55 - Friday prayer

This hadith shows that Friday Prayer is obligatory for all Muslims. The hadith
also warns against neglecting it and mentions the very severe punishment
incurred by a person who does so.
The hadith means that one of the two alternatives is certain to happen. Either
people will stop their negligence of Friday Prayer or God will seal their hearts
so that they will be unable to determine the truth and thereby join those who are
heedless. A reference to such an eventuality is given in the Qur’an:

The message of this hadith is reiterated in the hadith quoting the Prophet (peace
be upon him): ‘Whoever abandons the Friday Prayer three times, in negligence,
shall have his heart sealed by God’.
[1]

Friday Prayer is a personal duty applicable for every male Muslim who has
attained puberty.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Everyone
who has attained puberty must go to Friday Prayer; and whoever goes to join the
Friday Prayer should have had a bath’.
[2]

Implementation:

1. A Muslim who prays to God to grant him guidance on the right path does not expose himself to God’s wrath and punishment. Thus he does not deserve to have his heart sealed and become heedless of what pleases God.
2. Serious matters require that commands and prohibitions are announced in public gatherings. Hence, it was especially suitable that the warning against neglecting Friday Prayer and congregational prayers was made when the Prophet addressed the people from the platform, thereby stressing the importance of what he said. Advocates of Islam, scholars and educators should give everything its proper importance. What is suitable as admonition in a general circle is different from what is suited for Friday Prayer.
3. The style employed by an advocate of Islam or an educator should differ in
intensity so as to suit the occasion. In some cases, an implicit reference may be
adequate, in others a clear advice may be better, while in different cases gentle remonstration and perhaps some blame is suitable. However, some situations call for an angry and firm attitude.

4. When giving strong advice, it is not right to publicly name the people being warned. To do so is to worsen the situation. It may be that criticizing some wrong behaviour will lead to an even worse behaviour. In this hadith, the Prophet uses the formula, ‘some people shall stop...’, without mentioning any of them.

5. Friday Prayer is obligatory, according to the unanimous view of all scholars. God has warned the one who neglects it with various types of punishment. Everyone should beware of incurring God’s wrath and deserving His punishment.
6. Friday is the best day ever. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘The best day on which the sun has ever risen is Friday: it is the day when Adam was created, and the day on which he was settled in Heaven and the day on which he was removed from it’.[3] Every Muslim should make sure that Friday will testify for him, not against him.

7. Everyone should go early to Friday Prayer. He is strongly recommended to take a bath and put on his best clothes. God’s reward for so doing is indeed rich. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘Whoever on Friday takes a bath like the one required for [removing] a state of ceremonial impurity then goes is like one who gives a camel to charity, and whoever goes in the second period is like one who gives a cow to charity, and whoever goes in the third period is like one who gives a horned sheep to charity, and whoever goes in the fourth period is like one who gives a hen to charity, and whoever goes in the fifth period is like one who gives an egg to charity. When the imam comes out, the angels will attend, listening to God’s glorification’[4].