Question: Is it permissible for a Muslim to offer the Friday prayer in his house, if he is able to hear the voice of the Imam?

Answer: It is not permissible for him to perform the Friday prayer except with the congregation in the mosque. If the mosque is full and the rows reach onto the streets, then there is no sin in praying in the street due to necessity.

As for a person praying in his house or in his shop, that is not permissible, nor is it permissible for him to do so, because the purpose of the Friday prayer and the congregational prayer is for the Muslims to gather, so that they present the spectacle of a unified community, with harmony and love prevailing among them. This is also because the ignorant among them may learn from the knowledgeable.

If we were to open the door for every person and say to him: pray with the radio or pray with the loudspeaker while you are in your house, there would be no use in building mosques and the attendance of the worshippers in the mosque.

It is also forbidden because it would lead to the abandonment of the Friday prayer and prayer in congregation if this door were opened. And Allah knows best.

– Excerpted from Islamic Verdicts on the Pillars of Islam by Sheikh Muhammad Bin Salih Al-’Uthaimeen, complied and arranged by Fahd Bin Nasir Ibrahim As-Sulaiman