In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful*

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with the Friday Imams in 1403 said, “Invite people not by words but by your deeds.”

In accordance with the announcement in the previous issue of the Friday Bulletin, we have the honour of hosting one of the Friday Imams and respected congregations in Europe, America, Canada and Australia from this week’s issue.

In this issue Hojjat al-Islam, Syed Hasan Abbas Rizvi, the respected Imam of Juma at Idara e Jaaferiya in London, is our guest of the week. In addition to thanking our respectable personality for participating in this interview while he is travelling, we hope that in this special interview for Friday Imams and congregational leaders, we can familiarize ourselves with his work and get to know his views as a successful Friday Imam. This interview includes five questions in which we will be able to share, with kindness and care, his good experiences with the readers of this bulletin.

Question 1 – Haj Agha. Rizvi, please introduce your Friday prayer in terms of quantity and quality.
Answer 1 – The Friday prayer of the Idara e Jaaferiya in London, Tooting Broadway, is the oldest Friday prayer, which has a history of about 44 or 45 years.
The majority of attendees of this Friday prayer are mostly Pakistanis and Indians, although there are some believers from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq who also participate. In terms of age, most of the participants are middle-aged, but the number of young people increases during holidays. The two sermons last 30 to 40 minutes and are delivered in both English and Urdu.
At this organisation, four Quran teachers conduct three-hour online classes for children from Monday to Thursday. They currently teach 48 Qur’an students, and for these courses, an annual scholastic competition is held focusing on 7 volumes of religious books. This is a summary of the introduction of Friday prayers at the Idara e Jaaferiya in London.

Question 2- As a Friday Imam, what have you done to develop the prayers so far?
Answer 2 – Nowadays, we live in a modern era, and naturally, if a Friday Prayer Imam wants to preach according to his time and place, he needs modern facilities. Some Friday prayers have these facilities, while others are in the process of development. In this opportunity, I can mention an activity like holding online classes as a new initiative for these classes, which are particularly beneficial for children who are busy with daily studies and long distances. These classes save time, increase the participation of children and even their teachers, and I can highlight this initiative as one of our actions.

Question 3 – What methods do you use to gather people for Friday prayers?
Answer 3 – Although Friday prayer is a social worship like other prayers, it has importance and advantages, and people also give more importance to it. The first feature that can attract a larger audience is being a good orator to deliver sermons effectively, meaning being a good speaker with the art of rhetoric.
Another important aspect is that the Imam should be knowledgeable and well-versed in current issues. The topics should be useful, the choice of topics should be up to date, not repetitive, and the sermons should be short and precise, considering the Friday prayer is being held on a working day. These methods can increase participation in Friday prayers.

Question 4 – What is the importance of Friday Imams?
Answer 4 – The Friday Prayer Imam holds a social, religious, and political position and can, through the Friday sermons, not only preach religion but also analyse political issues and the problems of the Islamic world through the sermons. On top of preaching and disseminating religious issues, the Friday Imam is free to deal with the social, political, economic and cultural issues of the Islamic society. It can play a significant role in raising awareness and awakening the Muslim community. The reminders and advice by the Imam of Juma can be a road map and bring honour to the Islamic society. Friday prayer is a divine mission that is entrusted to the Friday Imam. The role of Friday Imam in guiding and reforming society, enlightening and alerting Muslims to social and political conditions and commitment to obeying the law is significant and important.

Question 5 – Haj Agha. Rizvi, under what circumstances do Friday Prayer Imams come under scrutiny?
Answer 5 – The Friday Prayer Imam holds a sensitive position. In my opinion, the Imam can come under scrutiny in several instances as follows:
First, people’s view and expectations
Most people mainly pay attention to the negative points, so a negative action of Friday Imam has a negative impact on all his positive actions. Therefore, people’s looks and expectation act like a controller that easily questions the Friday Imam himself for any weakness in his behaviours and actions.
Second, Imam Juma himself
Imam Juma is a representative of a religion and therefore his mistakes cause people to distance themselves from the religion.
Therefore, to avoid creating a negative view on the part of the people, an Imam Juma must reduce the probability of error in his behavior and action to zero. Therefore, as a Friday Imam, even in my personal life, I believe that personal hygiene, from the appearance and the way of dressing to the moral foundations and the way of scholastic and practical presence in the Friday prayer, which will affect the audience, must be disciplined and see myself under the divine magnifying glass. So much so, that I can maintain the sanctity of the religion and the position of the clergy as a Friday Imam.
The third is religious awareness
A Friday Imam can be questioned from different dimensions, for example, when he allocates work for the sermon and Friday prayer, he must see how useful, authentic and documented the topics he expresses in the sermons are.

Certainly, a Friday Imam is seen as an Islamic role model, and the result of observing order and piety in all these cases can make a Friday Imam successful in his duty.
Haj Agha thank you for the time you made available to the Friday Bulletin.