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The real objective of the Friday Sermon is that the Imam should offer guidance to the Muslims with reference to the current problems in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Excellence of Friday
Friday is the most excellent and distinguished day in the sight of Allah on account of six merits associated with it. Firstly, it is the day on which the Muslims the world over assemble together at contral places in their habitations for the purpose of Allah’s remembrance, which is followed by the great congregational prayer. It is for this reason that the Prophet has described Friday as the Eid day of the Muslims.
In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance, the Arabs called it the Urubah day. It began to be called Jum’ah, which is an Islamic term, after it was appointed as the day of the Muslim people’s assemblage. The Jews had fixed Saturday for ritual worship, for according to them, they had been delivered on that day by Allah from the bondage of Pharaoh. As against this, the Christians chose Sunday for the purpose, though it was neither prescribed by Prophet Jesus nor mentioned in the Gospels. The Christians believe that after crucifixion Jesus rose from the grave and went up to heaven on Sunday. In 321 A.D. the Roman Emperor declared it as a holiday by an official decree. Islam set aside both Saturday and Sunday and as a mark of distinction from the two communities, adopted Friday for the congregational service and prayer. As for the other five merits of Friday the Prophet said:
“Friday is the most excellent and distinguished day among the days of the week in the sight of Allah; so much so that it excels both ‘Id-al-Fitr day and ‘Id al-Adha day on account of the following five merits;
1. Allah created Adam on Friday,
2. He sent him to the earth on this day as his vicegerent,
3. Adam died on Friday,
4. There is a blessed hour oil Friday during which a person is granted by Allah anything lawful and good that he prays for,
5. Resurrection will take place on Friday; that is why everything in the heavens and the earth including God’s most favourite angels and mountains, rivers, etc. stand in awe of Friday”. (Ibn Majah)
The Prophet has also said:
“We came to the world last of all, but on the Day of Judgment we shall be the first to enter Paradise. The Jews and the Christians were given the Book of guidance before us and we after them; they were enjoined to revere Friday, but they differed regarding this. Allah favoured us with His grace to adhere to His Command; thus they have been left behind. The Jews revere the next day (Saturday) and the Christians the day following that (Sunday)”. (Bukhari, Muslim)
Imam Ghazali says:”Only that believer is graced with the blessings and benefits of Friday, who looks forward for it most, anxiously and eagerly; and wretched is the negligent one who is least interested in it and who does not even know in the morning which day has dawned”. (Ihya al-’ Ulum)
Friday Prayer is Obligatory
The Friday Prayer had become obligatory even before the Prophet’s migration to Madinah, though he could not enjoin it on the Muslims on account of the highly unfavourable conditions prevailing then at Makkah. However, when the Muslims started migrating to Madinah, the Prophet sent a written instruction to Hazrath Musa’b bin ‘Uinair, their leader, to the effect: “Seek nearness to Allah with two rak’ahs of Prayer on Friday when the sun has passed over the meridian”. Having received this instruction Hazrath Musa’b offered the first Friday Prayer at Madinah with twelve followers.
(Darqutni). According to Hazrath Ka’b ibn Malik and Ibn Sirin, even before this, the Ansar of Madinah had agreed mutually to observe a congregational prayer on one day in the week. For this purpose, they had selected Friday, avoiding Sabbath of the Jews and Sunday of the Christians, and Hazrath As’ad ibn Zur-rarah had led the first Friday Prayer at Biadah in Madinah with 40 followers. (Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da’ud, Ibn Majah)
On the occasion of the migration, the Prophet stayed at Quba, a suburb of Madinah, for four days. On the fifth day, which was a Friday, he left for Madinah and observed the first Friday Prayer in congregation on the way at the place of Bani Salim ibn ‘Auf. (Ibn Hisham)
Command for Friday Prayer:
Its Merits and Importance
Friday Prayer is obligatory and this is supported by the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the consensus of the Muslims. It occupies an important place among the distinctive features of Islam. A person who does not believe in the obligatory status of the Friday Prayer falls outside the pale of Islam, and the one who abandons it due to negligence and carelessness, without a genuine reason, becomes a sinner. The Qur’an says:
“0 Believers! when you hear the call to the Friday Prayer, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave your trading; this is better for you only if you know it”.(62:9)
Here ‘remembrance’ means the Friday Sermon and the congregational service, and hastening implies that one should make necessary preparations for it and attend the mosque promptly. This unusual stress throws light on the unique importance of the Friday Prayer. The other prayers can be offered without the congregation and, if missed, can be offered later also, but not so the Friday Prayer. It is conditioned upon congregation and, if missed, cannot be offered later. Therefore, as soon as the call for it is given, the believers are commanded to leave their business and trading and hasten to the mosque for the remembrance of Allah. The fact is that the remembrance of Allah for a little while and bowing and prostrating oneself before Him along with the congregation in full consciousness yield eternal benefits for man far greater in value and worth than the temporary and meagre material gains that he craves for in the world. The Prophet has said:
1. “The Friday Congregational Prayer is obligatory for every Muslim, except the slave, the woman, the child and the sick”. (Abu Da’ud)
2. “The Friday Prayer is obligatory on every person who believes in Allah and the Last Day ; the one who ignores it on account of sport or fun, or trade and business, will be ignored by Allah, Who is Pure and Self-Sufficient”. (Daraqutni)
3. “The name of the person who abandons the Friday Prayer without a genuine reason, will be recorded as a hypocrite in the Book (the Preserved Tablet), whose writings can neither be scraped out nor tampered with”. (Mishkat)
4. “I wish I should appoint someone as Imam in my place, and should go and set fire to the houses of the people who stay back at home and neglect the Friday Prayer”. (Muslim)
5. Hazrath Ibn ‘Umair and Hadrat Abu Hurairah have reported that they heard the Prophet say on the pulpit:
“People are warned against neglecting the Friday Prayer, otherwise Allah will seal their hearts, and they will be condemned to negligence (for ever)”. (Muslim)
6. “The one who hears the call to the Friday Prayer and does not turn up for it on one Friday, and then on the second Friday and the third Friday consecutively, has his heart sealed and is turned a hypocrite” (Tabarani).
