Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuHu,

Imam Shafi’i stated,

والوقت الذي تجوز فيه الجمعة ما بين أن تزول الشمس إلى أن يدخل وقت العصر

“The time which is permissible to make in it the Friday prayer is what is between the sun’s passing it zenith until asr’s time enters.” (Kitab al-Umm v. 2, p. 387)

Performing the Friday prayer only after the sun passes its zenith [zawal] is the view of the majority, including Imam Shafi’i, Imam Malik, and Imam Abu Hanifa. According to Imam Ahmad and Imam Is-haq, the Friday prayer may be performed before the sun passes its zenith. (Sharh al-Muhadhdhab v. 4, p. 511; Sharh Sahih Muslim v. 6, p. 1073)

Therefore, the ruling according to the Shafi’i School is that one may only perform the Friday prayer after the sun has passed its zenith i.e. the Friday prayer’s time is the same as zuhr’s. (Mughni al-Muhtaj v. 1, p. 541)

And Allah knows best.

Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.