As it is obligatory to say two rakats of prayer before Friday prayer, would Huzoor kindly guide us if one forgets to say these rakats and Asr prayer is said immediately after Friday prayer? What one should do regarding these two rakats? Can one say them after Asr prayer or not? Normally, no prayer should be said between Asr and Maghrib. Except the obligatory prayer which you had forgotten earlier and you suddenly came to think of it between Asr and Maghrib, for that you are not expected to wait until the sun is set.
For that, the instruction is that whenever you remember a forgotten prayer, you say it as soon as possible. I mean, you say it almost forcefully. So, the point is, what is the status of that sunnah which you are referring to? If the two rakat sunnah is considered to be an obligatory prayer, then the answer would be you can say that forgotten prayer between Asr and Maghrib, but if it does not enjoy that status, then you can’t say it at all. And as far as the fuqaha are concerned, they do not take any sunnah to be classified as obligatory.
If a sunnah is forgotten, it is never said. Only the obligatory central pith part of the prayer, that is four rakat in Zohar for instance, that is repeated, I mean that is said if you have forgotten it. So, you won’t say it at all. This is why in answer to one question I said that even if the imam has started his khutbah, his sermon, you should say at least the two rakat of sunnah before the Jummah prayer. And in the same process, let me remind you that normally it should be the four rakat, not two rakat. But minimum is the two. So, if the imam has started his sermon, then you shouldn’t say four rakat during that sermon, but say only two rakat.
Some fuqaha believe that while adhan is being said, you can do that. But when the imam has started the sermon, then you cannot say your sunnah, even if there is a danger of the sunnah being lost totally because of the jammah between Zohar and Asr. And they base their view on the fact that Jummah, according to some traditions, the sermon is a part of worship. And you are not permitted to speak during sermon. And you must have full attention directed to the imam, whatever he is saying. So, from this they infer that while the sermon is being delivered, you must not say any prayer.
But after the sermon is finished, if you can say it in between the sermon and the prayer, you can say that. Or say it later on after the prayer is finished. But some other fuqaha believe that Jummah is not exactly the worship, the type of worship like namaz. Because in namaz you have a direction, you can’t move about, you can’t change your position, place from here to there. And you have a definite qibla. During the sermon you have no qibla to face. You can sit in any posture anywhere. And you can change your place as well. So, it’s not strictly speaking the worship as compared with the prayer.
So, because the fuqaha base their findings, I mean their views on one positive instruction of Hazrat Muhammad Mustafa s.a.w. that when he has started the prayer, then do not say your own prayers differently. So, all the differences appear in this context. That is a fundamental instruction. If the imam has started prayer, you should not say your prayer separately. Now, if sermon is considered by some fuqaha to be exactly of the nature of ordinary prayer, then the answer would naturally be that during the sermon you must not say any prayer of your own. But if you believe that the sermon is not exactly to be classified as ordinary prayer, then you may have a lenient view.
So, in my view too, sermon is not to be exactly classified as the worship to which Huzoor-e-Akram s.a.w. referred. So, this is, and sunnah should not be relegated to a secondary position as compared to sermon. And also, as I remember, in Qadian, right from the childhood, this was the practice, that whoever joined the mosque later on, after the sermon had started, they always, if they had not said their sunnahs at home, they always said the sunnah two rakat hurriedly during the sermon and then sat. So, I mean, this is my view, but maybe some scholars may differ. It doesn’t make any difference.
This is a minor point. JazakAllah, Huzoor. What was my mistake? I said obligatory. I should have said important, these two rakats. Yes, they are important, they are not obligatory. Yes, quite right. Yes, I wanted to correct my writings. JazakAllah. Al Fatiha.
