Question
If I enter the mosque on Friday during the sermon, should I pray the greeting of the mosque or sit down immediately to listen to the sermon? And if I enter while the Imam is on the pulpit giving the sermon, should I pray four rak'ahs or two?
Answer
I say, and with God's success: When the imam comes out on Friday, the people greet him, listen, and pay attention; because listening is obligatory for both the near and the far; and it is disliked to pray while the imam is delivering the sermon, due to his saying : "When the imam comes out, there is no prayer or speaking," and also from Ibn Umar , he said : "If one of you enters the mosque while the imam is on the pulpit, there is no prayer or speaking until the imam finishes," in Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir 3280, and it was deemed good in I'laa Al-Sunan 2:68. If he begins the Sunnah before the imam comes out, he should pray two rak'ahs, and if he begins in the second rak'ah, he should complete it; and if he begins the four rak'ahs before Friday, he should complete them, and God knows best.