DDHK. ORG - Friday prayers must be done based on Al-Quran, hadith and consensus, in particulara for muslims, baligh, intelligent, independent, male, healthy and settled.
Friday prayer obligation could fail due to several reasons such as distance, security, the number of people required on Friday, and other reasons.
A person who works in a place that is far from the mosque with a radius of more than one farsakh (+ 5 km) then the obligation of Friday prayers is dropped for him.
Imam Nawawi in al-Minhaj also mentions several people who are obliged to perform Friday prayers, including;
وَأَهْلُ الْقَرْيَةِ إِنْ كَانَ فِيْهِمْ جَمْعٌ تَصِحُّ بِهِ الْجُمْعَةُ أَوْ بَلَغَهُمْ صَوْتُ فَوْتُ Amen
"And local residents where there are a group of people whose Friday prayers are valid, or in calm conditions they can hear the high sound of the call to prayer (ex: using a mic) from the surrounding area, then they are obliged to carry it out. But if those are not there then it is not obligatory.”
From the information above, if the distance exceeds one farsakh from the place of work, the obligation to pray Friday is dropped. Likewise, in several non-Muslim majority countries where the use of loudspeakers in mosques is prohibited, it is also an obstacle to hearing the call to prayer for those who should be obliged to carry it out cannot hear the sound of the call to prayer.
However, if the sound of the call to prayer is heard and the distance is less than one farsakh, but there are fears that they will be dismissed from their work while the work is very much needed to obtain daily living expenses for themselves and their families, and there will be no new jobs in the near future, then the scholars also explain about the aging.
If you look at the current conditions, especially in countries where public transportation is good, it is not only the distance that is being reviewed, but how to access the location where the Friday prayers are held.
If it is far away but easy and fast access, one is still required to pray Friday prayers, and vice versa.
Another case if it is feared will eliminate work when Friday prayers.
Imam Qalyubi al-Shafi'i explained the fear of losing a job;
God bless you
"Among the excuses for the Friday prayer are the leasing of individual services (al-Ajîr) which are not given freedom by the lessee (al-Musta'jir), or have an impact on the irregularity of the performance of the party being hired/wages."
Imam al-Mardawi al-Hanbali;
فَائِدَةٌ: وَمِمَّا يُعْذَرُ بِهِ فِي تَرْكِ الْجُمْعَةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ خَوْفُ الضَّرَرِ فِي مَعِيْ Amen
"Additionally: Among the excuses that allow a person not to pray Friday and congregational prayers is worrying about being in trouble for the source of income he needs, or for assets that must be guarded with wages, such as garden guards and so on, then this is also due to the very long recitation of the priest's prayer."
Imam al-Bahuti al-Hanbali;
أَوْ يَخَافُ ضَرَرًا فِي مَعِيْشَةٍ يَحْتَاجُهَا بِأَنَّ عَاقَهُ حُضُogn
"Or someone is worried about getting mad at a job that is a source of living expenses or the wages they need when attending Friday prayers or in congregation."
From the explanation above, it can be learned that the fear of losing a job as a source of living expenses and the absence of solutions for other sources of living expenses can be categorized as old age for someone who is obliged to perform Friday prayers but cannot carry them out.
However, for him there must still be a determination in his heart to try to pray the Friday prayer even though it cannot be accomplished without feeling relieved because of the old Friday prayers, because it is not proper for a Muslim to feel free from obligations even though he is old.
Rasulullah shallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam said;
مَنْ تَرَكَ الْجُمْعَةَ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ تَهَاوُنًا بِهَا طَبَعَ اللهُ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ
"Whoever misses Friday prayers three times in a row because he is underestimating (without excuse), Allah will put a stamp on his heart."
Allah knows best. [DDHK News]
