12 Unique Virtues of Fridays!
The above powerful ayah clearly indicates that Allah has created everything He wanted. After creating everything, He chose and preferred some of His creation of others. This applies to people, places and also to the times He created.
Not all times of the day, week or year are the same with Allah - He prefers some over others. The Prophet (saw) urged us to expose ourselves to these blessed times where Allah casts His winds of mercy into His creation:
From these blessed times is the blessed day of Friday!
The Arabic word for Friday is Yawm al-Jumu‘ah, which literally means the ‘day of gathering or assembly’.
Prior to Islam, the Arabs used to called this day ‘al-‘Arubah’, which has the connotations of it being a nice day. It was Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy, the seventh grandfather of the Prophet (saw) who changed the name to al-Jumu‘ah, as he used to gather the Quraish, the tribe of the Prophet (saw) on a Friday, after the sun reached its zenith. Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy was firm on the religion of the Prophet Ibrahim (as), having absolute conviction in the coming of the Prophet Muhammad (saw).
Later on, the Quraish used to also ‘gather’ to listen to Qusayy ibn Kilab, known as ‘al-Mujammi’, the gatherer (the fourth grandfather of the Prophet (saw)) in Dar an-Nadwah, which he established opposite the Noble Ka‘bah.
We will now explore twelve unique virtues of Friday that makes it so special!
1) It is the original Blessed Day
The following hadith reveals that the most blessed day of the week has always been Friday:
This is due to previous nations disputing about this issue:
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'We (Muslims) are the last (to come) but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection, though the former nations were given the Scriptures before us. Then, this was their day (i.e. Friday) that was prescribed for them, but they differed about it. So Allah gave us the guidance for it (Friday) and all the other people are behind us in this respect: the Jews’ (holy day is) tomorrow and the Christians’ is the day after tomorrow'. [Bukhari and Muslim]
2) A Surah is named after Friday
Allah only mentions two days of the week in the Noble Qur'an, namely Saturday and Friday. Below is the only ayah that specifically mentions Friday by name:
Not only does Allah mention Friday, He also named an entire Surah after it, namely Chapter 62, Surah al-Jumu‘ah. This shows the great importance of this day with our Lord.
3) Allah (swt) swears by Friday
We mentioned above that a Surah is named after Friday. Now we will see below that Allah also swears by Friday in the Noble Qur'an:
With regards to the above ayah, the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'The Promised Day is the Day of Resurrection, and the one witnessed is the Day of ‘Arafah, and the witness is Friday. The sun does not rise nor set upon a day that is more virtuous than it. In it, there is an hour in which no believing worshipper makes a supplication to Allah for good, except that Allah answers it for him, and he does not seek Allah’s protection from evil, except that He protects him from it'. [Tirmidhi]
SubhanAllah, not only does Allah swear by Friday, He also singles out a specific time in it (the last hour before sunset) in which He answers all our du’as!
4) It is deeply connected to the Prophet Adam (as)
There are five significant events in the life of our great forefather, the Prophet Adam (as), that took place on Friday:
- 'Allah created Adam' [Ibn Majah]
- 'He was made to enter Paradise' [Muslim]
- 'His repentance (Tawbah) was accepted' [Abu Dawud]
- 'Allah sent down Adam to earth' [Ibn Majah]
- 'Allah caused Adam to die' [Ibn Majah]
The following hadith reveals that Allah created the Prophet Adam (as) in the last hour before sunset:
As mentioned before, this is the hour in which Allah accepts all supplications.
5) It is the best day of the week
Further to the above ahadith - which make it clear that Friday is a blessed and significant day - the Prophet (saw) actually explicitly said that Friday is the best day of the week:
SubhanAllah, when it is put into such clear terms, there is no doubt that we should be paying extra attention to our good deeds on Friday! Whether this is by reading more Qur’an, praying extra prayers, or giving Sadaqah, it’s important for us to maximise our efforts on the best day of the week.
6) It is a day of Eid
Friday is viewed by Muslims as an Eid festival each week:
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'Indeed this (day of Friday) is a day of Eid (festival), which Allah has made for the Muslims. So whoever comes to the Friday (prayer), let him take a bath, and if he has perfume then let him put some on. And upon you (I urge to use) is the tooth stick (siwak/miswak)'. [Ibn Majah]
The fact that Friday is like an Eid for us could explain why the Prophet (saw) advised us not to single out Fridays for fasting. Instead, if you want to fast on a Friday - for whatever reason - it is best to fast on Thursday or Saturday as well:
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, ‘None of you should fast on Friday, but only that he fasts before it or he fasts after it’. [Muslim]
7) Allah perfected the religion on a Friday
As we have mentioned, the significant event of our father Adam’s (as) creation took place on a Friday. However, there are many more momentous events which Friday was divinely selected for - including the perfection of Islam for this Ummah.
On the authority of Tariq ibn Shihab (ra) who said, 'A man from the Jews came to ‘Umar [ra] and said, "O Commander of the Believers, if this following verse had been revealed upon us - 'This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favours upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion' [The Noble Qur’an, 5:3] - (then) we would have taken that day as an Eid day'".
