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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books All Solutions are with the Prophet’s Progeny The Shia and the Friday Prayer The important matter which the Sunni raise and criticize the Shia for on all occasions, is the matter of neglecting and not offering the Friday Prayer.

Some of them are so excessive in their view that they consider the Shia as disbelievers for not offering the Friday Prayer, relying on a Prophet’s tradition that says: “ Whoever gives up the Friday (prayer) three times does turn his back to Islam .” They also narrate another tradition that the Prophet (S) when once was asked about someone who gave up the Friday Prayer, he said: “ He shall be in the Fire .” Regarding the truth, we say that the Shia disagree among themselves on the legality of the Friday Prayer during the age of the Occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.).

The Shia jurisprudents are of two opinions; some say it is obligatory at all times, and others say it is not obligatory unless all its conditions are available and one of its conditions is that it must be offered under the rule of a just ruler. Before I turned a Shia, I truly say that I too much approved of Sheikh al-Khalisi who offered the Friday Prayer in the Mosque of Imam al-Kadhim (a.s.) in Baghdad. Sometimes I traveled from Najaf or Karbala to participate in the Friday Prayer there.

At that time, I wondered at the courage of Sheikh Mahdi al-Khalisi[^1] who did not care for the criticism of some ulema who did not think that the Friday Prayer was obligatory. He believed it was obligatory and he offered it in the best way. I noticed at that time (in 1968 AD) the masses of people who gathered in his mosque, showing him great reverence and respect. I also wondered at those who criticized him for offering the Friday Prayer.

I said to myself, “How do these people defame an alim (scholar) who, due to his ijtihad , offers the prayer that Allah the Almighty has ordered it to be offered when He has said: O you who believe! when the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah … Qur’an 62:9 I repeated this saying before some of those people, defending Sheikh al-Khalisi and seeking for him different excuses and proofs. However, some of them revealed what was inside their hearts.

They said to me that Sheikh al-Khalisi did not recite in the azan - “ the third witness ”. I asked what “the third witness” was, and they said that it was, “ I bear witness that Ali is the saint of Allah ”.