يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا نُودِىَ لِلصَّلَوٰةِ مِن يَوْمِ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ فَٱسْعَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٩﴾
信道的人们啊！当聚礼日召人礼拜的时候，你们应当赶快去记念真主，放下买卖，那对於你们是更好的，如果你们知道。
Prayer (Salah)
The Friday prayer (Jumu'ah)
The ruling in short
Allah says: when the call to prayer is made on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade (62:9). Jumu'ah is an individual obligation on every sane, adult, resident Muslim man. It consists of two khutbahs and a two-rak'ah prayer which replaces the Dhuhr prayer.
1Who must attend
- Men who are Muslim, adult, sane and resident (not travellers).
- It is not an obligation on women, children, travellers and the sick, but it is valid if they attend.
2Etiquette of the day
- Taking a bath and wearing the best clothes and perfume (for men) before going.
- Going early, listening silently to the khutbah and not talking during it.
- Two rak'ahs of greeting the mosque before sitting, even if the imam is giving the khutbah.
- Praying the Friday prayer in a mosque with a congregation, and leaving trade after the second call.
3The prayer
- Two rak'ahs recited aloud after the two khutbahs.
- A person who misses it prays Dhuhr as usual (four rak'ahs).
Where the schools differ
The four Sunni schools agree on the main ruling above and differ in these points. No school is preferred here.
- The Friday bath. the hadith says it is compulsory (wajib) for every adult. Most scholars (the four schools) hold it is a strongly stressed sunnah, because other hadith show that someone who did wudu only was also accepted. The Zahiris say it is an obligation.
- The number needed for the prayer. the Hanafi school says three besides the imam; the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools say forty; the Maliki school requires a settled community (some say twelve men).
The evidence
From the Quran
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ فَٱنتَشِرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مِن فَضْلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرًۭا لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿١٠﴾
当礼拜完毕的时候，你们当散布在地方上，寻求真主的恩惠，你们应当多多地记念真主，以便你们成功。
From the Sunnah
Sahih al-Bukhari 879 Authentic collection
The point of the hadith: The Prophet ﷺ stressed taking a bath on Friday for every adult.
Read the Arabic text
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنْ صَفْوَانَ بْنِ سُلَيْمٍ، عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " غُسْلُ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ وَاجِبٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُحْتَلِمٍ ".
This is general information, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.
Fiqh questions
The Friday prayer (Jumu'ah)
Allah says: when the call to prayer is made on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade (62:9). Jumu'ah is an individual obligation on every sane, adult, resident Muslim man. It consists of two khutbahs and a two-rak'ah prayer which replaces the Dhuhr prayer.
Is this a fatwa?
No. It is a summary of well-known rulings with their evidence. For your own case, ask a qualified scholar.
What if my school differs from this answer?
Follow the view of the school you follow and the scholar who teaches you. The page lists the differences of the four schools.