'Umar [ra] said, "I know definitely on what day this ayah was revealed; it was revealed on the Day of ‘Arafah, on a Friday"'. [Bukhari]
Islam was thus completed on a day which was 'a double Eid'. It was Friday, which is an Eid for Muslims. And it was also the Day of ‘Arafah (9th Dhul Hijjah), which is an Eid for those who are on Hajj:
8) Friday contains the Hour of Acceptance
As mentioned before, there is an incredibly special hour that occurs every Friday in which supplications are accepted:
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra) who said, 'Abu al-Qasim (the kunyah of the Prophet) (saw) said, "Indeed, there is surely a time on Friday at which no Muslim would stand, pray and beg Allah for what is good except that He would give it to him". And he indicated with his hand that (this time) is short and narrow'. [Bukhari and Muslim]
The scholars present two dominant opinions about when this blessed time is based on the following two ahadith:
- The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'It is between when the Imam sits down to when the prayer ends'. [Muslim]
- On the authority of Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah (ra) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'Friday is twelve hours in which there is no Muslim slave who asks Allah for anything except that He will give it to him, so seek it in the last hour after ‘Asr'. [Nasa’i]
The strongest opinion is that supplications are accepted in the last hour after 'Asr, i.e. the hour before sunset. This is because this is when Allah created the Prophet Adam (as). And Allah knows best.
As we keep reading these ahadith, it becomes clearer that Friday is truly a time of celebration for humankind. After all, it is the day on which we were created, the day on which Islam was perfected - and it contains the Hour of Acceptance. Every single week, when Friday arrives, we have the chance to live through this hour and ask Allah for anything we want - truly a cause for celebration and happiness!
As if this wasn’t enough cause for celebration, Friday continues to be significant for us even after we pass away, as we shall see.
9) Protection from the trial of the grave
Another profound virtue of Fridays is that, if a Muslim passes away on a Friday, they will be protected from the trial of the grave:
10) The Day of Judgement takes place on it
The Prophet (saw) said, 'The Last Hour will not take place except on Friday'. [Muslim]
We are told in another hadith that Allah’s creation fears Fridays because of this: 'There is no angel who is drawn close (to Allah), no heaven, no earth, no winds, no mountains, and no sea that does not fear Friday'. [Ibn Majah]
Sadly, this is not the case for jinn and men. 'On Friday, every beast is on the lookout from dawn to sunrise in fear of the Last Hour, but not jinn and men'. [Abu Dawud]
The following hadith provides further details about Friday's connection with the Day of Judgement:
On the authority of Aws ibn Aws (ra) who said, 'The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, "Among the most excellent of your days is Friday. On it Adam [as] was created, on it he died, on it the last trumpet will be blown and on it the shout will be made, so invoke more blessings upon me on it, for your blessings will be presented to me"'.
He (the narrator) said, 'The people said, "O Messenger of Allah, how can our blessings be presented to you while your body has decayed?" He said, "Indeed Allah, Mighty and Exalted be He, has prohibited the earth from (consuming) the bodies of Prophets"'. [Abu Dawud]
Thus, the Prophet (saw) directly advises his Ummah to increase sending blessings (Salawat) upon him on Fridays. This connects with his statement:
Interestingly, one of the names of the Day of Judgment in the Noble Qur’an is 'Yawm al-Jam’', the Day of Gathering [The Noble Qur’an, 42:7 and 64:9].
The word Jam’ itself is from the same Arabic root word for Jumu'ah, thus proving the link between Friday and Day of Judgement. Scholars deduce that Fridays - and especially the Friday prayers themselves - are a reminder and dress rehearsal for the Day of Judgment itself.
11) We will see Allah on a Friday
The greatest event and the greatest reward of Friday is undoubtedly to see Allah - as we will on the Day of Judgement:
The people of Paradise will also experience this ultimate reward of seeing Allah. Scholars say that the following two ayahs, which speak of ‘even more’ (ziyadah and mazid), are alluding to seeing Allah:
'Those who do good will have the finest reward and even more (ziyadah). Neither gloom nor disgrace will cover their faces. It is they who will be the residents of Paradise. They will be there forever'. [The Noble Qur’an, 10:26]
'There they will have whatever they desire, and with Us is even more (mazid)'. [The Noble Qur’an, 50:35]
This incredible reward is experienced by the people of Paradise on a Friday, where again they will 'gather' and due to this experience they will increase in 'beauty and loveliness':
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 'Indeed, in Paradise there is a market to which they would come every Friday. The north wind will blow and would scatter fragrance on their faces and on their clothes and would add to their beauty and loveliness, and then they would go back to their families after having an added lustre to their beauty and loveliness, and their family would say to them, "By Allah, you have been increased in beauty and loveliness after leaving us", and they would say, "By Allah, you have also increased in beauty and loveliness after us"'. [Muslim]
We sincerely pray with all our hearts that Allah (swt) showers His favour and mercy upon us all and grants us entry into His eternal Garden of Bliss where we are truly blessed to see Him every Friday. Ameen!
12) Friday is the master of all days
After reading all of the above ahadith, it will be completely unsurprising to you that the Prophet (saw) outright called Friday the master of all days. The rank of Fridays is so vast that it outweighs the virtues of other days and this even includes the days of Eid:
It is therefore undoubtedly important for us to reflect on the virtues of this day and maximise our efforts on Friday.
Conclusion
The famous Yemeni companion, Abu Hurairah (ra), mentioned that the Prophet (saw) was once asked, 'For what reason was the day called Jumu‘ah?' He said, 'Because on that day, the clay was shaped from which your father, Adam [as] was made, and on that day will be the trumpet blast (on the Day of Judgement), the Resurrection and the great seizure (of the disbelievers). And in its last three hours, there is an hour when whoever supplicates Allah in it, it will be responded to'. [Ahmad]
The above hadith beautifully summarises some of the incredibly unique virtues of the blessed day of Friday. Let us expose ourselves to the winds of mercy (Nafahat) of our Lord today!
We can start by giving some Sadaqah for Allah’s sake. Why not sponsor an orphan, give to our Water Fund, or set up a regular Sadaqah to those most in need?
We pray Allah accepts our efforts from us on this blessed Friday, ameen!
We hope this article was helpful to you! Do share it with friends and family, as the Prophet (saw) said, ‘Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like one who did it’. [Muslim]
