Jummah, virtues, role and its importance

By Imam Lavdrim Hamja – Kenosha, September 16, 2011

 
All praise is to Allah, Who guided us in the straight path and tells us in the Glorious Quran: قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ سُنَنٌ فَسِيرُوا فِي الأَرْضِ فَانْظُروا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ (137) هَذَا بَيَانٌ لِلنَّاسِ وَهُدًى وَمَوْعِظَةٌ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ (138) “There were many ways of life that have passed away before you: Travel through the earth, and see what the end of those who rejected truth was. Here is a plan statement to men, a guidance and instruction to these who fear God!” (Ali Imran: 137-138)

Peace and blessings be upon our beloved Messenger, Muhammad (a.s) who said: “A believer does not undergo twice in the same hole.”

Peace and blessings be upon his family, upon his companions and upon all of those who pursue his straight path until the Day of Judgment.

Two types of people have caused and continue to cause problems for Muslims and Islamic call. One group are those who are ignorant, they speak when they should not speak; they act upon or do that which they should not do nor act. With this they give a pretext to others to speak against Islam.

The other group is people of knowledge, who stay silent when they should speak, or they do not act where they suppose to act. This group also causes problems for Muslims and the call of Islam, for silence in most cases is an endorsement of what is said.

فهل بعد ذلك الخير من شر ؟ قال: نعم دعاة على أبواب جهنم، من أجابهم إليها قذفوه فيها، قلت: ��ا رسول الله صفهم لنا، قال هم من جلدتنا، ويتكلمون بألسنتنا

Hudhayfe (r.a) asked the Prophet (a.s): “… Will there be any evil after this good? The Prophet (a.s) answered: Yes, there will be some people calling at the gates of hell, and whoever will respond to their call, will be throw by them into the hellfire. I said: O Allah’s Apostle, will you describe them to us? He said: They will be from our own people and will speak our language.” (Buhari)

This is a bitter reality, as many other bitter realities, which today circulate throughout the muslim and the non muslim world, severely damaging and insulting Islam, the muslims and the Call of Islam, specifically of the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers in New York. In sura Kahf, 104 Quran says: “…While they thought they were doing well by their works.”

While seeing our negligence regarding the role and the importance of the Jummah, today we will speak of this great and important day, which God has made it obligatory upon even male muslim as we observe this Quranic verse where Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِي لِلصَّلاةِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“O you, who have believe! When the call is recited to prayer on Friday, hurry sincerely to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave behind the business. That is best for you, if you only knew!” (Jummah: 9)

While the Prophet (a.s) for this day of assembly, the Jummah has said:

النبي -صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-قال: (‏خَيْرُ يَوْمٍ طَلَعَتْ عَلَيْهِ الشَّمْسُ يَوْمُ الْجُمُعَةِ فِيهِ خُلِقَ ‏‏ آدَمُ ‏ ‏وَفِيهِ أُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَفِيهِ أُخْرِجَ مِنْهَ) [مسلم.

“The best day of which the sun rises is Friday. On this day Adam was created, on this day he entered Paradise, also on this day he was removed from Paradise.” (Muslim)

قـال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: (( إن من أفضل أيامكم يوم الجمعة فأكثروا علي من الصلاة فيه فإن صلاتكم معروضة)) الحديث[رواه أبو داود].

“Among your days Friday is the best day; therefore increase the number of times you wish peace upon me, since this prayer will be shown to me.” (Ebu Dawood)

(( الصلوات الخمس والجمعة إلى الجمعة كفارات لما بينهن)) [رواه مسلم].

“All the sins between five daily prayers; one Friday prayer to the next, all sins done in between are erased.” (Muslim)

In fact there are many hadiths regarding the Friday’s blessings, but which thing is most important during this day? Is it the two rakat of prayer which we pray instead of four rakats of Dhohr prayer, or the speech, khutbah which the Imam performs in this time? If in fact the importance of Jummah is only salat, we then in fact pray less rakats then the salat of Dhuhr. The importance of Jummah stands on the speech, otherwise called khutbah. Unfortunately its importance has disappeared amongst Muslims, which they have broken this day where they lose time from work and losing their life time together!

In the two authentic books, it is transmitted that the Prophet (a.s) has said:

جاء في الصحيحين عن أبي هريرة – رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : (( من اغتسل يوم الجمعة غسل الجنابة ثم راح فكأنما قرب بدنة ومن راح في الساعة الثانية فكأنما قرب بقرة ، ومن راح في الساعة الثالثة فكأنما قرب كبشاً أقرن ، ومن راح في الساعة الرابعة فكأنما قرب دجاجة ، ومن راح في الساعة الخامسة فكأنما قرب بيضة ، فإذا خرج الإمام حضرت الملائكة يستمعون الذكر    .

“Any person who takes bath on Friday then goes for the prayer early, first hour it is as if he has sacrificed a camel. And whoever goes second hour it is as if he has sacrificed a cow; and whoever goes in the third hour, than it is as if he has sacrificed a horned ram; and if he goes in the fourth hour, then it is as if he has sacrificed a hen; and whoever goes in the fifth hour, then it is as if he has offered an egg. When the Imam comes out, starts delivering the khutbah, the angels present themselves to listen to the khutbah.”

