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According to the Hanbli school, praying Jummah before the zawal time is permissible, and the following evidence supports this.
Imam Muslim narrated it from Salamah ibn al-Akwa‘ رضي الله عنهم who said: “We used to pray Jumu‘ah with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم when the sun passed its Zenith, then we would go back and try to seek shade.”
Imam al-Bukhaari also narrated from Anas ibn Maalik رضي الله عنهم that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to pray Jumu‘ah when the sun began to decline (after passing the Zenith).
From the above authentic reports and the overwhelming practice of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions رضي الله عنهم to pray Jummah after the time of Dhuhur comes in, the majority of Hanafi, Maaliki, and Shaafa‘i scholars are of the opinion that Jumu‘ah prayer cannot be offered until after the sun has passed the Zenith, which is the beginning of the time for Dhuhur prayer.
The Hanbalis are of the opinion that it is valid to pray Jumu‘ah before the sun passes its Zenith, and they quoted as evidence some hadiths and reports from the companions’ generation, the apparent meaning of which indicates that it is permissible to pray Jumu‘ah before the sun passes its Zenith.
Imam Muslim narrated from Abu Ja‘far al-Baaqir that he asked Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah: “When did the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم pray Jumu’ah?” He said: “The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used to pray, then we would go to our camels and let them rest, when the sun had passed its Zenith.”
From the above Hadith, the Hanbalis believe this indicates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prayed Jummah before the sun passed its Zenith since the companions rested their camels at the time of Zenith.
Imam Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated that Sahl ibn Sa‘d رضي الله عنهم said: “We used not to take a nap or eat lunch until after Jumu‘ah at the time of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم.”
From the above Hadith, the Hanbalis argument is that the time for lunch and the mid-day nap is before the sun passes its Zenith. They narrated from Ibn Qutaybah that he said: “It is not called lunch or mid-day nap after the sun has passed its Zenith.”
Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated in al-Musannaf from Bilaal al-‘Absi that ‘Ammaar led the people in praying Jumu‘ah, when the people were of two groups. Some of them said that the sun had passed the Zenith and some said that it had not done so.
We may reconcile between the two opinions by noting that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم used to pray Jummah prayer after the sun had passed the Zenith most of the time, but he prayed it shortly before the sun passed the Zenith on some occasions for a necessity like extreme heat.
Based on that, it is preferred to pray the Friday prayer after the sun has passed its Zenith to avoid a matter on which the scholars differ because most of the scholars say that Friday prayer must be offered after the sun has passed its Zenith.
However, if a Masjid in which the Friday prayer is held cannot accommodate all the worshippers in one shift due to limited capacity, maximum occupancy legal regulations, neighborhood parking violations, or similar reasonings that create the need to hold a second shift, offering multiple shifts of the Friday prayer including ones that occur before Dhuhr time is permissible.
