Praise be to
Allaah.
It should be noted that the entire life of a Muslim
is worship of Allaah; there is no special day for worship, for the Muslim
is worshipping Allaah all the time. But there is a day which Allaah
has made special for this ummah (nation), the nation of Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and which Allaah has favoured
above all the other days of the week. That day is Friday. There are
a number of hadeeths which speak of the virtue of this day, including
the following:
It
was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “We (Muslims) are
the last (of the nations) but (we will be) the foremost on the Day of
Resurrection, although the former nations were given their scriptures
before us and we were given our after them. And this (Friday) is the
day concerning which they disputed. So Allaah guided us (to it), tomorrow
(i.e., Saturday) is for the Jews and the day after (i.e., Sunday) is
for the Christians.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Jumu’ah, 847).
It
was also narrated (by al-Bukhaari) that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best day on which
the sun rises is Friday. On this day Adam was created, on this day he
entered Paradise and on this day he was expelled from it.” (Narrated
by Muslim, al-Jumu’ah, 1410)
It was narrated that Taariq ibn Shihaab
said: “A Jewish man said to ‘Umar, ‘O Commander of the faithful, if
this aayah – ‘This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed
My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion’
[al-Maa'idah 5:3 – interpretation of the meaning] – had been revealed
to us, we would have taken that day as an ‘Eid (festival).” ‘Umar said,
“I know on which day this aayah was revealed; it was revealed on the
Day of ‘Arafaah, which was a Friday.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, Al-I’tisaam
bi’l-Kitaab wa’l-Sunnah, 6726).
Among the hadeeth which explain the
reward for this day is that which was narrated by Abu Hurayrah, which
says that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Each of the five
daily prayers and from one Jumu’ah prayer to the next is an expiation
for the time in between, so long as one does not commit any major sin.”
(al-Tahaarah, 342).
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said:
“The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘When Friday comes,
at each door of the mosque there are angels who write down the first
ones to come to the mosque. Then when the imaam sits down they close
their books and come to listen to the sermon. The one who comes early
(for Friday prayer) is like who sacrificed a camel, then those who come
after him (in order of their coming) are like one who sacrificed a cow,
then one who sacrificed a horned ram, then one who sacrificed a chicken,
then like one who offered an egg.” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Jumu’ah,
1416).
It was also narrated in a hadeeth that
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “One of the best of
your days is Friday. On it Adam was created and on it he died. On it
the Trumpet will be blown and on it all creatures will perish (prior
to the Resurrection on the Last Day). So send many blessings upon me
on that day, for your blessings will be shown to me.” They said, “How
will our blessings be shown to you when your body will have become dust?”
He said, “Allaah has forbidden the earth to consume our [Prophets’]
bodies.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i; classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, no. 695).
It was narrated in a hadeeth that the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever makes his
wife do ghusl and does ghusl himself [i.e., has intercourse] on Friday
and goes out early, walking not riding, and comes close to the imaam
and listens [to the sermon] without interrupting, will have for each
step he takes a reward equal to that of fasting and praying at night
for one year.”
(Narrated by Ahmad and al-Tirmidhi;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb,
no. 687)
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that
the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) mentioned Friday and said:
“On this day there is an hour when no Muslim slave stands and prays
and asks Allaah for something, but Allaah will give it to him,” and
he gestured with his hand to indicate that whatever he asks fo , is
as nothing to Allaah. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, al-Jumu’ah, 883)
It was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik
that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Seek the hour in
which there is hope that prayers will be answered, on Friday after ‘Asr
(mid-afternoon) prayer, until the sun goes down.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi;
classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb,
no. 700).
And Allaah knows best.