Is it permissible to talk on the way to the mosque on Friday while the Imam is delivering the sermon?

Listening to the Friday sermon is obligatory, and the prohibition of speaking includes anyone who is in the mosque or on their way to it and can hear the sermon, based on the general statement of the scholar Ibn 'Uthaymeen. However, it might be understood from Ibn Baz's statement that the prohibition is specific to those who are with the worshippers. The cautious approach is to refrain from speaking in all these situations.