Friday - The Chosen Day

Not every day is the same in the life of a Muslim. There are some days that are extra special because Allah has blessed those days. For example, the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah are the most blessed days of the year. Then you have other blessed days such as Ashoora, the days of Ramadan, the two Eids and many more. There is a day in the week that is more blessed compared to other 6 days. What day is that? It is Yawm ul Jumu’ah or Friday.  

Allah has blessed Friday more than the other 6 days. Where is the evidence to say that Friday is more blessed? The Prophet ﷺ said,“The best day the sun has risen is the day of Friday” [Muslim].  

So, the best day is Friday. It is a day of hope, mercy and a day of blessing. I know in this country, just like so many others, Friday is a normal school day but in other countries Friday is actually a day off. Why? So that people can worship Allah more, by coming to Jumu’ah early, reciting Surah Kahf, doing extra durood and having nice food just like we do on the two Eid days. 

There is a hadith that summarises why Friday is an important day. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,“The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. Adam was created on Friday and on it he entered Paradise and on it he was expelled from therein. The Hour will not be established but on Friday” [Muslim].  

This hadith gives 4 reasons why Friday is important;  

1) It is the day Adam was born – Subhanallah, Friday is the day when the first man on earth was born. When our father Adam was born, all the angels prostrated to him out of obedience to Allah and respect for Adam. So, brothers, Friday is a day when our race started and therefore Friday should remind ourselves about our beginning. On a Friday we should remember Allah even more because he created us on that day.  

2) Friday is a day Adam entered Paradise – Subhanallah, as a minimum, every Friday we should realign our focus for Paradise. That is the day our great grandfather Adam entered paradise, so would it make sense for us to do things that will lead us to Hell? Of course not. Friday should be a day we do additional acts of worship in order to get closer to Paradise and achieve the higher levels.  

3) Friday is also the day Adam was expelled from Paradise – we should remember how humble Adam was when he was expelled. Adam made a famous dua in which he asked Allah for forgiveness for his mistake.
  قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ  
They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers" [7:23]. 

So, Friday should be a day when we own up to our mistakes and ask Allah to forgive us for our shortcomings.  

Friday is also the last day of the earth - it would be the last day for humans and Jinns on Earth; everything will come to an end on a Friday. This reason alone should be a strong reason behind doing as much good deeds as we can on a Friday.   

So just to repeat the hadith, The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. Adam was created on Friday and on it he entered Paradise and on it he was expelled from therein. The Hour will not be established but on Friday”. [Muslim] 

In order to help us understand further the importance of Friday, a scholar called Ibn Qayyim compared Friday to Ramadan; he said, Friday is a day of worship and it is like Ramadan amongst the other months. So just like Ramadan is more special compared to the other 11 months, Friday is more special compared to the other 6 days. Ibn Qayyim carried on by saying, the last hour on a Friday is like Laylatul Qadr. So just like we prepare for Laylatul Qadr, due to knowing its value and significance, we should also prepare for the last hour of Friday.  

Now that we know some of the reasons why Friday is the most important day of the week, you might ask the question, what are some of the actions we can do on Fridays?  

My recommendation, for students in a school or college, is to do a minimum of three to four easy good deeds every Friday:  

Make specific preparation for Salatul Jumu’ah.  

Allah says,  
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا نُودِىَ لِلصَّلَوٰةِ مِن يَوْمِ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ فَٱسْعَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ 
“Oh, you who have believed, when the call for the prayer on Friday is made, then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew.” [62:9] 

So here Allah is saying be prepared for the Friday prayer and when the call is given, you actually need to be prepared to leave things in order to attend. So for us, preparation for Jumu’ah starts off with having a shower in the morning before coming to school, wearing your best clothes (so maybe a clean shirt, new socks), doing wudu during break time, having lunch early and quickly. Your behaviour during the lesson before lunch should be good so then your teachers do not keep you behind during lunch which would mean you go late for Jumu’ah. Preparing for Jumu’ah requires mental and physical preparation, but remember, as we said before, the reward behind all of this is Paradise and Friday is a day Adam entered Paradise.  

Make specific dua before Maghrib on Friday - we mentioned how Ibn Qayyim said the last hour on a Friday is very important and is like Laylatul Qadr. Your duas are more likely to be accepted during the last hour. So, every Friday, we need to allocate just few minutes - make dua for yourself; Oh Allah, I am finding learning challenging, so give me the ability to memorise faster. Oh Allah, make me successful in this life and in the hereafter. Oh Allah, have mercy on my parents. Oh Allah, protect my Muslim brothers and sisters around the world. You can make whatever dua you want and in English.   

Send salutations upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ – it could be as simple as اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدِ or some of the long ones.  

Recite the first 10 verses of chapter 18, Surah Kahf. We will discuss the significance of this another day. But we can recite it before we come to school, during break or lunch or after school. The 10 verses only takes 1-2 minutes and if you cannot recite it then start by listening to any reciter from YouTube.  

So just to conclude, Friday is the most important day of the week and we Muslims should treat it well. We should make every effort to come on time for Jumu’ah prayer and do other specific good deeds like making dua, durood and reciting the first 10 verses of surah Kahf.   

May Allah give us the tawfeeq to give Friday is rightful importance and may Allah accept our good deeds and give us the ability to do more. Ameen.