Is The Friday Prayer Valid If The Khutba Starts Before Zuhr Time?

In our masjid they start the Jummah Khutbah at 1:30 when Zhur time actually comes in at 1:40.  Is the Jummah prayer valid in this case or should we pray the Zhur salah afterwards?

Assalamu alaikum,

You should ask the organizers of the Masjid not to start Khutba before the actual time of Zuhr because according to the majority of the Fuqaha the time of Juma prayer is same as the time of Zuhr and even if they follow the hanmbali school which allows the Juma prayer before Zawal, they should cater for the needs of the majority of Muslims who do not allow before Zawal.

However, if they do not agree to this proposal you should carefully note whether the Khutba concludes before Zawal or a part of it falls after Zawal. In the first case i.e. if the Khutba concludes before Zawal the Juma prayer will not be valid according to majority of the Fuqaha.

Therefore, you should either go to another mosque to perform Juma where the Khutba and Juma prayer are delivered at its due time or participate in the prayer of your mosque with an intention to perform Nafil and then pray your Zuhr after the Juma prayer is over.

But if the Khutba continues even after Zawal then your Juma prayer in this mosque will be valid and you need not repeat the prayer.

Wassalam
[Shaykh] Muhammad Taqi Usmani .