Jum'ah

My question is regarding the state of Muslims in the West. For example, what is the fatwa on attending Jumu`ah Prayer if you work for a company in the States or the UK and you have to work on that day?

Dear scholars, as-Salamu `alaykum. Can Jumu`ah Prayer be held before the time of Zhuhr, that is, before the sun has passed its zenith? Jazakum Allah khayran.

Some say that it is a sunnat-e-muaqqadah to perform 4+4 rakat salat before and after the 2 rakat fard salat of zumma. Is it in accordance with any authentic hadith because i have'nt found any hadith in support with the matter.

As-Salaamu `Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakaatuh, Sheikh Ahmad. I was very happy reading your answers on last week’s live Fatwa. May Allah reward you for that effort! My question is about running business at the time of Friday prayer. I heard that we are not allowed to run business at this time and that there is a verse in the Qur’an about this. I would appreciate if you could tell me the Qur’anic verse and its meaning. My second point: is this applied in all cases or there are some exceptions, because it came to my mind that sometimes people need drugstores to get medication and sometimes it is urgent case that you cannot delay? I know the Qur’an is perfect and maybe I misunderstand this point. So I would appreciate if you could make this issue clear to me in some kind of detail if you have time.

Dear Sheikh! We heard recently that a Turkish imam has innovated a way to deliver the Jumu`ah khutbah (sermon). The idea is like a video conference. The man will deliver the khutbah in one mosque and it will be transmitted to about 350 mosques through the Internet. The imams of these mosques will stay in their respective mosques and waiting till the khutbah is over and then lead their people in Prayer. The man says that we can make use of state-of-the-art technology in spreading Islam. What do you think of such an idea?

If someone reaches Jumu`ah during the Tashahhud, what should he do?

Is it obligatory to bathe (perform ghusl) before going to Friday Prayer? Could you please answer in detail?