Hasten To Jummu'ah Prayers

Allah (‘azza wa jal; The Possessor of Complete Glory and Majesty) reminds us in the Glorious Qur’an: ”O believers! When the call to prayer is made on Friday, then proceed diligently to the remembrance of Allah and leave off your business. That is best for you, if only you knew.” [Surah al-Jumu’ah 62:9]

There is a great reward of going early to the Jummah Prayer before the Imam comes out to deliver the Khutbah. It is narrated from some of the Companions that the khutbah is a replacement for two rak’ahs of Zuhr prayer. All of that indicates that the khutbah is an essential condition for the Friday prayer being valid. It was narrated from Abu Hurairah, who was attributing it to the Prophet (ﷺ; peace be upon him): ”When Friday comes, at every gate of the masjid there are angels who write down the people’s names in the order in which they come, then when the imam comes out, they roll up the scrolls and listen to the khutbah. The one who comes early to the prayer is like the one who sacrifices a camel, then the one who comes after him is like the one who sacrifices a cow, then the one who comes after him is like the one who sacrifices a ram” until he mentioned a chicken and an egg.

The Prophet (ﷺ; peace be upon him) said, ”Whoever performs a thorough ritual bath on Friday, proceeds at the earliest to the mosque, sits below the Imam and listens carefully without talking, he will have a reward for each step he took a year’s worth of fasting and praying.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī]

It is reported that Ali Ibn Abu Taalib (RA) narrated: ”When Friday comes, the devils go to the markets with their flags, and involve people in their needs and prevent them from the Friday prayer.”

Ad-Daaraqutni narrated with a saheeh isnaad that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (ra) said: ”Hasten to Jumu‘ah, for verily Allah will appear to the people of Paradise every Friday when they gather at a sand hill of camphor, and their closeness to Him will be commensurate with the degree to which they hastened to Jumu‘ah in this world.”

We ask Allah to bless us with the understanding of what is stated above and bestows us with the ability to implement what we know, ameen.