14. Three things in this sentence are particularly noteworthy:
(1) That call to the Prayer is mentioned here.
(2) That the mention is of the call to such a Prayer as has to be performed particularly only on Fridays.
(3) That these things have not been mentioned so as to suggest that the call is to be made for the Prayer and a particular Prayer is to be performed on Friday, but the style and context clearly show that the call to the Prayer and the particular Prayer were both already being performed and practiced on Friday.
The people, however, were being negligent in that on hearing the call to the Prayer. They would not hasten to it but would remain occupied in their worldly activities and trade and business transactions. Therefore, Allah sent down this verse to make the people realize and appreciate the importance of the call and the Prayer and to exhort them to hasten to perform it as a duty. If these three things are considered deeply, they prove this absolute truth that Allah enjoined on the Prophet (peace be upon him) certain commands which were not revealed in the Quran, and these commands were also as obligatory as those revealed in the Quran itself. The call to the Prayer is the same as adhan which is being called the world over five times daily in every mosque. But neither its words have been stated anywhere in the Quran nor the method of calling the people to the Prayer has been taught. Its method was prescribed by the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Quran has only confirmed it twice, here and in Surah Al-Maidah, Ayat 58. Likewise, this particular Prayer of Friday, which the Muslims of the entire world are performing has neither been enjoined in the Quran nor its time and method of performance described anywhere. This was also prescribed by the Prophet (peace be upon him), and this verse of the Quran was revealed only to stress its importance and obligatory nature. In spite of this express argument anyone who claims that the Shariah commandments are only those which have been stated in the Quran, is not in fact a denier of the Sunnah but of the Quran itself.
Before proceeding further, let us understand a few other things also about Jumuah (the Friday congregational Prayer):
(1) Jumuah is an Islamic term. In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance the Arabs called it the Arabah day. In Islam when it was declared as a congregational day of the Muslims, it was re-named as Jumuah. Although according to the historians, Kab bin Luayy, or Qusayy bin Kilab, also had used this name for this day, for he used to hold an assembly of Quraish on this day (Fath-al-Bari), yet by this practice the ancient name did not change, and the common Arabs continued to call it the Arabah Day. The real change took place when Islam gave it this new name.
(2) Before Islam, setting aside of a day in the week for worship and regarding it as an emblem of the community was prevalent among the followers of the earlier scriptures. Among the Jews the Sabbath (Saturday) had been fixed for this purpose, because on this day Allah had delivered the children of Israel from the bondage of the Pharaoh. In order to distinguish themselves from the Jews the Christians took Sunday as their distinctive emblem. Although it had neither been enjoined by the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) nor mentioned anywhere in the Gospel, yet the Christians believe that after his death on the Cross the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) had risen from the grave on this day and ascended to heaven. On this very basis the later Christians ordained it as the day of worship, and then in 321 A.D. the Roman Empire instituted it as a holiday by decree. In order to distinguish its community from both these communities, Islam adopted Friday as the day of collective worship as against Saturday and Sunday.
(3) It is known from the tradition reported by Abdullah bin Masud and Abu Masud Ansari that the Friday congregational Prayer had been enjoined on the Prophet (peace be upon him) some time before the Hijrah in Makkah itself. But at that time he could not act on it, for in Makkah it was not possible to perform any worship collectively. Therefore, he sent a written instruction to the people who had emigrated to Al-Madinah before him that they should establish the Friday congregational Prayer there. Thus, Musab bin Umair, the leader of the earliest emigrants, offered the first Friday Prayer at Al-Madinah with 12 followers. (Tabarani, Daraqutni). Kaab bin Malik and Ibn Sirin have reported that even before this the Muslims of Al-Madinah had decided mutually, on their own initiative, that they would hold a collective service on one day in the week. For this purpose they had selected Friday as against the Sabbath of the Jews and Sunday of the Christians, and the first Friday Prayer was led by Asad bin Zurarah at the place of Bani Bayadah and 40 Muslims participated in it. (Musnad Ahmad Abu Daud, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, Abd bin Humaid, Abdur Razzaq, Baihaqi). This shows that the Islamic taste and trend at that time was itself demanding that there should be a day on which maximum number of Muslims should gather together and worship collectively. And this was also a demand of the Islam itself that it should be a day other than Saturday and Sunday so that the symbol of the Muslim community should be distinctive from the emblems of the Jewish and the Christian communities. This was a wonderful manifestation of the Islamic trends and tastes of the Prophet’s companions that many a time it so happened that even before a thing was enjoined their taste proclaimed that the spirit of Islam demanded its introduction.
