VOLUME 2 – 228 – DELIVERING A SERMON STANDING
Jabir reported from Samura (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would stand to deliver an address, then sit.
Then He would rise again and deliver the sermon standing.
Whoever says that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to deliver the sermon while sitting, he has certainly lied. I swear by Allah; I prayed more than two thousand prayers behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. [142]
Jabir ibn Samura (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) would deliver two sermons and sit between them. [In the sermon] he would recite the Qur’an and give counsel to the congregation. [143]
EXPLANATION:
Based on this hadith, al-Shafi'i said that recitation and exhortation are conditions of the sermon. It is obligatory to say “All praise belongs to Allah,” to offer blessings upon the Prophet, and to deliver exhortation in both sermons. It is also obligatory to recite verses [of the Qur’an] in both sermons, and to make supplication for the believers in the second sermon.
According to Abu Hanifa and Malik (may Allah be pleased with them), what is essential of the sermon is an address sufficient to warrant it being called a sermon.
Verses and hadiths are recited in Arabic within the sermon. The explanatory portion is translated into the language of each nation. (‘Awn al-Ma’bud, vol. 1, p. 328)
Jabir ibn Samura (may Allah be pleased with him) related:
I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) deliver a sermon standing, then sit for a while without speaking. Abu Awana transmitted this hadith.