Friday Khutba

This is with reference to Dr. Siddiqi’s column on Friday Khutba in The Link of 8-29-97.

It must be clearly understood that the sources of Islamic law are only four:

1) The Holy Quran (2) Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) (3) Ijma, and (4) Qiyaas (the analogical reasoning of the Sahaba and jurists).

Any other form of sources will not be accepted. We ask those who uphold that the Khutba should be in English or any other language othre than Arabic, to forward sound evidence from the sources of Islamic law. But, I assure you they will not be able to, for they have an invalid case.

According to the Sharihah of Islam the Friday Khutba is not regarded as an ordinary “talk.,” conversation or “lecture”. Allah (swt) refers to the Friday Khutbah as Zikrullah. “O believers, when you are called to salaat on Friday, hasten towards the zikr (i.e., khutbah) of Allah.” The Quran 62:9 (see also Tafseer-ul- Baldhaawi and Tafseerul Mazhari).

The Khutbah is a pure act of zikr and zikr has to in Arabic, just as tilawat and salaat and the azaan have to be in the Arabic language. Tomorrow, the argument will be sience the purpose of azaan is to call people to the masjid it is better to recite it in English ot the language which is understood by the people. Such arguments have no validity in Islam.

  1. The verdict of Islam or this matter is: “There is not doubt whatsoever in the fact that the Khutbah given in a language other than Arabic is contrary to Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Therefore, it is forbidden.” (Umdatur-Riaayah)
  2. “The corect version is that the recital of the whole Khutbah in Arabic is a compulsory condition. Therefore, if among the people there is none who can recite Arabic, the Khutbah shall then be given in non-Arabic langauge, anf it becomes compulsory for them to learn Arabic. If they do not, they become sinners and there is no Juma for them.” (Sharrhul-Ihya of Syed Murtaza Zubaidi)
  3. “The Khutbah in Arabic is a condition for the validity of the Khutbah. (Minhajul Talbeen of Nawawl)
  4. “Among the conditions in both Khutbahs be in Arabic.” (Matan Minhaj of Shaikhul Islam Zakariya Ansari)
  5. All mazahibs are unanimous in their opinion that the Friday Khutbah must be in Arabic.

One should also note that the differences between the Juma Khutbah and other lectures are many. An ordinary lecture does not consist of Sunnah and Fard factors, nor is it conditional with so many restrictions and stipulations as the Friday Khutbah. If it was a lere lecture it would not have been equated to two rakaats of salaat.

May Allah (swt) establish us all on the Sunnah of his beloved Prophet (pbuh).

Moulana Mohammad Irshad, London.

I read with care Maulana Irshad's statement. I respectfully disagree with him on his opinion that the whole Khutbah must be in Arabic and it is forbidden to give Khutbah in any language other than Arabic. Let me explain my position a little more on the basis of the Qur'an, Sunnah and the opinion of the Imams on this subject.

