remembrance, and the term 'sermon' applies to less than what you have mentioned, evidenced by the fact that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, 'Teach me an act by which I may enter Paradise.' He said, 'If you have been brief in the sermon, you have certainly been long-winded in the question' (10). There are two narrations from Malik, similar to the two schools of thought. As for our position, it is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) interpreted the 'remembrance' through his own action, and it is therefore obligatory to refer back to his interpretation. Jabir ibn Samurah said: 'The prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was moderate, and his sermon was moderate; he would recite verses from the Quran and remind the people' (11). Jabir also said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to preach to the people, praising Allah and extolling Him as He deserves, then he would say: "Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomever He sends astray, none can guide"' (12). Ibn 'Umar said: 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to preach standing, then sit, then stand up' (13), just as they do today. As for glorification (tasbih) and declaration of God's oneness (tahlil), they are not called a sermon. What is meant by 'remembrance' is the sermon, and what they have narrated is figurative, for the question is not called a sermon. For this reason, if someone were to pose a question to those present, it would not suffice by consensus. Our companions said: 'It does not suffice in the recitation to have less than a verse, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not limit himself to less than that, and because the ruling does not attach to anything less than it, as evidenced by the prohibition of a person in a state of janabah (major ritual impurity) from reciting a verse, unlike that which is less than it.' The apparent meaning of the statement of...
(10) Narrated by Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 4/299, 6/384. (11) Narrated by Muslim, in: 'The Chapter on Shortening the Prayer and the Sermon,' from the Book of Jumu'ah. Sahih Muslim 2/591. And Abu Dawud, in: 'The Chapter on the Man Who Preaches While Leaning on a Bow,' from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/252. And Al-Tirmidhi, in: 'The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding Shortening the Sermon,' from the Chapters on Jumu'ah. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/295. And Al-Nasa'i, in: 'The Chapter on Recitation in the Second Sermon and Remembrance Therein,' from the Book of Jumu'ah, and in: 'The Chapter on Moderation in the Sermon,' and 'The Chapter on Recitation in the Second Sermon and Remembrance Therein,' from the Book of the Two 'Ids. Al-Mujtaba 3/90, 156. And Ibn Majah, in: 'The Chapter on What Has Been Reported Regarding the Sermon on the Day of Jumu'ah,' from the Book of Establishing the Prayer. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/351. And Al-Darimi, in: 'The Chapter on Shortening the Sermon,' from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/365. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 5/91, 93-95, 98, 100, 102, 106, 107. (12) Narrated by Muslim, in: 'The Chapter on Shortening the Prayer and the Sermon,' from the Book of Jumu'ah. Sahih Muslim 2/593. And Al-Nasa'i, in: 'The Chapter on How the Sermon Is Delivered,' from the Book of the Two 'Ids. Al-Mujtaba 3/153. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 3/371. (13) Cited previously on page 171.
