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Those who were not able to continue following the imaam in Friday prayers because the electricity was cut off

21-07-2001

Question 22306

A group of people were praying Jumu’ah in the basement of the mosque, and during the prayer the electricity was cut off and they could no longer hear the imaam. One of the worshippers stepped forward and led them in the rest of the prayer. What is the ruling on their prayer, knowing that he completed the prayer as Jumu’ah (i.e., two rak’ahs)? 
What would be the ruling if no one had stepped forward to lead them? Should each person have completed the prayer on his own? If that is permissible then should it be completed as Zuhr (four rak’ahs) or Jumu’ah (two rak’ahs), since they had listened to the khateeb and had started the prayer with the imaam and prayed one rak’ah with him?

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

If the situation was as described by the questioner, then the prayer of all of them is valid, because whoever catches up with one rak’ah of Jumu’ah has prayed Jumu’ah, as it says in the saheeh hadeeth narrated from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). If one of them had not stepped forward and they had each prayed the final rak’ah alone, that would have been OK, as in the case of one who joins the prayer in the second rak’ah with the imaam, then makes up the other rak’ah by himself – because of the general meaning of the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever catches up with one rak’ah has caught up with the prayer”. And Allaah is the Source of strength. 

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