Q&A: Do We Have to Refrain from Praying the Sunna Prayer during the Friday Sermon if it is Delivered in Other than Arabic?
Question: Assalamu alaikum, If jumah khutbah is shafi style with english and arabic mixed (no seperate arabic khutbah), is it preferred to sit and listen to the khutbah, or pray ones sunnah if one arrives during khutbah?
Answer: Bismillah.
When the imam stands in order to proceed towards ascending the pulpit (minbar) for the sermon (khutba), or leaves his private office for it, both prayer and speech become impermissible until the Friday Prayer (salat al-jumu‘a) has been completed by its final and closing salams.
Accordingly, if you arrived late and did not have an opportunity to pray the emphasised four sunna cycles (rak‘as) before the sermon, then you would delay them until after the prayer is complete.
A sermon which is delivered entirely in other than Arabic is unquestionably valid in the Hanafi school, let alone one that is only partially delivered as such, so you just need to determine if it is the official sermon or not. If it is a pre-sermon talk, then praying and speaking at this time would be acceptable. But it’s from propriety to use discretion, if required, to avoid distracting the speaker and the attendees and to also avoid any needless mind talk, confusion or trouble (fitna).
And Allah knows best.
Tabraze Azam
Amman, Jordan.
23/12/2019
قال الشّرنبلاليّ في مراقي الفلاح شرح نور الإيضاح ما نصّه: «الرابع “الخطبة” ولو بالفارسية من قادر على العربية» اهـ وقال الحصكفيّ في الدرّ المختار: «(كما صح لو شرع بغير عربية) أي لسان كان، وخصه البردعي بالفارسية لمزيتها بحديث «لسان أهل الجنة العربية والفارسية الدرية» بتشديد الراء قهستاني وشرطا عجزه، وعلى هذا الخلاف الخطبة وجميع أذكار الصلاة» اهـ
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