How To Attend a Muslim Friday Prayer Service (Jum’ah)

As with all acts in Islam, take a quiet moment to purify your intention, affirming that you plan to attend Friday prayers for God’s sake alone.

If you are able and you have time, take a shower or bath on Friday morning, as this practice was recommended by the Prophet Muhammad, who advised his followers to keep clean.

Dress in clean, modest clothes. For men, this means no shorts. For women, this means covering the arms and legs, avoiding tight or revealing clothing, and bringing along a headscarf.

When entering the mosque or prayer area, remove your shoes. This is the moment of truth for your socks!

Enter the prayer area with your right foot first. If the mosque is segregated according to gender, women should enter the women’s area, and men should enter the men’s area.

If you are Muslim, offer two cycles of voluntary prayer, known as tahyatul masjid salah, which means literally, “the prayer to greet the mosque.”

Sit next to other congregants on the floor. Choose the available space closest to the front of the room. In other words, the front rows should be filled first, particularly because the back rows should be left open for latecomers.

Listen as a fellow congregant gives the adhan, or call to prayer. This means the Friday prayer service has begun; refrain from talking at this point.

Sit quietly and listen while the imam, or prayer leader, offers a sermon, or khutbah. The first half the khutbah is the longest, followed by a brief period when the imam will sit down and offer silent prayers. Then he will stand again to deliver the shorter final section of the sermon.

After the sermon, a man will stand to give the iqaamah, a shortened version of the call to prayer, which indicates the prayer itself is about to commence.

Stand up and move so you are standing shoulder to shoulder with the people on your left and right, forming a straight line that faces the qibla, or direction pointing to Mecca. Your shoulders, arms or feet can be lightly touching other people’s.

Perform two cycles of the ritual prayer, or salat, following along with the imam.

When the prayer is over, be sure to greet the people praying on either side of you when they are finished, either by shaking their hands and saying, “May Allah accept your prayers,” or by simply smiling.

If you wish, make a charitable contribution as you leave. Boxes for contributions are generally available near the exit.