Is it permissible for a woman to buy and sell during Jumu‘ah prayer?

It is permissible for a woman to buy and sell during Jumu‘ah prayer, because she is not obliged to attend the prayer. That is on condition that the one who buys from her or sells to her is someone who is also not obliged to attend Jumu‘ah prayer, such as a woman, a minor or a traveller.

Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

It is prohibited to buy and sell, and it is obligatory to attend the prayer for those who are obliged to pray Jumu‘ah. In the case of others, such as women, minors and travellers, they are not subject to this prohibition, because Allah, may He be exalted, only forbade buying and selling to those whom He commanded to attend Jumu‘ah prayer. The prohibition does not apply to those who are not required to attend, and the reason for the prohibition is made clear; it is because of what would result from buying and selling of being distracted and prevented from attending Jumu‘ah prayer, and that is not applicable in their case.

If one of the parties to the transaction is obliged to attend Jumu‘ah and the other is not, then it is haram for the one who is obliged to attend and it is disliked (makruh) for the other party, because of what it involves of helping in sin.

It may even be that it is haram because Allah says: {do not cooperate in sin and transgression} [al-Ma’idah 5:2].

Al-Mughni (2/73).

What Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said about the possibility of it being haram if there is a transaction between two people, one of whom is obliged to attend Jumu‘ah and the other is not obliged, is a strong view that carries weight, because of the apparent meaning of the verse that he quoted. It is the view of many of the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them).

Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

If two people engage in a transaction, one of whom is obliged to attend Jumu‘ah and the other is not, the other one is also sinning, because he is helping in something that is haram."(Sharh al-Muhalli ‘ala Minhaj at-Talibin  1/335).

It says in al-Mawsu‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah (9/228): If Jumu‘ah is obligatory for one of them and not the other, then the view of the majority of Hanafis and Shafa‘is is that they are both sinning, because the first one, who was obliged to attend Jumu‘ah, has committed something that is prohibited, and the other one who is not obliged to attend, helped him in that. End quote.

And Allah knows best.