you return to your city limits in time for Jumua’h, then you are obligated to pray Jumu’ah. If you miss the Jumu’ah prayer, then you would pray Dhuhr.

General Rules About Traveling on Friday

If a person lives in a city where there is a valid Jumu’ah prayer, then it would be prohibited to travel after dhuhr time comes in, if the destination does not have a Jumu’ah prayer. If a person leaves their city after dawn but before dhuhr time, to an area with no Friday prayer, then this would be disliked. If the person traveled after fajr, but before dhuhr, it would not be obligatory to find a Friday prayer in the destination.

[Al-Sharh al Kabir, Mukhtasar Khalil]