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Friday prayer led by other than the khateeb

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

What is the ruling for an imam to give the khutbas and lead the prayer for the 2 salat al-jumas done at the same masjid? (i.e. he’ll give 2 khutbas for the 1st salat and lead the salat then once that’s completed he’ll give 2 more khutbas and lead the 2nd congregation in salat al-juma). Also, what is the ruling of those who pray behind him in the 2nd jamaat?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

 I pray that this finds you well, and in the best of health and spirits. May Allah grant you all good and success in this life and the next.

It is not valid for one imam to lead two Friday prayers, because such a second performance would count as a supererogatory prayer (nafl), and it is not valid for people to perform an obligatory prayer behind someone whose prayer is merely supererogatory. [ref: Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar; Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

The proper course of conduct would be for someone else to lead the second congregation.

Jazakum Allah khayr.

And Allah alone gives success.

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.