The Prophet has described the merits of the Friday Prayer as:
“The one who had bath on Friday, cleaned himself fully, used oil and perfume, then went to the mosque early in the afternoon and took his place quietly with-out pushing or disturbing the people; then offered the Sunnat prayer ; then listened to the sermon peacefully, he will have all his sins committed since the previous Friday forgiven”. (Bukhari)
Pre-requisites of Friday Prayer
The Shariah has enjoined a few pre-requisites which must be fulfilled for the Friday Prayer to become essential and valid for the people. These are of two kinds:
1. Pre-requisites of Essentiality.
2. Pre-requisites of Validity.
1. Pre-requisites of Essentiality:
These are five in number:
i) Being a male: the Friday Prayer is not binding on the females.
ii) Being a free man: the Friday Prayer is not binding on the slave
iii) Being an adult sane person: the Friday Prayer is not binding on the child and the insane person.
iv) Being a resident: the Friday Prayer is not a binding on the traveller.
v) Being healthy and well: a sick or disabled a person, who cannot go to the mosque, is exempted however, if a sick or disabled person can go to the mosque, he will be under obligation to attend the prayer. A person may be disabled owing to blindness old age, etc, or, he may be prevented by a rain-storm, or danger of enemy or a harmful animal from going to the mosque.
2. Pre-requisites of Validity
If the following five pre-requisites are not fulfilled, the Friday Prayer will not be valid. If in spite of this, some people offer it, they will have to offer the Zuhr Prayer as well,
i) “Misr Jami”: A large town or habitation,
ii) Time of Zuhr Prayer,
iii) The Friday Sermon,
iv) Congregational service,
v) General call for the Prayer.
Sunnat Rak’ahs in the Friday Prayer
According to Imam Abu Hanifah, there are eight Sunnat rak’ahs in the Friday Prayer and all are Mu’akkadah (stressed): four rak’ahs before the Fard congregational prayer (with one salutation) and four after it (with one salutation). However, according to Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yusuf, Friday Prayer has ten Sunnat rak’ahs, four rak’ahs before the Fard Prayer, and six (four and two separately) after it.
Regulations Relating to the Sermon
1. The Imam has to deliver the Sermon in two parts: in the first part, he should instruct the people in religion, and exhort them to action and in the second, he should recite a few verses of the Qur’an, invoke Allah’s blessings for the Prophet and pray for forgiveness of his Companions.
2. The preacher should prepare a suitable and comprehensive Sermon for every Friday and should deal with the problems facing the Muslims in the light of the Quran and the Sunnah, and teach the people ways of solving and tackling those problems in the Islamic way. He should remind them of their religious duties and obligations and infuse into them the spirit of their faith and love of their community. It is permissible to read out a prepared sermon from the book, or deliver one of the Prophet’s Sermons. But the real object of the Friday Sermon is that the leader of the Muslims should instruct them in their religion in a natural, systematic and organised way, explain to them their obligations and responsibilities and offer them guidance in respect of the current problems in the light of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
3. The preacher after delivering the first sermon should sit down on the pulpit for so long that three short verses or the words Subhan-Allah may be recited thrice in the interval; then he should stand up and deliver the second part of the sermon. In the first sermon, he should give religious instructions in a spirited and dignified manner and exhort the audience to practice; in the second sermon he should recite some verses of the Qur’an, invoke Allah’s blessings for the Prophet and his Companions and pray for the community’s well-being.
4. The Sermon should be somewhat shorter than the prayer, for it is undesirable to make the sermon unduly long.
5. It is obligatory to listen to the sermon peacefully and with full attention, whether the listener is sitting near the Imam or away from him.
6. It is desirable that one should sit close to the Imam during the sermon and face towards him. (Mishkat)
7. When the Imam has stood up to deliver the sermon, no one should offer an individual prayer, nor should one engage in conversation, for it is forbidden to talk, offer prayer, busy oneself in meditation, eat, drink, greet or respond to greeting, or do anything which may distract one from the sermon; even giving of religious instruction or exhorting others to do good is forbidden. The Prophet has said: “The person who talks when the sermon is in progress, is like a donkey loaded with books, and the one who tells another one to be quiet, during the sermon, has lost his own Friday Prayer”. (Musnad Ahmad, Tabarani)
8. As soon as the sermon is over, Iqamah for the prayer should be pronounced as was the practice in the Prophet’s time; it is forbidden to engage in worldly business between the sermon and the prayer.
Prohibition of Trade and Business
As soon as the first call is given for the Friday Prayer, all trade and business transactions should be suspended and one should hasten away to the mosque after making necessary preparations.
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