  1. In the Qur'an, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "When the call for the Friday prayer is given, then hurry to the dhikr of Allah…" (al-Jumu'ah 62:9) The word "dhikr" is used in the Qur'an for "remembrance" as well as for "tadhkir" for "reminding". See the Qur'an Yusuf 12:104; Yasin 36:69; Saad 38:87; al-Zukhruf 43:44 etc. Thus Friday prayer is both for dhikr and tadhkir. The Khutbah is basically for reminding (tadhkir) while the Salat is for the remembrance of Allah (dhikr). One cannot remind the people in a language that they do not understand.
  2. It is reported that the Khutbah of the Prophet -peace be upon him- on Fridays used to consist of dhikr of Allah and His praise, then he used to remind the people and he used to give them advises (thumma yudhakkiruhim wa ya'izuhim). This is reported in many books of Hadith. The Prophet -peace be upon him- used to speak to the people in his Khutbah. Sometime he even interrupted his Khutbah by telling some people "sit down", "say your prayer", "come closer," etc. He did not do this in his salat. He used to make people understand what he was saying, while in his prayers he was conversing with his Lord.
  3. There is a big difference between the Salat and Khutbah. The Prophet-peace be upon him- told us how to pray and what to say in each part of our prayer. No imam has the authority to change the salat. In salat we only recite the Qur'an, we cannot even recite Hadith. We have fixed du'a for ruku', sajdah and tashahhud etc. and the whole salat must be performed exactly in the way of the Prophet -peace be upon him. Those who do not know Arabic language they can and they should learn the basic meaning of these few prayers. However, the Khutbahs are not fixed like the salat. We are not told to read only the Qur'an, Hadith or Prophet's sermons in our Friday Khutbahs.
    The Imam is allowed to make his own Khutbah, give the message to his audience according to their need. If the Imam is permitted to give his message according to the needs of the audience, why is he not permitted to use the language according to the needs of his audience? The language is a medium. A message cannot be conveyed without a medium. I understand reading the words of Allah and His prophet in Arabic, because they are very special and important; and no translation has the authority of the original. But what is so special about my own words or the words of any imam that they must be in Arabic, even when the imam and his audience have no clues what they mean. I have heard some Khutbahs in Arabic that were totally irrelevant and useless. On the other hand I have heard some Khutbahs in Urdu, and English that were highly inspiring and motivating. Can we say that the first type were Halal because they were in Arabic and the second type were Haram because they were in non-Arabic?
  4. It is not correct to say that "all Madhhib are unanimous in their opinion that the Friday Khutbah must be in Arabic." The unanimity is only on this that the Khutbah must consist of the praise of Allah and peace and blessings upon His prophet. This part should be in Arabic, but no one said that the whole Khutbah must/should be in Arabic. In the Fiqh 'ala al-Madhahib al-Arba'ah (Fiqh According to Four Schools) it is mentioned: According to Hanafi School, there is only one essential part of Khutbah and that is dhikr. It is sufficient if the Khutbah has only Tasbih, or Hamd or even La ilaha illa Allah. But it is makruh to make the Khutbah so short. According to Imam Malik, the Khutbah also has one essential part and that is warning and good news (tahdhir and tabshir). According to Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, the Khutbah has four essential parts: 1. Praise of Allah, 2. Blessings upon the Prophet, 3. Recitation of at least one ayah from the Qur'an, 4. Reminding the people about the Taqwa of Allah. According to Imam Shafi'I, the Khutbah has five essential parts: 1. Praise of Allah, 2. Blessings upon the Prophet, 3. Reminding the people about the Taqwa of Allah, 4. Reading at least one ayah from the Qur'an, 5. Prayers for the believers, especially in the second Khutbah. See vol. 1, pp. 389-390)
  5. I agree that Hamd and Salat on the Prophet and reading at least a verse from the Qur'an should be in Arabic. But according to the Qur'an, Sunnah and the opinions of the major Imams it is not required that the whole Khutbah must be in Arabic. The basic confusion comes when we read the opinions of the Imams and other scholars that the Khutbah should be in Arabic, some of us think that means that everything in the Khutbah should be in Arabic.
  6. Now there are thousands of Masajid in India, Pakistan, Africa, Australia, Europe, and America where Khutbahs are given in local languages. The Khateebs are from all schools of thought: Sunnis, Shi'is, Deobandis, Ahl Hadith, Barelvis etc. I have seen many Muftis and 'Ulama of different countries giving Khutbahs in local languages. Can we say that all these 'Ulama are committing Haram and their prayers and the prayers of millions of Muslims behind them are invalid? I mentioned that the Supreme Council of Masajid in its first meeting held in Makkah in 1975. Hundreds of Ulama' and Imams who were gathered there from all over the world gave the fatwa that Khutbah could be given in local languages, but its opening must be with the praise of Allah and the blessings on His Prophet and this should be in Arabic.
  7. Friday is a very important day for Muslims. Let us take full benefit of this day by giving the message of Islam to the masses in a language that they understand.

May Allah help us to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet -peace be upon him- with wisdom and understanding.