I..... Now.. Despite the above two hadiths, it is transmitted from the majority of the early Muslims from the Sahaba, including Umar, Uthman and Ali, and the Tabi’in that they did not deem it permissible to pray during the khutba. This was mentioned by Imam al-Nawawi in his commentary on Sahih Muslim quoting Qadi Iyad from his own commentary on Sahih Muslim, whilst Imam al-Nawawi only named ‘al-Hasan al-Basri and others’ from the early Muslims as following the Shafi’i opinion. [al-Minhaj Sharh Sahih Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, 6: 400. Dar al-Ma’rifa] In addition, not praying during the khutba was the practice of the people of Madina [‘amal ahl al-Madina] which is a mutawatir practical transmission from the Sahaba to the Tabi’in of Madina to the Tabi’ al-Tabi’in upon which Imam Malik based his school. The fact that the majority of the early community where not applying what is indicated by these hadiths does not mean that they were somehow going against the prophetic guidance. Rather it indicates that they understood from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) that one was not to pray in that time, based on sayings of the Prophet and other considerations not all of which have necessarily been transmitted to us. This is why the practice of the early community is seen as a source of law in itself as their practice was a practical transmission of knowledge, just as their teaching hadiths was an oral transmission of knowledge.
It is agreed upon that speaking is not allowed during the khutba. Among the evidences for this is Allah most high’s saying ‘When the Qur’an is recited to you then be silent and listen attentively that haply you may be shown mercy’ [7:205].
Imam al-Sawi mentions in his supercommentary on the tafsir al-Jalalayn that the Qur’anic exegetes mention four possible reasons for this verse being revealed [asbab nuzul]. Firstly that it was revealed concerning the khutba. This is the preferred opinion according to Jalaladdin al-Suyuti in the tafsir al-Jalalayn, explaining that the khutba was referred to as ‘Qur’an’ because that is what much of it comprises of. Secondly that it is a general command referring to whenever the Qur’an is recited. Thirdly, that it was revealed to stop people from speaking to each other when praying behind an imam as they used to do before speaking during the prayer was forbidden. Fourthly, that it was revealed concerning reciting the Qur’an aloud when one is praying behind the imam. [Hashiya al-Sawi ‘Ala al-Jalalayn, 2:311, Dar li Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi]. Imam al-Nasafi mentions in his tafsir that the most correct opinion is that it was revealed concerning both reciting behind the imam and speaking during the Friday khutba. [Madarik al-Tanzil wa Haqa’iq al-ta’wil, 1:628, Dar ibn Kathir]
Among the hadiths that enjoin one to silence during the khutba is the rigorously authenticated hadith from the Prophet that he said ‘If you say to the person next to you ‘Be quiet’ on Friday during the sermon then you have committed a blameworthy and rejected act (laghw)’. [Muslim]. And he also said (Allah bless him and give him peace) ‘Whoever performs the ablution and perfects his ablution then comes to the Friday prayer and listens attentively and remains silent he will be forgiven for everything between it and the other Friday with an additional three days and whoever touches pebbles has committed something rejected and blameworthy (laghw)’. [Muslim] This hadith indicates that in addition to speaking, even unnecessarily fidgeting during the khutba is impermissible as in the prayer.