(4) The establishment of the Friday congregational Prayer was one of the earliest things that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did after his emigration to Al-Madinah. After leaving Makkah he reached Quba on Monday and stayed there for four days. On the fifth day, which was a Friday, he preceded to Al-Madinah. On the way at the place of Bani Salim bin Auf, time came for the Friday Prayer and he performed the first Friday congregational Prayer at this very place. (Ibn Hisham).
(5) The time appointed by the Prophet (peace be upon him) for this Prayer was after the declining of the sun, the same time which is for the Zuhr Prayer. The written instruction that he had sent to Musab bin Umair before the hijrah was: Seek nearness to Allah by means of two rakahs of the Prayer when the sun declines after midday on Friday. (Daraqutni). This same instruction he gave orally after hijrah as well as practically led the Friday Prayer at the same time. Traditions on this Subject have been related on the authority of Anas, Salamah bin Akwa, Zubair bin al- Awwam, Sahl bin Saad, Abdullah bin Masud, Ammar bin Yasr and Bilal in the collection of Hadith, saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to perform the Friday Prayer after the declining of the sun: (Musnad Ahmad Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Nasai, Tirmidhi).
(6) This is also confirmed by his practice that on this day the Prophet (peace be upon him) led the Friday congregational Prayer instead of the Zuhr Prayer, and this Prayer consisted of two rakahs and he gave the Sermon before it. This was the only difference between the Friday Prayer and the Zuhr Prayer on other days. Umar says: According to the command enjoined by the tongue of your Prophet (peace be upon him) the traveler’s Prayer consists of two rakahs, the Fajr Prayer consists of two rakahs, and the Friday Prayer consists of two rakahs. This is the complete, not the shortened Prayer and the Friday Prayer has been shortened only because of the Sermon.
(7) The call to the Prayer that has been mentioned here implies the call that is made just before the Sermon, and not the call that is made much before the Sermon to announce that the prayer time has begun. There is a tradition in the Hadith from Saaib bin Yazid to the effect that in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) there used to be only one call that was made after the Imam (leader in Prayer) had taken his seat on the pulpit. The same practice also continued in the time of Abu Bakr and Umar. When population increased in the time of Uthman, he ordered another call to be made in the bazaar of Al- Madinah at his house, Az-Zaura. (Bukhari, Abu Daud, Nasai, Tabarani).
15. In this command remembrance implies the Friday sermon, for the first thing that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to do after the call was to deliver the sermon, and he always led the Prayer after delivering the sermon. Abu Hurairah has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The angels on Friday go on writing down the names of the people as they arrive. Then, when the Imam comes out to deliver the sermon, they stop writing the names and turn their attention to the remembrance (i.e. the sermon). (Musnad Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai). This Hadith also shows that the remembrance implies the sermon. The exhortation of the Quran itself points to the same thing. First, it says: Hasten to the remembrance of Allah; then a little below it says: Then, when the Prayer is over, disperse in the land. This shows that on Friday the order of the service is that first there is the remembrance of Allah and then the Prayer. The commentators also agree that remembrance either implies the sermon, or the sermon and the Prayer both.
Using the word dhikr-Allah for the sermon by itself gives the meaning that it should contain themes relevant to the remembrance of Allah. For instance, praising and glorifying Allah, imploring Him to bless His Messenger (peace be upon him), exhorting and instructing the audience to obey His commands and follow His Shariah, commending His pious and righteous servants, etc. On this very basis, Zamakhshari writes in al-kashshaf: Praising the wicked and tyrannical rules in the Friday Sermon, or mentioning their names and praying for them, has nothing to do with the remembrance of Allah; this would be the remembrance of Satan.
