Is my Friday Prayer Valid If I Am Late for It? [Shafi’i School]

Answered by Ustadh Shuaib Ally

Question: What is the Shafi’i view on arriving late for the Friday prayer? Is the prayer valid?
Can two Friday prayers take place in one mosque or do the followers of the second Friday prayer have to repeat it?

Answer: Assalam’aleykum

Arriving Late for Friday prayers

Arriving early for the Friday prayer and being present at the beginning of the khutbah are both highly recommended.

It is likewise obligatory for a person to leave on time such that they can attend the Friday prayer, and is impermissible to engage in anything unrelated to the Friday prayer after the second adhan (i.e. just before the khutbah is to begin).

Catching the Friday prayers

A person is considered to have caught the Friday prayer if he has performed at least one rak’ah of the prayer with the imam. This is accomplished by performing at the ruku’ of the second rak’ah with the Imam to the end of his prayer. The latecomer would then make up one rak’ah of prayer to complete the required two.This is considered a valid Friday prayer.

If he does not catch one rak’ah with the imam, he wil pray with the imam what remains of the Friday prayer, and complete it as Dhuhr, that is, four rak’ahs.

Multiple Friday prayers in one Mosque

Two Friday prayers can take place in one mosque due to the inability of all to congregate in one place at the same time due to overcrowding. Both are valid, and the followers of the second Friday prayer do not have to repeat the prayer as Dhuhr, so long as the general conditions for the Friday prayer are present in both congregations.

Source: al-Hawashi al-Madaniyyah

Shuaib Ally