Question:
Assalamualaikum
Respected Mufti Saheb,
I would like to find out the ruling concerning whether istimaa’ (listening) is necessary for women when listening to Jumu’ah Khutbah, sometimes for more than an hour. Generally the womenfolk are engaged in cooking and don’t pay much attention to it.
1. Would the normal laws of listening to a Khutbah apply here?
2. Would it make a difference whether the Khutbah is played before Zawwal or after?
3. Do men folk also have to listen attentively? What if they have already performed Jumu’ah?
Jazakallah Khairan
Answer:
1 & 3. The etiquettes of listening to the Khutbah in the Masjid will equally apply while listening to it over the radio. This will include the womenfolk and also those men who have already performed the Jumu’ah Salaah similar to the ruling of listening to Qiraa’at over the radio. It will be necessary for the Qari himself as well as the audience listening to the Qiraa’at over the radio to consider the etiquettes of Qiraa’at and listen attentively. If the womenfolk wish to do household work then they should turn off the radio. (Taken from Aalaat-e-Jadeedah’, Page 164 by Mufti Shafi’)
2. The Khutbah consists of Qur’anic verses and Ahaadith, therefore it should be listened to attentively, be it before or after Zawwal, otherwise the radio must be turned off.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best
Qasim bin Hashim Limbada
Attested to as correct by:
Mufti Muhammad Ashraf
Darul Iftaa
Jameah Mahmoodiyah
Springs
22 April 2004
02 Rabee’ul Awwal 1425