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Is being occupied with dhikr and prayer upon the Prophet during the Friday sermon, which is not understood because it is not in Arabic, considered correct, or is it obligatory to listen even if the sermon is not understood?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars have differed on the ruling concerning dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and reciting the Quran for someone who does not hear or understand the khutbah (sermon). The Shafi'is and Hanbalis permit it, while the Malikis and Hanafis do not permit it, stating that listening attentively is obligatory, even if one does not understand the khutbah. The more cautious approach is to listen attentively to the khateeb (speaker) as much as possible, especially if some of the speech can be understood. The prohibition is confirmed if the dhikr or recitation causes disturbance to the worshippers. Attending the khutbah is obligatory even if it is in a language the listener does not understand, due to the general command to listen attentively.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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