Assalam alaikum. My question is regarding jummah salah. Suppose the nearest masjid is far away (say 30 minute drive) and its a work day. Is it permissible to listen to a khutbah on youtube and offer two rakah salah alone? Are there more than one opinion on this matter? Jazak Allah Khair

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His Slave and Messenger.

It is not sufficient for the person who is obliged to perform the Jumu’ah prayer to listen to the Khutbah on YouTube or any other media; rather, he is obliged to go to the Masjid as Allaah says (what means): {O you who have believed, when [the Aathaan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu’ah [Friday] then proceed to the remembrance of Allaah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.} [Quran 62:9] A group of the Salaf (early scholars), including Sa’eed ibn Al-Musayyib, Sa’eed ibn Jubayr and others, interpreted {…to the remembrance of Allaah…} as meaning the Khutbah.

According to the consensus of the scholars, the Jumu’ah prayer is not valid if one prays it individually. The Fiqh Encyclopedia reads: “With regard to the Jumu’ah prayer, congregation is a condition for its validity, and it is not valid without the congregation; and this is according to the agreement of all the jurists.”

It is very important that you refer to Fatwa 88505.

Allaah Knows best.