Therefore, the importances of Friday prayer stand on the observance and carefully listening the khutbah delivered by the imam, such as are angels present listening carefully the khutbah! Where is our Jammat during the time when the imam begins the speech? Are they outside or inside the prayer room? Outside performing idle and useless talk, most of the time talking nonsense, horsey and backbiting, or smoking and drinking coffee or eating donuts! Allah has made obligatory a certain thing, but the Muslims do not know how to value it nor to exploit it!

In the sura Jummah God Almighty says about the children of Israel:

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا ۚ بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّـهِ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿٥﴾

“The similarity of those who were entrusted and charged with the Torah, but did not carry it (the trust) out, is (like) that of a donkey which carries voluminous scriptures (without understanding it). Evil is the likeness of people who falsify the signs of Allah; and Allah does not guide the wrongdoers.” (Jummah: 5)

Indeed a Muslim does not deny God’s arguments, but he ignores them by not paying proper attention.
What good is a student who goes to school, but learns nothing? What benefit has a worker, who goes to work, but does not produce a single work? And what benefit has a Muslim, which goes to the Mosque on Friday, and does not profit from it? Is there a difference among these people, and the example which God has given us? May Allah protect and guide us to our best.

Many people in the world would have wished to have such an obligatory day of propagation as we Muslims have. While they know the importance of the media, they have devised and continuo to invent means and ways of different kinds, to feed its people and masses with the ideas and their ideologies which they believe. They so much worked in this direction, as the time of communism even the stones and trees, not only humans; even animals were fed with communist ideology. Perhaps may be tens of years to eradicate this ideology from the minds and hearts of people, whilst Muslims so easily are eradicated from their belief, they pretend that they believe correctly, but in fact they do not work according to that which they believe. One Muslim journalist has said, and I quote: “If you do not live the way you believe, then you’ll believe that which you live.”

Let us once again turn to some of the Prophets hadiths in connection with the virtues, role and importance of Friday, with a good wishes that hadiths to enter our heart and in our minds that they may serve to repair and correct our problems and negligence towards this important day, in which if we understand it correctly and if we implement it right, then in the midst of Muslims will shine the light of culture, civilization, development, peace, unity, tolerance, kindness and so on.

قال -‏صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ-:‏ (لَيَنْتَهِيَنَّ أَقْوَامٌ عَنْ وَدْعِهِمْ الْجُمُعَاتِ أَوْ ‏ ‏لَيَخْتِمَنَّ ‏ ‏اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ ثُمَّ لَيَكُونُنَّ مِنْ الْغَافِلِينَ) [مسلم

“Either some people stop neglected the Friday Prayers, or Allah will seal their heart and they will be among the heedless.” (Muslim)

(فِي الْجُمُعَةِ سَاعَةٌ لَا يُوَافِقُهَا عَبْدٌ مُسْلِمٌ قَائِمٌ ‏ ‏يُصَلِّي فَسَأَلَ اللَّهَ خَيْرًا إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ) [البخاري]

“Friday has a moment, in which if a Muslim asks Allah, for something good, God will give that to him.” (Buhari)

‏(‏مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَمُوتُ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ أَوْ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ إِلَّا وَقَاهُ اللَّهُ فِتْنَةَ الْقَبْرِ) [أحمد والترمذي وصححه الألباني]

“Every muslim, which dies during Friday, either during the day, or the night God, will protect him from the trials of the grave.” (Tirmidhi and Ahmed)

(( وما من ملك مقرب، ولا سماء، ولا أرض، ولا رياح، ولا جبال، ولا بحر، إلا وهن يشفقن من يوم الجمعة))[رواه أحمد وحسنه الألباني]

“There is no close angel, or heaven, earth, wind, mountain and sea, except it yearn for Friday.” (Ahmad)
Praise be to Allah, everything yearns for Friday, except men, which continuous to be stubborn, comes to Jummah without any purpose, simply just to pass time.

To take advantage of this day and kindness of God we must, when we leave our houses to make an intention that we are going to the Mosque to listen with attention the khutbah, to learn from that and try to put it into practice in our daily lives, in our families, in schools, while we are on the road and wherever we’ll might be. If we don’t come with a good intention to the Mosque, then we have lost the functioning of this day. So important is to listen to the speech with all your attention that even, touching or telling your brother next to you “be quiet” is prohibited.

Prophet (a.s) said:
إذا قلت لصاحبك يوم الجمعة أنصت والإمام يخطب فقد لغوت. البخاري.

“If you say the people next to you “hush” while the imam is giving the khutbah, you have spoken in vain” (and whoever speaks idle and vain talk you don’t have Jummah).” (Buhari)

Is idle talk allowed during prayer? No, it is not allowed. The speech or the khutbah during Jummah is like the prayer (salat) according to scholars, in which vain and useless talk is prohibited.

While us, not only we keep our phones on, but we talk on cell phones while the imam delivers the khutbah. Is our Jummah in order? May Allah forgive our mistakes!

Brothers and sisters, don’t we see all the goodness the Jummah has, in which Allah has given to His servants? Should a smart and wise man cease from that? For what we should not be cautions on this day, to come early at the Mosque if time permits us, to read Surah Kahf, to mention Allah, to send greetings to our beloved Prophet, to pray for our problems?

“O you, who have believed, do not die, except as Muslims.” “And obey Allah and His Messenger in order that you may be saved.”

O Allah! Forgive us and our brothers and do not rancor our hearts for the believing people. Amin

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