Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, chose Friday to be the best of
days before Him, and He singled it out for major events and great
qualities, which are the reason why Muslims are obliged to venerate
this day and take it as one oftheir Eids or festivals in which Allah
has prescribed rituals that He has not prescribed for other days.
On our website we have previously quoted a great deal of evidence
tosupport this view, whichyou can see in the answers to the
followingquestions: 9211, 12309and 13692
Secondly:
Moreover, Jumu'ah prayer has a particular virtue and great qualities
through the barakah (blessing) of this great day.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Jumu'ah prayer is singled out from among all the other obligatory
prayers for having particular characteristicsthat are not found in
other prayers, including the fact that it is offered in congregation,
has a minimum number of worshippers required in order for it to be
valid, the iqaamah is a condition of its being valid, one must not be
travelling in order for it to be obligatory, and therecitation is done
out loud.
There is an emphasis on its imortance the like of which is not
mentioned for other prayers except 'Asr prayer. In the four Sunans it
is narrated in the hadeeth of Abu'l-Ja'dad-Dumari – who was a
Companion – that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) said: "Whoever misses three Jumu'ahs out of heedlessness,
Allah will place a seal on his heart."
End quote from Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/384-385.
The Prophet's Sunnah also singles out Jumu'ah prayer by encouraging
believers to do ghusl for it and to wear perfume (for men only). It is
also strongly encouraged to come early for the prayer and there is a
great deal of reward for walking to the prayer. Concerning these
specialcharacteristics, Sa'eed ibn Mansoor narrated from Na'eem ibn
'Abdullah al-Mujammir that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased
with him) issuedinstructions that the mosque of Madinah be perfumed
with incense every Friday at midday, as was narrated by Ibn al-Qayyim
in Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/370.
Thirdly:
The main reason for venerating Friday prayeris because of the divine
decree that singled out this prayer and this day for special virtues.
This isone of the manifestations of Allah's Lordship (ruboobiyyah), as
He alone singles out for veneration whateverHe Wills of His creation
and whatever times and places He chooses. He is the One Who does
whatever He wills for reasons that He, may He be glorified, knows.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the only One Who has the
power to create and to choose from among His creation. Allah, may He
be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): "And your Lord
creates whatsoever He wills and chooses" [al-Qasas 28:68]. If you
ponder this creation, you will realize that this choosing and singling
out are proof of His Lordship and Oneness, and of the perfection of
His wisdom, knowledge and might; that He is Allah, besides Whom there
is no other god, and He has no partner who can create as He creates,
or choose as He chooses, or control as Hecontrols. This choice,
control and singling out,the effects of which are evident in this
world, are among the greatest signs of His Lordship andthe greatest
testimony to His Oneness, the perfection of His attributes and the
truthfulness of His Messengers.
End quote from Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/40-43
Al-'Allaamah Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) also stated
that this singling out and choice are indicative of the inherent
virtue of the thing chosen, for which Allah blessed this time. By His
knowledge and wisdom, Allah may grantto a certain place, time or
person that which qualifies it to be chosen by Allah and favoured
above others.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This concept may not be understood by the one who regards all
individuals, deeds, times and places as equal, and claims that there
is nothing inherent that makes one thing better than another, and that
precedence is given to some things over others for no reason. This
view is invalid for more than forty reasons that I have listed
elsewhere. It is sufficient, in order to understand the falsenessof
this view and how corrupt it is, to note that Allah, may He be
glorified and exalted, refuted this false view when He said
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And when there comes to them a sign (from Allah) they say: 'We shall
not believe until we receive the like of that which the Messengers
ofAllah had received.' Allahknows best with whom to place His Message"
[al-An'aam 6:124].
"Allah knows best with whom to place His Message" means: not everyone
is qualified or fit to convey His Message; rather the Message has
those who are suited to conveying it and it cannot befit anybut these
people; Allah knows better than you who these people are. If all
individuals were equal -- as these people claim -- there could
havebeen no argument against them in this verse.
Similarly, Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: 'Is
it these (poor believers) that Allah has favoured from amongst us?'
Does not Allah knowbest those who are grateful?"
[al-An'aam 6:53].
What is meant is: Allah knows best who will give thanks for His
blessings, so He singles them out for His bounty from among those who
will not be grateful to Him. Not everyone is fit to thank Him or to
receive His blessings andbe singled out for this honour. Those
individuals and places and so on that Allah chooses have some inherent
qualities that are not found in other people and places, and itis for
that reason that Allah chose them, gave them precedence because of
those virtues and selected them. This is His creation and His choice.
"And your Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses" [al-Qasas
28:68]. Allah does not choose anything and give it precedence except
for a reason that led to it being singled out and given precedence.
Yes, He is the One Who created this reason, as He is the One Who
created it then chose it after creating it.
End quote from Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/53-54
To sum up, all the characteristics of this great prayer are by the
grace of Allah, may He beglorified and exalted, to His slaves. He
chose it by His decree and singled it out for His bounty and
blessings, thus it attained this great importance in this worldand in
the Hereafter.
And Allah knows best.
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