[Q 407] Jumu’ah and Eid in Non-Muslim Countries

QUESTION:

Please inform recommendation about Jummah & Eid prayers in non-Muslim countries like the UK?
Do the Hanafis say we don’t have to pray Jummah in non-Muslim countries?

ANSWER:

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب بعون الملک الوھاب اللھم ھدایة الحق والصواب

Jumu’ah (Friday prayer) is one of the most important Fard (obligatory) acts in Islam. Like all other Fard duties, it also has specific conditions for its validity. If these conditions are found then Jumu’ah will be valid, otherwise not. And in some cases, it may even be sinful to read Jumu’ah. One of these conditions is that the location where Jumu’ah is being performed must be an Islamic city. If the place is either not a city or it is a city but not Islamic, then according to the original ruling within the Hanafi school, Jumu’ah is not valid, and in some cases, offering Jumu’ah in such a setting may even be sinful. In these cases, performing Dhuhr Salah becomes Fard, and skipping Dhuhr while offering Jumu’ah in its place would make one amongst those people who leave their Fard, which, even if done once intentionally, is a major sin.
However, in our times, due to the permanent residence of Muslims in non-Muslim countries (Dar al-Harb), large Muslim populations, and the widespread and established practice of offering Jumu’ah, along with the potential harms that could arise from abandoning it, reliable and senior scholars, taking the route of ‘U’moom al-Balwa’ and ‘removal of a confirmed harm’ (in line with Hanafi principles) have permitted Jumu’ah and both Eid Salahs, in such countries by acting upon the Maliki opinion. According to Imam Malik رحمة اللہ علیه, the condition of the city being Islamic is not required for the validity of Jumu’ah and Eid prayers.

The classical Hanafi view, based on the sources of Fiqh and hadith, maintains that Jumu’ah should only be held in an Islamic city. This is stated in multiple Hadith sources, such as Musanaf Abi Shaybah, Musanaf Abd al-Razzaq, Sunnan al-Kubrah lil Bayhaqi, Ma’ani Mushkil al-Athar etc:
Wording from Musanaf Abi Shaybah:

لا جمعة ولا تشريق ولا صلاة فطر ولا أضحى إلا في مصر جامع أو مدينة عظيمة”

Translate: “There is no Jumu’ah, no Tashreeq, no Eid al-Fitr, and no Eid al-Adha except in a central city or a large city.”

(Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, vol. 1, p. 439, Riyadh)

In the works of Hanafi Fiqh such as Hashiyah Sharnubilali and Durr al-Mukhtar, it is written:

شروط الصحة ستة : المصر والجماعة والخطبة والسلطان والوقت والاذن العام”

Translate: “There are six conditions for the validity of Jumu’ah: a city, congregation, sermon, Islamic ruler, time, and public permission.”

(Hashiyah Sharnablali with Durr al-Hukkam, vol. 1, p. 136, Dar Ihya al-Kutub)

Imam Ahmad Raza Khan رحمة اللہ علیه states:

The obligation, validity, and permissibility of Jumu’ah all depend on the condition that the place must be an Islamic city. A location that is not even a settlement—like a forest, sea, or mountain—or is a settlement but not a city, like a village, or is a city but not Islamic, such as the regions of Russia and France, in such places Jumu’ah is neither obligatory, nor valid, nor permissible. Rather, it is forbidden, invalid, and sinful. Performing Jumu’ah there does not absolve one of the obligation of Dhuhr.For a city to be considered Islamic, it is essential that either it is presently under an independent Islamic government, like the exalted Ottoman Empire or the God-given state of Afghanistan (may Allah protect them both from the evils of time), or it is under non-Muslim rule but had previously been under Islamic governance, like the state of Bukhara in recent days. حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل
If it is not currently under Islamic rule, then two conditions must still be fulfilled: firstly, that the area had previously been governed by an Islamic authority, and secondly, that since coming under non-Muslim control, the symbols of Islam, such as Jumu’ah, congregational prayer, Adhan, Iqamah, and others, have remained continually in practice in full or in part.
Places where Islamic rule has never existed, nor exists now, cannot be considered Islamic cities, and thus Jumu’ah and Eid prayers are not valid there, even if the non-Muslim rulers do not prevent the symbols of Islam, even if there are many mosques there, and even if Adhan, Iqamah, and congregational prayer take place openly, and even if, due to ignorance, the public continues to perform Jumu’ah and Eid prayers without obstruction. This is the case in most of Russia, France, Germany, Portugal, and likely the entire continent of Europe.
Likewise, if a city was once under Islamic rule but was later conquered by non-Muslims, who then instituted the symbols of disbelief and abolished all symbols and signs of Islam, then such a city is no longer considered Islamic. Until Islamic rule is re-established, Jumu’ah and Eid cannot be considered valid there—even if the conquering non-Muslims later allow Islamic practices to resume, or if those non-Muslim rulers are replaced by others who permit Islamic rituals—because a non-Islamic city does not become Islamic merely by the continuation of Islamic rituals.

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, vol. 8, pp. 377–379)

Answered by: Usman Madani (Ask Mufti scholar)
Translation Checked By: Aqib Attari
Date: 25th May 2025.