Missing Friday Prayer due to Office Hours: What to Do?
Question: I am a Muslim student living in Germany. To afford tuition fees, I have to work. Due to office hours and with no mosques available around, I regularly miss Friday prayers. What should I do? Is it permissible to pray the four units (rak`ahs) of noon prayer at my workplace?
Mufti: Dar Al-Ifta Al-Misriyyah
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
You are excused for missing Friday prayers due to your office hours. You should perform the four rak`ahs of Noon Prayer only at your workplace.
Answering your question, Dar Al-Ifta Al-Misriyyah, states:
The Friday prayer is obligatory upon every adult sane Muslim according to primary texts i.e. the Quran and Sunnah. God Almighty says,
{O you who have believed, when the call to prayer is made for Jumuah [Friday prayer], then proceed to the remembrance of God and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.}</strong> (<a href="https://www.quran.com/62/9" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Al-Jumuah 62:9)
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) cautioned leaving the Friday Prayers (without a valid excuse) stating that the person who does not observe the Friday prayers three times “God will seal his heart.” (Abu Dawud)
This makes it clear that observing the Friday prayer is an obligatory action.
However, considering the case in question, the questioner is unable to observe Friday prayers due to office hours and, since work is necessary for earning his living in this non-Muslim country, it is likely that he is excused for missing it.
Moreover, having no mosques around makes it more difficult to go for Friday prayer.
Jurists have allowed missing Friday prayer if there is a valid excuse.
In his Mukhtasar, Imam Khalil al-Maliki explained,
“Excuses for missing it [the Friday prayer] include: extreme mud, rain, leprosy, the sick and the one engaged in caring for the weak/ill, or the one confined in a place for whatsoever reasons etc.”
This issue in question falls under these categories.
Based on the above, you have an excuse for missing Friday prayers due to your office hours.
Therefore, you should perform the four rak`ahs of Noon Prayer only at your workplace.
God never burdens a soul beyond its capacity. God Almighty says,
{He (God) has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in the religion.} (Al-Hajj 22:78)
Almighty Allah knows best.
Source: Dar Al-Ifta Al-Misriyyah