Jumu'a in a hostel

Question

About one furlong from our settlement there is a hostel, and around it there are also houses. A place of worship has been made here which is merely room-like; the prayers at their times have been held [in it] for eleven years. But this year some gentlemen object that the Friday prayer will not be valid there, because this is not in the settlement and it is not a mosque. Ninety students from different areas live in this hostel. Now please inform us whether the Friday prayer is valid there or not.

Answer

A college and a hostel are also included among the needs of the city; therefore in its legal status (hukman) that place is like the city. If the conditions of Jumu'a are present in that city, Jumu'a is valid there as well. For Jumu'a the existence of a regular mosque is not necessary: in the place that has been set up for worship, Jumu'a too will be validly performed.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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