The default for the congregational Friday prayer is to remain silent and attentive, refraining from engaging in idle talk. Being attentive requires not speaking, and refraining from engaging in idle talk requires limiting movement and activity to necessity, such as expanding one’s space or moving to another row.
There are hadiths related to this matter, including:
• “Whoever performs ablution and does it well, then comes to Friday prayer, listens attentively and remains silent, will have his sins forgiven between that Friday and the next, plus an additional three days, and whoever touches pebbles has engaged in idle talk.” This hadith was narrated by Abu Hurairah and recorded by Muslim, Tirmidhi, and others.
• The hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, in the two Sahihs is narrated, “If you say to your companion, ‘Be quiet,’ on Friday while the imam is delivering the sermon, then you have engaged in idle talk.”
• And from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever speaks on Friday while the Imam is delivering the sermon, it is as if he were carrying a load of sins like a donkey carrying books, and whoever tells him to be quiet will not have a Friday prayer (reward).” [Recorded by Ahmad].
Although the negation of the Friday prayer here is a negation of perfection, not a negation of validity, as evidenced by the fact that he was not asked to repeat it, the disapproval remains.
The only exception to this is what is necessary, such as alerting an alarm to a specific danger, urgent and dire need related to Friday prayer, or an emergency that cannot be delayed.
Regarding those who greet someone they believe is unaware of the ruling, the approach differs depending on the situation. If there is sufficient friendliness between you and the person, you may refrain from responding and indicate to them to remain silent without speaking. If the person is someone who will carry offense in their heart or feel embarrassed, you may greet them without speaking and draw their attention to the sermon and the preacher with a gesture, making your action an act of education, not a rejection.
Finally, we must understand that the hadith came in the context of urging people to listen attentively and was not in the context of prohibiting speech from the beginning. There is a difference between the two considerations.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr