Friday Prayer in the Sunnah
Ahmad Hammaad
(Sixth year, Faizan Online Academy, Okara)
Allah Almighty has created us to worship Him and taught us many ways to do this, promising us reward and His recognition (maʿrifa). The most virtuous and valuable acts of worship are those prescribed for us (farāʾiḍ). This includes the Friday prayer which has unique merits. One can deduce its virtue from the fact that an entire surah is named after it, Surah al-Jumuʿa. “Friday is the superior day,” Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه writes, “the reward of a good deed on it is multiplied by 70.”[1]
The Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم explained the excellences of this blessed day. Here are five hadith:
1. If anyone performs ablution well, comes to the Friday prayer, and listens to the sermon in silence, his sins between that time and the previous Friday will be forgiven, plus an additional three days; and the one who touches a pebble has done something futile.[2]
2. The Friday prayer is the Hajj of the poor and needy.[3]
3. When it is Friday, the angels stand at the gate of the masjid, writing the names of the worshippers as they arrive. The example of the one who enters the mosque the earliest is that of one offering a camel ˹in sacrifice˺ in the way of Allah. The one coming next is like one offering a cow, followed by the one who is compared to the one offering a ram, then the one whose example is like the one offering a chicken, and then the one who is like the one who offers an egg. When the imam sits ˹for the sermon˺ they (angels) fold their papers away and listen to the sermon.[4]
4. Without a doubt, there is a Hajj and Umrah for you every Friday. Therefore, leaving early for the Friday prayer is Hajj, and waiting for the Asr prayer after the Friday prayer is Umrah.[5]
5. Allah will decree the one who performs these five actions in a day as a denizen of Paradise:[6]
* Visiting the sick.
* Praying a funeral.
* Fasting
* Praying the Friday prayer.
* Freeing a slave.
The Friday prayer is a precious act of worship which brings Muslims together and promises them immense rewards and divine pleasure. May Allah Almighty allow us to be consistent in offering our prayers.
صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن
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