Some characteristics of Friday

Some characteristics of Friday

Translated by Alamgeer Usmani.

Respected people:

The Almighty has given excellence some of His creatures over others by choosing them and conferring honor and respect upon them:

﴿ وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَاء وَيَخْتَارُ ﴾ [ِالقصص:٢٨]

“Your Lord creates what He wills and chooses”.

So, Allah the Almighty gave excellence to the messengers among human beings, and gave excellence to Gabriel, Michael and Israfil among angels, and among the days, Allah the Almighty has given excellence to this Friday, as He made it a season for His bounties and blessings, and a business firm for His friends and chosen servants, who take advantage of it with what draws them close to His mercy and pleasure. This great day has virtues, characteristics, and privileges, which are not found in other days. It is a generous season that repeats in every seven days.

Ibn Al-Qayyim mentioned in Zadul-Ma’ad: thirty-three characteristics of Friday.

We will know, today, some of its characteristics:

Among the virtues and characteristics of this day is what Muslim narrated in his Sahih on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: 'The best day on which the sun rises, is Friday. On this day, Adam, peace be upon him, was created, on this day he was admitted to Paradise, and on this day, he was taken out of it. And the last hour will take place on no day other than Friday”.

Among its characteristics is that the reciting Surah Al-Sajdah and Surah Al-Insan is the sunnah in the Fjr salah on Friday.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said, quoting from the Sheikh of Islam Ibn Taymiyym: In explaining the wisdom of reciting these surahs in Fajr and Asr salah on Friday: “These both the surahs contained what was and what will be on its day, for, they included the creation of Adam, the remembrance of the return, and the resurrection of servants, and this all will happen on Friday. So, in recitation of these surah on this day is a reminder to the ummah of what was in it and what will be on Friday”.

The advantage of this reminder is the preparation and strengthening the soul for work and obedience.

On Friday, there will be the end of life and the world on the face of the earth, and the Hour will be established, as the authentic hadith passed us above, “The Hour will not come except on Friday.”

And Allah the Almighty singled out this nation for this day, and the nations before us had strayed from it.

In Sahih Muslim: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: It was Friday from which Allah diverted those who were before us. For the Jews (the day set aside for prayer) was Sabt (Saturday), and for the Christians it was Sunday. And Allah turned towards us and guided us to Friday (as the day of prayer) for us. In fact, He (Allah) made Friday, Saturday and Sunday (as days of prayer). In this order would they (Jews and Christians) come after us on the Day of Resurrection. We are the last of (the Ummahs) among the people in this world and the first among the created to be judged on the Day of Resurrection. In one narration it is: to be judged among them". Bukhari narrated it in the same wording.

Among the characteristics is: the legality (being sunnah) of reciting Surah Al-Kahf on Friday or its night, according to Abu Saeed Al-Khudri, in a chain of transmission which is traceable to the Prophet: “Whoever reads Surah Al-Kahf on Friday night, a light will be lit for him between him and the ancient house.” Narrated by Al-Darimi and authenticated by Al-Albani.

And according to Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Hakim in a chain of transmission traceable to the Prophet, “Whoever reads Surah Al-Kahf on Friday, a light will be lit before him between the two Fridays.” Al-Albani authenticated it.

One of the characteristics of Friday is that we must send blessings abundantly upon Messenger of Allah on this day and night. May Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him.

In the Sunnan of Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah, it was narrated and authenticated by al-Albani: Among the most excellent of your days is Friday; so, invoke many blessings on me on that day, for your blessing will be submitted to me. They (the Companions) asked: Messenger of Allah, how can our blessings be submitted to you, when your body has decayed? He (ﷺ) said: Allah has prohibited the earth from consuming the bodies of Prophets.

Al-Bayhaqi narrated on the authority of Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, That the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Invoke many blessings on me on Friday and Friday night”.

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said, explaining the wisdom of that: (The Messenger of Allah is the master of whole mankind, and Friday is the master of all days. So, sending blessing on this day has a special feature which no other day has.

It has one another wisdom: that every good what his ummah attained in this world and in the hereafter, it attained only at his hand, so Allah has combined for his ummah the goodness of this world and the hereafter. so, the greatest honor is to attain this goodness, and this is achieved on Friday. Because, in this day, Almighty will send people to their destinations and palaces in Paradise, and it will be the day of more for them when they will enter Paradise, and it is a day of feast for them in this world, and a day in which Almighty helps them by accepting their requests and fulfilling their needs, and does not drive back their questions.

All this happens, because, they have known prophet Muhammed PBUH and they attained it because of him and they attained it at his hand. It is the little thanks, praise and the performance of a few of the right of prophet that we invoke blessings upon him on this day and night.

May Allah bless you and me in the Sunnah and the Qur’an, and benefit us with the clear guidance of them, and ask Allah’s forgiveness, for, He is the most Forgiving.

second sermon

May the auspicious, blessed and abundance praise be to Allah, and may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon His faithful Messenger, all his family and companions.

Afterwards, O honorable people,

One of the characteristics of this day is that there is an hour on this day in which supplications are answered: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said while talking about the merits of Friday, "There is a time on Friday at which a Muslim, while he (or she) is performing Salat and is supplicating, will be granted whatever he (or she) is supplicating for." And he (ﷺ) pointed with his hand to indicate that this period of time is very short. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

The scholars differed as to determining the hour of the answer on Friday. There are two strongest sayings: the first saying is that it is the hour between the second Friday azan and the end of the prayer. They, in this regard, cited the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, may God be pleased with him, he said: I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say, "That time is between the time when the Imam sits down and the end of the prayer. “Narrated by Muslim, and this saying was chosen by the Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy on him.

And someone asked when one should supplicate at the time of the khateeb’s entry? Al-Uthaymeen said in an answer to him: “He should pray between the two sermons, secretly for whatever he wants from the affairs of this world and the hereafter. Like this, he should pray in the Friday prayer in prostration after saying the remembrances recorded by the Prophet PBUH for whatever he wills, and also in the tashahhud before the salaam, he should supplicate for whatever he wills. And he should pray that after supplications regarding what the command has occurred.

And the second saying is that: It is the hour that comes after the Asr salah until the sun sets, and they quoted as evidence the hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Friday is twelve hours in which there is no Muslim slave who asks Allah (SWT) for something but He will give it to him, so seek it in the last hour after 'Asr." It is recorded by Abu Dawood and al-Nasa’i, and it is authenticated by al-Nawawi and al-Albani. And they have some other evidence, and the companions Abu Hurairah and Abdullah bin Salam, may God be pleased with them, also said that. Like this, Imam Ahmad, Ibn al-Qayyim and others also adopted this saying.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz, may God have mercy on him, said: “It also came in the hadith of Jaber Bin Abdullah and Abdullah Bin Salam that it is between the Asr salah until sunsets, and it came in some hadiths that it is the last hour of Friday, and all of them are correct and do not contradict each other. The most desirable between sitting on the pulpit until the prayer is over, and after Asr salah until the sunsets, these times are the most desirable for the hour of the answer: “.

When Saeed bin Jubayr used to perform Asr Salah, he did not speak to anyone until the sunsets. So, the Muslim should use these two times to pray for the good of this world and the hereafter for himself, his parents, his family, and the Muslims, whether he is in a mosque, a house or a car or elsewhere.

And after brothers in Islam,

send peace and blessings upon Prophet Muhammad....