Can a Bath be Taken after the First Adhaan of the Jumu'ah salaah

Q: Salaah-609: is the instruction in Surah Jumu'ah to hasten to salaah compulsory or optional? If it is compulsory, then how is it to take a bath after the first Adhaan or to change one's clothes? What about doing something else like trading, etc.? is it Makrooh Tahreemi or Makrooh Tanzeehi?

Answer: The command to hasten to salaah after the Jumu'ah Adhaan is compulsory and not an option. It is not permissible and Makrooh Tahreemi to engage in any act after the Adhaan that would hinder preparation for the Jumu'ah salaah. It is however permissible to engage in an act that falls into the category of preparation for the Jumu'ah salaah.

Ghaayatul Awtaar (Vol.1 Pg.2B0) states that it is Waajib (compulsory) to hasten for the Jumu'ah salaah and to forsake all trade even though one engages in trade as one is walking to the Masjid. The preferred opinion is that this should be after the first Adhaan even though this Adhaan was not prevalent during the time of Rasulullaah SAW. and took place during the period of Hadhrat Uthmaan RADI. Every such act that prevents a person from hastening for the Jumu'ah salaah falls into the ambit of the trade that is prohibited in the verse of the Qur'aan. Such acts are therefore Makrooh Tahreemi.

Hakeemul Ummah Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi RAH. writes that the Adhaan referred to in the verse of the Qur'aan is the Adhaan called out in front of the Khateeb, but the ruling will apply to the first Adhaan because the purpose of the Adhaan is the same.
Ma'aariful Qur'aan states that according to the consensus of the Fuqahaa, the 'trade' referred to in the verse includes every such act that prevents a person from hastening for the Jumu'ah salaah. Therefore, eating, drinking, talking and even studying a book of Deen is prohibited and only those acts lending to preparation for the Jumu'ah salaah are allowed.

Khulaasatut Tafaaseer (Vol.3 Pg.438) states that it is Waajib (compulsory) to hasten for the Jumu'ah salaah as soon as the Adhaan is heard and that cleaning oneself and getting one's clothing in order is included in this hastening. These should however not take so long that they delay in presenting oneself for the salaah.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2