Customs Before the Friday Khutba and Handshaking After the Friday Prayer

Question

People of the Shafi‘i school live in our area. On Friday, before the khutba, the mu’adhdhin stands and recites this du‘a: [ar]إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتَهُۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ ۚ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا[/ar] “Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with peace” (Surah al-Ahzab, 33:56).

Answer

Reciting these du‘as before the Friday khutba is established neither by hadith nor by fiqh; whoever holds it to be established should produce the proof. In the comprehensive book of Hanafi fiqh “Radd al-Muhtar” (vol. 5, p. 224), fixing a time for handshaking after the prayer is described as a forbidden bid‘a and the way of the Rafidis, which must be abandoned.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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