THE RULING ON LOOKING AT ONE’S WATCH DURING THE KHUTBAH – SHAIKH ABDUL-MUHSIN AL-‘ABBAD

Question: Is looking at the watch, touching the beard, and scratching the skin, while the Imam is delivering the Khutbah, enter into idle speech?

Answer: “A person scratching his body when it itches does not effect [his khutbah]. What is prohibited is what busies from the Khutbah. Like that, him looking at his watch is not from idle speech. As for him taking out his watch if it is in his pocket, then fits into the category of touching the pebbles. As for him looking at his watch and it is on his hand, then there is no harm in it”

[Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood no. 139]

Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan