“O
you who believe! When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the
Day of Assembly), hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and
leave off business (and traffic): That is best for you if you but
knew!” (Al-Jumu’ah 62: 10).
I
want to take the opportunity of today’s Friday sermon to answer
some questions about FRIDAY (Jumu’ah).
What
is the spiritual value of FRIDAY (Jumu’ah)
in Islam? First, this day is mentioned in the Holy
Quran:
“O you who believe! When the call
is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the Day of Assembly), hasten
earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business (and
traffic): That is best for you if you but knew!”
(Al-Jumu’ah 62: 10).
The
Muslims (men and women) are ordered to close shops and stores, to
stop any transaction or activity and to rush to the mosque to
complete the Salat-ul-Jumu’ah (Friday Prayer) when the call
of the Friday Prayer is given. In full, this includes the sermon
pronounced by the Imam before the Salat itself. This sermon is
part of the Salat-ul-Jumu’ah.
More
blessings are bestowed on believers on Friday (Jumu’ah) and
more value is given to Jumu’ah by Allah the Exalted Who
created the day and the night in perfect order. According to Ibn
Majah and Ahmad, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that Friday is
the most prominent (or leader) of days, the most important to (and
most honoured in the sight of) Allah the Exalted. It is on Friday
that Allah (swt) grants the requests of His worshiper, whatever they
may be, so long as this request is not unlawful. The Last Hour shall
be established on a Friday.
THE
IMPORTANCE OF THIS SALAT
Rush
to the prayer as soon as you hear the Azaan of the
Salat-ul-Jumu’ah. Leave everything else. Why this urgency?
What is special about this Salat-ul-Jumu’ah? Does it not
have the same importance as any other Salat? No!
Because Salat-ul-Jumu’ah has a different purpose: To gather
the Muslims, to make them sit in order, in rank in the front rows to
listen to the Khutba (sermon) which includes above all,
messages addressed to the Ummah on matters that closely
concerns it.
The
purpose of Salat-ul-Jumu’ah,
of this prayer is as follows:
Gather the adults of an
agglomeration - united - in one place, at the beginning of each week,
to learn about the lessons learned from the divine commandments and
the new decisions announced by the Imam - and especially in this
present century a Caliph-Messenger of Allah who gives you messages to
guide you in the right way and to give you God’s messages/
instructions - concerning their spiritual and temporal life and
listen to the exhortations and warnings to fulfill their duties and
to fulfill them with zeal during the coming week. This is what is
happening in some mosques around the world.
In
the sermon of the day, the leader of the prayer (Imam)
chooses a theme about society or the Ummah
and develops it so that the congregation can understand it. This is
very much appreciated by the Mussallis
(worshipers).
To
demonstrate the spiritual value of Friday, the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) said that anyone who goes to the mosque for Salat-ul-Jumu’ah
in the first hour is as if he has sacrificed a camel. By the first
hour, this means as soon as the Azan
(Call for prayer) is pronounced. He who goes thereto in the second
hour is as if he has sacrificed a cow. The one who goes at the third
hour, it’s as if he has presented a horned ram. And the one who
goes there at the fourth hour is as if he has presented a hen. He who
goes there at the fifth hour is as if he has presented an egg. When
the Imam goes to deliver his sermon, the angels are still there to
listen to the reminder - that is, the Khutba.
(Bukhari).
Anas
(ra) reports that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said about the
importance of Friday: “The angel Gabriel came to see me holding
a white mirror in his hand and said: ‘Allah (the Exalted) presents
it to you that it may be an Eid for you and your people after you.”
The Holy Prophet (pbuh): “What is there for us in it?”
He
said: “In it is Good for you! In it there is an hour if one
supplicates to his lord for good that has been allotted to him, he
will receive it, or will have a better share in the Hereafter.
If he asks for the protection of Allah of a predestined evil, Allah
will surely protect him. It is the Leader of all the days with us.”
“Why
is it so?”, asked the Holy Prophet (pbuh), to which the angel
Gabriel (as) replied: “Your heavenly Lord has taken a valley in
paradise more fragrant than musk. On the day of Friday, He descends
from His throne and appears to the inhabitants of Paradise where they
look at His affable face.”
And
he said, “The brightest day is Jumu’ah. Adam (as) was born on
a Friday. He entered paradise on a Friday. He was brought to earth on
a Friday, he was forgiven on a Friday. He died on a Friday. The last
judgment will be on a Friday ...”
Friday
(Jumu’ah) is therefore an extraordinary day because the
angels call it so. According to the words of the angel Gabriel to the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Friday is the day when the believers
could see the countenance of Allah the Exalted in Paradise.
Alhamdulillah.
To
ponder upon: One of the special features of Jumu’ah
and not the least is that it includes a time when invocations are
granted. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said on this subject:
“There is in this day a moment during which if a Muslim is in
worship (Ibadah) and asks something to Allah the Exalted, He will
grant him his request.” (Bukhari).
This
moment has not been precisely determined, as is the case with the
Night of Qadr (Decree) during the month of Ramadan. But
according to a Hadith of Muslim, it is written that the explanations
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) leads us to understand that this
precise time could be the moment between the two parts of the Friday
Sermon during which the Imam sits on the pulpit (mimbar). But,
beware, there is no unanimity on this despite the many researches
done. Even the explanations sought from certain persons who know the
teachings of Islam do not agree. Another important point about
Friday: The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) avoided fasting that day,
preferring to do it on Thursdays. In doing so, he spent most of the
time of Friday at the mosque in Ibadat.
Come
early to the mosque, sit in the front ranks, concentrate yourselves
in Zikrullah, Darood Shareef, read the Holy Quran
(preferring to read the Surah Al-Kahf before Salat-ul-Jumu’ah),
listen carefully and piously the sermon until the time of
Salat-ul-Jumu’ah; this is the duty of each one of you of the
Ummah.
A
Hadith from Bukhari records the presence of angels at the gates of
the mosque on Friday. The angels stand before the doors of the
mosques, noting down in their books the arrival of the believers in
order; when the Imam sits to begin the sermon, they fold their rolls
and come running to get a place in the first rows to listen to the
sermon of the Imam.
An
Anecdote: A man came to the congregation on a Friday
during the sermon of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). The Holy Prophet (pbuh)
said to him, “Sit down quickly. You’re disturbing others who
are came before you ...”
Is
there a weekday explicitly mentioned in the Holy Qur’an? Yes,
only one: FRIDAY or AL-JUMU’AH,
mentioned in Chapter 62 (Al-Jumu’ah) with 11 verses (except
for the first verse which is ‘Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim’).
So
before closing this sermon, I give you these advices:
Do
not waste your time especially on Fridays, going to the mosques at
the last moment, almost at a time when the faithful are lining up for
Salat. Do not waste your time staying in the back near the
Wuzu Khana (the ablution corner) chatting with friends,
especially during the sermon. Must I repeat that the Khutba
Jumu’ah is part of the Salat-ul-Jumu’ah?
Do not
sleep during the sermon. There are people who sit leaning against the
walls during the sermon, and that makes them drift into sleep, where
they even come to the stage of dreaming and snoring. As a result,
they do not benefit from Friday sermon which is full of grace and
blessing. When they sleep, they lose the essence of Jumu’ah
and do not know what has been said in the Khutba.
Whether you
understand the sermon or not (no matter what language it is
announced), you must remain silent out of respect for these pious
words...
HOW TO SPEND ONE’S TIME ON FRIDAY
So
spend most of this half-day (or the remaining half) in Ibadat
in mosques in several forms. Keep quiet by religiously listening to
the Khutba. Participate in the Salat-ul-Jumu’ah with
piety. Seek the protection of Allah the Exalted with Zikr,
Darood and Duahs. A profitable work for the faith of
the believer and rewarded here on earth but much more so in the
afterlife. Who knows, paradise may have been reserved for him.
Insha-Allah.
Recommendation
of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): Read the Darood
daily at any time, double this reading from the night of Thursday
(the beginning of Jumu’ah after the sunset of Thursday) and
that during the whole day of Friday as much as you can. Its benefit
is invaluable. According to a Hadith, the Holy Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh) recommends to his Ummah to send him the double, the
triple or as much as one can of Darood on Friday.
May
each one of us from the Ummah ask Allah the Exalted to direct
our heart towards the good and to count us among the number of those
who go week after week to the mosques, on Fridays, to accomplish the
Salat and also to to obtain the various gifts given by Allah
the Exalted to the believers who come to the mosques for Jumu’ah.
Ameen, Summa Ameen, Ya Rabbul Aalameen.
----Extracts from the Friday Sermon of 24 August 2018 (12 Dhul-Hijjah 1439 AH) delivered by Hadhrat Muhyi-ud-Din Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb (atba) of Mauritius.