Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed Friday Prayer with his companions, and there is no report that he didn’t sit between the two khutbahs.
In his response to the question, Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states:
Salat Al-Jumu`ah is a congregational prayer which consists of two separate sermons and two rak`ahs led by the imam. This payer has rules and regulations taken from Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and every imam should follow them.
The proper way of Friday and `Eid khutbah is that the Imam delivers the khutbah and then sits down for a short while and then give the second khutbah. This is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
`Abdullah Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to give two khutbahs and he used to sit between them. (Al-Bukhari)
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is reported to have said, “Pray as you have seen me praying.” (Al-Bukhari)
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.