On Friday, the Zuhr prayer is replaced or preceded by Friday prayer (jum'a) which is obligatory for Muslim men who are above the age of puberty and meet certain requirements to pray in congregation either in a mosque or with a group of Muslims.[3] The sermon is delivered by the imam.
The Zuhr prayer consists of four compulsory (fardh) rak'a. In addition, there is a voluntary Sunnah prayer, although the details of it vary by branch of Islam. In Zuhr, Al-Fatiha and the additional surah are to be read quietly or in a whisper (israr).[4]
The Hanafi school believes there are four rak'a before the compulsory prayer and two rak'a after the compulsory prayer of confirmed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah) prayer. The Hanafi school also believes there are 4 rak'a of non-confirmed sunnah (ghair mu'akkadah) prayer after the compulsory prayer.[5] The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools believe there are two rak'a of confirmed sunnah prayer before the compulsory prayer, and two additional rak'a before and after the compulsory prayer as non-confirmed sunnah prayer.[6][7] In the Maliki school, there is confirmed sunnah prayer before and after the compulsory prayer. There is no limit to the amount of rak'a for these, but it is recommended (mustahabb) for it to be at least two rak'a, and it is better to pray four rak'a.[8]
Textual references
Quran
Quran 17:18 mentions "the prayer from the decline of the sun", referencing Zuhr:
Observe the prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night and the dawn prayer, for certainly the dawn prayer is witnessed ˹by angels˺.
Abdullah bin As-Sa'ib narrated: "Allah's Messenger would pray four (Rak'ah) after the Zawal of the sun before Az-Zuhr. He said: 'It is an hour in which the gates of the heavens are opened, and I love that a righteous deed should be raised up for me in it.'"
^"Salat al-Duhr". Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Archived from the original on 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2019-10-25. Noon prayer. Second of five mandatory daily prayers (salat), containing four cycles (rakah). Performed immediately after the sun reaches its zenith. Given the restrictions of modern business hours, it is increasingly being performed in the workplace during lunch breaks. On Fridays it is part of the communal prayers (jumah).
^Yüksel, Edip; Shaiban, Layth Saleh al-; Schulte-Nafeh, Martha, eds. (2007). The Quran: A Reformist Translation. United States of America: Brainbow Press. pp. 72, 508–509. ISBN978-0-9796715-0-0.
