Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
At present we have Jum’a salat at our place of work, a large office in the middle of the countryside. This was set up as some of the brothers could not make it to the regular Jum’a salat in the nearest town. However some brothers have queried the permissibility of having Jum’a salat at a place of work. I understood that the conditions for Jum’a are strict but for special cases (work, prisons, students) these are relaxed. I need clarification on this issue.
It is not a condition for the validity of the Friday prayer that it be offered at a Masjid, though this is clearly superior when possible. As such, it would be valid for the Friday prayer to be offered at a place of work, if the conditions of validity are met. For this, whoever organizes the prayer should sit with a scholar (not just the local imam of the neighborhood mosque, but an alim), and cover the fiqh of the Friday prayer. Muslims serious about their religion need to have consistent contact with reliable, traditional scholars with taqwa and wisdom.
HOWEVER , one of the conditions for the validity of the Friday prayer is that it be offered in a town or its outskirts. If “the large office in the middle of the countryside” is not in such a place, they should just gather for Zuhr, as Jumuah would not be obligatory on them.
Wassalam,
Faraz