Praying Jumu‘ah in the neighbourhood mosque is better unless there is some purpose to be served by going to a more distant mosque

Question: 143905

We live in a western country, and many of the brothers in the mosque dislike the imam, because his khutbahs are too long and he reviles the people. Should we pray behind him or go to the Turkish mosque? There is no third mosque, only these two. Please advise us, may Allah reward you.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

If the imam reviles the people and causes difficulties for
them by making his khutbah too long, then there is nothing wrong with them
praying Jumu‘ah in the other mosque. Rather there is nothing wrong in the
first place with a person praying in whichever of the two mosques he
wants, but it is better if he prays in his neighbourhood mosque, unless
there are things in the Turkish mosque that are contrary to sharee‘ah,
that you have not mentioned, which made you feel reluctant to move to it.
In that case you should tell us about that.

You should advise the imam and call upon him to make the
khutbah shorter and pay attention to the congregation’s situation.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was
asked: Is it permissible for a worshipper on Friday to leave the mosque that
is in his own locality and go to another mosque that is further away,
because the khateeb there is more knowledgeable and speaks well.

He replied: It is better for the people of a neighbourhood to
pray in their own mosque, so that they can get to know one another and
create friendships among themselves, and thus encourage one another. But if
a person goes to another mosque for religious benefits, such as acquiring
knowledge or listening to a khutbah that will have more of an impact on him
and help him gain more knowledge, there is nothing wrong with that. The
Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) used to pray with the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in his mosque, because of
the virtue of the imam and the virtue of the mosque, then they would go and
pray in their local mosques, as Mu‘aadh (may Allah be pleased with him) used
to do at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) knew about that but
did not rebuke him.

End quote from Fataawa Islamiyyah.

See also the answer to question no.
13766

And Allah knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

Was this answer helpful?