In the name of Allah the Merciful the Beneficent

Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon you.

Praise be to Allah, prayers and peace be upon His kind Messenger, family members, companions and the true followers until the Day of Judgment.

Your questions raise two issues here: the first issue is the extent of the obligatory status of the Friday prayers upon the prisoner; and the second issue is the extent of the legality of the multiple Friday prayers in one vicinity or locality. As for the first issue, it does not appear that the talk about the extent of the obligatory status of the Friday prayers upon the prisoners, but rather about the extent of its validity and acceptability from them. And the answer is that the Friday prayers are accepted from the prisoner if he is capable to perform it, because the obligation is general upon all Muslims, including the prisoners. And for the mentioning of the good and great impact that the Friday prayers have upon the prisoners` spirits, we pray to Allah the Almighty to grant them support and conformity for that. It is mentioned in the book: Tabakat Al-Shafi`iyah Al-Kubra (The Great Shafi`iyah Orders) that Imam Ahmad Ben Hanbal, may Allah have mercy upon him, used to lead the people in the prison in their prayers while he was jailed because of the temptation of the saying of the creation of the Quran, and he used to say: "I used to lead the people of the prison in their prayers while I was shackled and hand-cuffed".

Imam Al-Bouytti, may Allah have mercy upon him, while he was in the prison because of the same temptation, he used to fully shower and perfume himself and wash his clothes, then gets out to the prison`s gate when he hears the call (Azaan) for the Friday prayers, but the prison guard shuns him back and says to him: "Go back, may Allah have mercy upon you!", and Al-Bouytti would say: "O, Allah! I have answered Your caller for the prayers but they prevented me". And if he was not capable of performing it, it was dropped from him, and could pray its alternative which was the Dhuhr prayer, and this was a general ruling that comprised every incapable person, whether he was a prisoner or not, and the prisoners would perform it as much as they could, as Allah says: "So fear God as much as ye can; listen and obey; and spend in charity for the benefit of your own souls. And those saved from the covetousness of their own souls, they are the ones that achieve prosperity", (Quran, 64:16). And because this saying implies that the Friday prayers could be multiple, this leads us to the second issue which is the extent of the permissibility of the multiplicity of the Friday prayers in one vicinity or locality? And the answer to this point is that the Shari`ah scholars of Fiqh have differed upon this issue and that their views could be underlined in three main approaches:

The First: That the multiplicity is absolutely forbidden.

The Second: That it is permissible according to its need.

The Third: That it is absolutely permissible without a need. And this view is maintained by `Attaa, Ben Dawoud, Ben Hazm and Al-Shawkaani.

But, those who absolutely reject multiplicity maintain the following reasons:

-         That the prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, did not pray the Friday prayers only in one mosque, and also did the caliphs after him, and it was permissible, they would not have stopped using the mosques. Even, when Imam Ahmad was asked about the multiplicity of the Friday prayers? And he said that: "I do not know that Muslims have prayed more than one Friday prayer".

-         What Ben Hajar has transmitted about Ben `Asaker in his book: "Muqademat Tareekh Dameshq, Introduction to the History of Damascus", that Omar wrote to About Mousa and to `Amr Ben Al-`Aass, and to Sa`d Ben Abi-Waqaass that they should take a congregational mosque for the tribes, and to pray the Friday prayers in it". And they said that if the one place was not a condition for the validity of the Friday prayer for one time, then Omar would not have ordered them to bear that hardship resulting from leaving their tribes and gathering at the big congregational mosque.

-         That the saying of the Friday prayers multiplicity leads to the missing of the great purpose of the Friday prayers which is gathering of the Muslims and being congregated in one place for one purpose.

And those who maintain the saying of the absolutely permissibility of the Friday prayers multiplicity argue with the following reasons:

-         Omar`s saying: "Pray the Friday prayers wherever you are".

-         If the prevention of the Friday prayers multiplicity a condition for the validity of the Friday prayers, the prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, would have explained it to his companions, because delaying the explanation from the time of its need, is not permissible to be analogized on the permissibility of the Eid prayers. Ali used to go out on the Eid Day to the mosque and lets Abou-Mas`oud to lead the weak people in prayers, then the Friday prayer is analogized on the Eid prayers in a mosque, because both are prayers that contain congregation and sermons.

-         That in saying of performing the Friday prayers in one place is of sheer difficulty, and difficulty is rejected by the Shari`ah.

Imam Al-Shawkani said that: "This issue – the multiplicity of the Friday prayers – has been an issue among the Sheikhs of the Shari`ah schools of Fiqh and that they talked much without knowledge, and because of this, they failed to bring forth evidences to support their undocumented proofs.

However, the Friday prayers is a prayer like any other prayer, it can be performed in one time as well as the rest of the prayers are performed in one place or vicinity, even if the mosques were close to each other.

As for the prophet`s, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, leaving the setting up of two Friday prayers, because there was no need for that, and because the companions used to hear and attend his sermon, though their houses were far from the mosque, and because the prophet is the informant about Allah the Almighty and lawmaker of the rulings. But, when the need has arisen in some places, the Friday prayers were performed in many places and no one denied doing that, so it has become a consensus.

Ben Qudamah said that: "If there is no need, then it is not permissible to perform more than one Friday prayer, and if two prayers were enough, a third one is not permissible, etc. It was said to `Attaa that the people of Basrah are more than to fit in the grand mosque, he said that every group has its own mosque to pray in it the Friday prayers, and this could be a solution of praying un the grand mosque.

Ben Otheimeen, may Allah have mercy upon him, said that: "What is meant by the need here is what looks like the necessity, like when the mosque is too narrow to accommodate all the worshippers, and it could not be extended, and also, if the distances of the towns are very far and it was very difficult for the worshippers to come to the grand mosque, and like when there are problems and hostilities between the people of one vicinity and it is feared that if they congregate in one place, there would be a temptation of dispute or mutiny , and here there is no problem if there is multiplicity of the Friday prayers, but this is conditioned on the failure of amending fences between the people, but if it is possible to unite them upon one Imam it would be far much better.

It is not a need if the Imam is corrupt or is lowering his garment to the ground, because the companions prayed behind Al-Hajjajj Ben Yousef, and he was one of the most unjust and transgressor people, because he used to kill the Shari`ah scholars and the innocent people, etc.

May be the last view is the nearest to be correct and the need is the same as the necessity in this event because of the prison`s circumstances which are known to everyone.

The point is that the Friday prayers are valid and accepted from the prisoner if he is capable to perform them, and there is no problem in their multiplicity according to the need to. Allah knows best.