The Maliki Qadi, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi, mentions in his commentary on the Jami’ of Tirmidhi that if even forbidding the evil, an otherwise obligatory act, is forbidden during the khutba, as indicated by the hadith forbidding one from saying ‘be quiet’ to another person as it prevents one from ‘listening attentively’ to the khutba, then it is a fortiori that praying the two rakats of greeting the mosque should be forbidden during the khutba as firstly it is not obligatory and secondly it takes longer and so interferes even more with the obligation of listening attentively. He also adds that it is established that if the imam has started in the obligatory prayer, a latecomer is not permitted to busy himself with praying any other sunna but must join the imam, then so too the khutba, which has the ruling of a prayer in that it takes the place of two rakats of Dhuhr and one cannot talk or fidget during it. [as quoted in Umdat al-Qari]
There are hadiths and statements from the early Muslims that clearly indicate the contrary. These include the hadith in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad that, ‘The Muslim when he performs the purificatory bath for Friday then comes to the mosque without harming anyone, if he does not find that the imam has come out [for the khutba] he prays as much as he likes and if he finds that the imam has come out, he sits, listens attentively and remains silent until the imam completes his Friday [prayer].’ Al-Haythami mentions in Majma’ al-Zawa’id that this hadith has a reliable chain of narrators. Furthermore, Al-Tabarani relates in his Mu’jam from ‘Abdullah ibn Umar that he said ‘I heard the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) say “When one of you enters the mosque and the imam is on the pulpit then there is no speech or prayer until the imam finishes”’. The chain of transmission of this particular hadith is deemed week but it has exterior considerations that strengthen it [qara’in]. Among them is that it corresponds to what ibn Abi Shayba transmits concerning ibn Umars opinion pertaining to praying during the khutba and also what was transmitted by Nawawi, as mentioned above, that it is the opinion of the majority of the Sahaba and the Tabi’in. It is a legal principle that a week hadith if it is supported by being practiced by the early community it is strengthened such that it is possible to use it to prove a case.
The incident of the man that was told to get up and pray two rakats appears to apply specifically to that particular person. They deduced this for a number of reasons: 4.1 The other versions (riwayas) of the hadith give further information of the incident not provided in the version related by Bukhari.
i. Other versions indicate that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) refrained from continuing with the khutba until he had finished praying. Daruqutni mentions this incident in his sunan from Anas ibn Malik that ‘a man entered the mosque and the Messenger of Allah was delivering the khutba, so the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to him “Stand and pray two rakats” and withheld from continuing with the khutba until he had finished praying’, and so the man was not guilty of praying during the khutba.
ii. Some versions seem to indicate that the khutba had not yet begun. Al-Nasa’i mentions this hadith under the heading ‘chapter concerning the prayer before the khutba’ from Jabir that ‘Sulaik al-Ghatafani (the man in question) came whilst the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was seated on the pulpit and Sulaik sat down before praying so the Prophet said to him “Did you pray two rakats?”, he said, “No.” The Prophet said “Stand and pray them”’. A version mentioned in Muslim’s Sahih indicates the same meaning.
iii. Other versions mention that he was a very poor man and did not have decent clothes to wear to the Friday prayer, and in some versions he had hardly any clothing, so the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) told him to stand and pray so that everybody could see his poverty and give him some charity. Versions to this effect are mentioned in the Musnad and by Ibn Hibban in his sahih, Imam al-Tahawi and Al-Nasa’i in his sunan who mentioned this version under the heading ‘urging to charity’ seeing as it was the key lesson to be gained from the incident. Of these hadiths is the one mentioned by Al-Nasa’i from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri that ‘a shabbily dressed man came on Friday and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was giving the khutba so the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said to him ‘Have you prayed?’ He said ‘No.’ [The Prophet] said ‘Pray two rak’ats’. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) then urged people to give charity [during the khutba]. They gave the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) a number of items of clothing of which two were given to the man...’[to the end of the hadith]
The various versions might seem contradictory as some indicate that the khutba had started, was paused for the man to finish praying and then continued, whilst others indicate that it had not yet started. Badr al-‘Alam al-Mirtahi in al-Badr al-Sari a supercommentary on Faid al-Bari mentions that what must have happened, joining between the various versions, is that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was seated on the pulpit about to deliver the khutba when the man walked in. Upon seeing his poverty stricken state he withheld from starting the khutba and told the man to pray so that everybody present would see him. He (Allah bless him and give him peace) waited for the man to finish and then started with the khutba in which he urged people to give in charity resulting in the man being given some items of clothing. As for the hadiths that mention that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was delivering the khutba when the man came, the reporters of those hadiths must have meant that he was in the act of delivering the khutba in that he was on the pulpit and was just about to start, and this is a figurative usage of the verb ‘he is delivering the khutba’ [yakhtubu] that the Arabic verb can be used to indicate. [al-Badr al-Sari ila Faid al-Bari, 2:341, Maktaba Haqqania]