out for great importance?
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I want to know why Friday Prayer is important and Different then other ?.
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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 of their 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 to
support this view, which you can see in the answers to the following
questions: 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 characteristics that 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 the recitation 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 fourSunansit is
narrated in the hadeeth of Abu'l-Ja'd ad-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 fromZaad 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
special characteristics, Sa'eed ibn Mansoor narrated from Na'eem ibn
'Abdullah al-Mujammir that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased
with him) issued instructions that the mosque of Madinah be perfumed
with incense every Friday at midday, as was narrated by Ibn al-Qayyim
inZaad al-Ma'aad, 1/370.
Thirdly:
The main reason for venerating Friday prayer is because of the divine
decree that singled out this prayer and this day for special virtues.
This is one of the manifestations of Allah's Lordship (ruboobiyyah),
as He alone singles out for veneration whatever He 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 He controls. This choice,
control and singling out, the effects of which are evident in this
world, are among the greatest signs of His Lordship and the greatest
testimony to His Oneness, the perfection of His attributes and the
truthfulness of His Messengers.
End quote fromZaad 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 grant to 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 falseness of
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 of
Allah had received.' Allah knows 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 any but these
people; Allah knows better than you who these people are. If all
individuals were equal -- as these people claim -- there could have
been 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 know best 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 and be 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 it is 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 fromZaad al-Ma'aad, 1/53-54
To sum up, all the characteristics of this great prayer are by the
grace of Allah, may He be glorified 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 world and in
the Hereafter.
And Allah knows best.
* Virtues of Surah al-Jumu'ah
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Could you please tell me the importance of Surah al-Jumu'ah and is it
preferred to be read on the day of Jumu'ah like reading Surah al-Kahf
on the day of Jumu'ah.
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Praise be to Allah.
There is no particular saheeh (authentic) text which speaks of the
virtues of Surah al-Jumu'ah, rather it was narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite it in the
first rak'ah (unit) of the Jumu'ah prayer. It was narrated from Ibn
'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite al-Jumu'ah and
al-Munafiqoon in the Jumu'ah prayer. Narrated by Muslim (879).
It says in al-Saheeh wa'l-Saqeem min Fadail al-Quran al-Kareem by Amal
Sa'di (p.81): There is no saheeh report from the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the virtues of Surah
al-Jumu'ah. There are da'eef (weak) and mawdoo' (fabricated) reports
about its virtues, such as, "The one who recites Surah al-Jumu'ah will
be given hasanat (good) in reward equal to the number of those who
come to Jumu'ah and those who do not in the Muslim regions" – narrated
by al-Tha'labi in al-Kashf wa'l-Bayan (9/305), via Abu 'Asmah ibn Abi
Maryam, the well known fabricator and liar. Hence al-Manawi said in
al-Fath al-Samawi: it is mawdoo'. End quote.
But Surah al-Jumu'ah is one of the mufassal surahs (those in the
latter part of the Quran) which the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said he was favoured with above all other Books and
Prophets. It was narrated from Wathilah ibn al-Asqa' that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "I have been favoured
with al-Mufassal."
Narrated by Ahmad (4/107); classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Bidayat
al-Sool, p.59. He said: The reviewers of al-Musnad under the
supervision of al-Shaykh Shu'ayb al-Arnaoot said that its isnad (chain
of transmission) is hasan (good).
And Allah knows best.
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