Shaykh Zaayid Al-Wassaabee was asked,

Question:

“O our Honourable Shaikh, as you know this current epidemic illness has spread in many of our Western countries and the people have differed among themselves; should they pray Jumu’ah in their houses along with their neighbours or should they pray dhuhr? Since the verdicts of the Mashaaikh are different, the people are in confusion in regards to their affair.

Answer:

“Wa ‘Alaykum us-Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. As for praying Jumu’ah in the houses, then no. It is not known from the Salaf that they would gather and pray Jumu’ah in the houses. [It reached to a point] such that Hafidh Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy upon him) mentioned regarding Jumu’ah being prayed in the jails. The answer is that it is not reported despite the fact that it is possible to gather many people in the prison [for Jumu’ah].  It is only Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy upon him) who said there is no harm in that. So based on this, then no [they do not pray Jumu’ah], but rather they pray dhuhr. If it is possible for them to pray in the Masaajid, then they do so, but if they prevented from that and they are not able to, then they pray dhuhr in their houses. There is no harm if a man prays in congregation with his wife and children in his house”. End translation.

Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan

Some related affairs:

1. The Ruling On Praying The Jumu’ah Prayer In The Place Of Work Due To A Necessity – Shaykh Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadi’i [https://torontodawah.com/the-ruling-on-praying-the-jumuah-prayer-in-the-place-of-work-due-to-a-necessity-shaykh-muqbil-bin-hadi-al-wadii/]

2: [VIDEO] How Many People Do You Need To Establish Friday Prayer – Shaykh Bin Baz and Shaykh Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadi’i [https://torontodawah.com/video-how-many-people-do-you-need-to-establish-friday-prayer-shaykh-bin-baz-and-shaykh-muqbil-bin-hadi-al-wadii/]

Note: These two topics are different from the matter of praying Jumu’ah in the houses especially during this pandemic since the main reason Jumu’ah was canceled was due to a preventive measure that was taken to prevent a sickness from occurring. Therefore, we take the ruling of the sick by praying Dhur instead of the Jum’ah prayer. Also, Jum’aah requires the act of الإتيان [i.e going out to establish Jumu’ah] as found in the context of the hadiths for Jumu’ah. As well, it hasn’t been reported ever in history despite the amount of epidemics and plagues which have occurred in the past that Jumu’ah prayer was established in the homes.

Mentioned by

AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
Abu Fajr