Hasten to the remembrance of Allah does not mean that one should come to the mosque running, but it means that one should make haste for it. The commentators also agree on this very meaning. Hastening, according to them means that on hearing the call one should immediately start making preparations to attend the mosque. The Hadith even forbids coming to the mosque for the Prayer running. Abu Hurairah has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: When the Prayer has begun, one should come walking to it with calm and dignity, and not running. Then, one should join in whatever remains of the Prayer, and should make up whatever he has missed independently later. In Sihah Sittah, Abu Qatadah Ansari says: Once we were offering the Prayer under the leadership of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when suddenly we heard some people coming to join the Prayer running. When the Prayer was concluded, the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked: What was the noise about. They replied; We came running for the Prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said; Don’t do that, whenever you come for the Prayer, come with calm and dignity. Join behind the Imam in whatever remains of the Prayer, and make up whatever you have missed independently. (Bukhari, Muslim). Leave off your trading also includes every other worldly activity and business which prevents one from getting ready for the Prayer with full attention and care. Buying and selling has been particularly forbidden, for commerce flourishes on Fridays. People from the surrounding areas gather together at a central place, the merchants also arrive with their merchandise, and the people become occupied in buying the necessities of daily use. The prohibition however is not restricted only to buying and selling, but it applies to all other occupations as well. And since Allah has forbidden these, jurists of Islam agree that after the call has been sounded for the Friday Prayer all forms of trade, business and worldly occupation become forbidden.
This command absolutely confirms the obligatory nature of the Friday Prayer. In the first place, the exhortation to hasten for it after one has heard the call is by itself a proof of its being obligatory. Then, the prohibition of a lawful thing like trade and business at the time of the Prayer also shows that it is obligatory in nature. Moreover, the elimination of the obligatory Zuhr Prayer on Friday and its being replaced by the Friday Prayer is a clear proof that it is obligatory in nature. For, an obligatory duty becomes eliminated only when the duty replacing it is more important. This very thing has been supported in many Ahadith in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) exhorted the Muslims in most emphatic words to attend the Friday Prayer and has declared it in clear words to be obligatory. Abdullah bin Masud has reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: I feel I should ask somebody to stand in my place to lead the Prayer, and I myself should go and set fire to the houses of the people who do not come for the Prayer. (Musnad Ahmad, Bukhari). Abu Hurairah, Abdullah bin Abbas and Abdullah bin Umar say: We heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say this in the Friday Sermon: The people should refrain from giving up the Friday Prayer; otherwise Allah will seal up hearts and they will become totally heedless. (Musnad Ahmad, Muslim, Nasai). From the traditions reported by Abu al-Jad Damri, Jabir bin Abdullah and Abdullah bin Abi Aufa from the Holy Prophet one comes to know that Allah seals up the heart of the person who abandons three Friday Prayers, one after the other, without a genuine reason and lawful excuse. Rather, in one tradition the words are to the effect: Allah turns the heart of such a one into the heart of a hypocrite. (Musnad Ahmad, Abu Daud, Nasai, Tirmidhi Ibn Majah Darimi, Hakim, Ibn Hibban, Bazzar, Tabarani in al-Kabir. Hadrat Jabir bin Abdullah says that the Prophet said: From today till Resurrection the Friday Prayer is obligatory on you. Allah will neither bless nor set right the condition of the one who abandons it disregarding it or considering it an ordinary thing. Note it well: the Prayer of such a one will be no prayer at all, his zakat will be no zakat at all, his Hajj no Hajj, his fasting no fasting, and no good done by him will be good, until he repents. Then, for the one who repents, Allah is Most Forgiving. (Ibn Majah, Bazzar). Another tradition, which is very close in meaning to this has been cited by Tabarani in Auset from Ibn Umar. Furthermore, there are many traditions in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) has declared the Friday Prayer as obligatory in clear words. Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas has related that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: The Friday Prayer is obligatory on every person who hears the call to it. (Abu Daud Daraqutni). Jabir bin Abdullah and Abu Saeed Khudri say that he said in a Sermon: Know that Allah has enjoined the Friday Prayer as a duty on you. (Baihaqi). However, He has exempted the women, children, slaves, the sick and the travelers from this duty. Hafsah has reported that the Prophet said: Attendance at the Friday Prayer is obligatory on every adult male. (Nasai). Tariq bin Shihab’s tradition contains this saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): The Friday congregational Prayer is obligatory on every Muslim except the slave, women, children and the sick. (Abu Daud, Hakim). In the tradition of Jabir bin Abdullah, his words are to the effect: Friday Prayer is obligatory on the person who believes in Allah and the Last Day unless it is a woman, or a traveler, or a slave, or a sick man. (Daraqutni, Baihaqi). On account of these very exhortations of the Quran and the Hadith the entire Ummah is agreed that the Friday congregational Prayer is of obligatory nature.