QUESTION

We read that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to read Soorah Qaaf as his khutbah from the mimbar, and he did this many times [1]. Is this abrogated as we have not seen anyone doing it? And if it is an abandoned Sunnah, we would like to help revive its practice. So please tell us how it should be done. Should a khateeb simply begin his khutbah with it and end with it, with nothing else? And how should it be read, like we read the Qur'aan, beautifying our voices, or should it be read like a stern admonishment?

ANSWER by Shaykh Muhammad 'Umar Baazmool, instructor at Umm Al-Quraa University in Makkah

To make Soorah Qaaf the focus and subject of one's khutbah is a Sunnah that has been abandoned. It is not abrogated, rather it is from those Sunnahs that have been abandoned by most of the khateebs these days, laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaah billaah.

So it is upon the people to bring this practice, reciting Soorah Qaaf, back into their khutbahs. What I understand is that the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to give the khutbah as Soorah Qaaf, not reciting it with the tilaawah that the Qur'aan is normally recited with, rather he used to give a khutbah with it, and it is understood that he used to refer to specific sections of the soorah and explain their meanings. With this, the admonition aspect of the khutbah is achieved.

So if the khateeb added some supplications, or salaah upon the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), then that would be something that would make the khutbah more complete, and there is nothing wrong with it, unless he clings to such a practice and believes that the khutbah is not valid without it. This would require evidence to support it, and I do not know of any evidence that proves the invalidity of the khutbah that does not have supplications or salaah upon the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) in it. But these actions have been mentioned by the scholars of Usool Al-Fiqh in their books, and we follow them as they were more knowledgeable than us regarding this.

One can not come to the conclusion that the khutbah is invalid with the absence of supplications or with the absence of salaah upon the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam). If a person begins his khutbah with Khutbah Al-Haajah, then salaah would be invoked upon the Prophet within it. So we could not say that he has not invoked salaah upon the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) during his khutbah, as he invoked salaah upon the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) within Khutbah Al-Haajah.

In conclusion, the recitation of Soorah Qaaf in the Jumu'ah khutbah is to be done as a stern admonishment, as the Messenger used to give his khutbah as if he was warning of an approaching army. [2] In this way, the meaning of the khutbah, that it is an admonishment, is fulfilled. It should be something to warn the people and strike fear into the hearts, and this is something that is not accomplished by reading the soorah with tilaawah (a beautiful recitation).

Rather he used to read it as a khutbah, mentioning selections from the soorah, and then most probably explaining their meanings in a way that would accomplish the goal of an admonition and a khutbah, in a way that the people would understand it to be an explanation to a selection of verses from the soorah.

As for someone standing up and saying, "I will give the khutbah as Soorah Qaaf," and then he gets up and recites Soorah Qaaf, beautifying his voice (with tilaawah), and then he claims to have given a khutbah, in actuality there has been no khutbah, rather he has only recited from Soorah Qaaf. That is because the intent of the khutbah is an admonition and a fierce warning, and it has a specific style. It has been narrated that the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) used to give the khutbah as if he was warning his Companions from an approaching army, saying, "They are coming upon you in the morning or in the night!" [2]

So therefore it is not appropriate to recite with tilaawah, the intent of the khutbah must be reached when one reads Soorah Qaaf, I mean it must be an admonition. He reads some of its verses normally, not with tilaawah, warning and scaring the people with them, and then he explains some of the meanings, and then he proceeds like this throughout the rest of the khutbah.

And there is nothing wrong with repeating the khutbah in this manner more than once, and Allaah knows best.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Saheeh Muslim #2009 (3/398 of Sharh An-Nawawee)

[2] Saheeh Muslim #2002 (3/392 of Sharh An-Nawawee)

SOURCE

This was translated exclusively for www.bakkah.net from a cassette recording with the knowledge and permission of the shaykh, file no. AAMB024, dated 1423/7/18.

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