Jumu'ah (from jama'a, he gathered together) is literally congregation; it is the name by which the sixth day of the week is known. The verse quoted above contains an express commandment to all Muslims to leave off business of every kind to join it. The prevalent idea that Friday service can be held only in big towns or under Muslim rule has no sanction in the Holy Qur'ān, which requires all Muslims wherever they may be to join it. Hadīth makes it further clear. In the Holy Prophet's time, Friday service was held at Juwāthā, a village in Bahrain (h. 1). It was held even in a place where some Muslims had settled temporarily for management of a tract of land (h. 2). Omitting the Friday service without good reason is considered as one of the gravest sins (h. 3). Even women should try to attend the Friday service (h. 4), and also those who are journeying (h. 5), But when the inconvenience is too great, attendance is not compulsory (B. 11:13). Time for the Friday service is the same as that for the Zuhr prayer (h. 6) though on account of the larger numbers attending the service an additional adhān has become the practice (h. 7), Every Muslim must try to take bath before attending the congregation and cleanse his mouth and use scent if possible (h. 8). Two sunnahs must be said before the service is held (h. 9). The service must be preceded by a sermon which constitutes an integral part of it (hh. 10-13). The service itself consists of two rak'ahs (h. 14), in which the Holy Qur'ān is recited in a loud voice (h. 15).
1 Ibn 'Abbās said,
The first Friday service, after the Friday service in the mosque of the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him,
(B. 11:11.)
2 Yūnus said, Ruzaiq ibn Hukaim wrote to Ibn Shihāb,
What is thy opinion--should I hold the Friday service? And Ruzaiq was manager of a certain land on which be worked and there was a party of Negroes and others besides them there, and Ruzaiq was then the governor of Ailah. So Ibn Shihāb wrote, while I heard, commanding him to hold the Friday service.2
(B. 11:11)
3 Abu-l-Ja'd said, The Messenger of Allāh,
1. Juwāthā was a village in Bahrain, and Bukhārī's heading of the chapter in which this hadīth is mentioned is "Friday service in towns and villages."
2. In this case, it was not even a village where Friday service was held. There were only some workers on the field, and the manager of the land was required to look after their spiritual needs and hold a Friday service for them. Ruzaiq was governor of Ailah under Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azīz.
"Whoever omits three Friday services making light of it, Allāh sets a seal on his heart."
(AD-Msh. 4:41)
4 Ibn 'Umar said,
A wife of 'Umar used to attend the morning and 'Ishā' prayers in congregation in the mosque. It was said to her, Why dost thou go forth and thou knowest that 'Umar does not like this and is averse (to it). She said, What prevents him from prohibiting me? He said, What prevents him is the saying of the Messenger of Allāh:
"Do not prohibit the handmaids of Allāh from attending the mosques of Allāh."
(B. 11:12.)
3. Women were required to attend the 'Īd gatherings, and their presence at the Friday service is of the utmost importance for the welfare of the Muslim community; and, therefore, even if it may not be obligatory for them, they should generally attend the Friday service so far as is consistent with their duties. The words of the Holy Prophet quoted here include the Friday service along with other prayers.
6 Anas reported that
The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, used to hold the Friday service when the sun declined.
(B. 11:15)
7 Sā'ib said,
The first call on Friday, in the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, and Abu Bakr and 'Umar, was sounded when the imām ascended the pulpit; but when (the time of) 'Uthmān came and the number of people became very great, he added a third call at the Zaurā.4
(B. 11:21.)
4. The additional adhān is called the third adhān--actually it is the first--, the ordinary adhān and the iqāmah being the other two. As the hadīth shows, this adhān, delivered some time before the imām ascended the pulpit. was meant to inform the people that they should get ready for the prayer, and it was, therefore, delivered at Zaurā', a place in the market of Madīnah.
"It is incumbent on every one who has attained to puberty that he should take a bath on Friday, and that he should use the tooth-brush, and that he should use scent if he can get it."
(B. 11:3.)
9 Jābir said, A man came while the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, was delivering the sermon to the people on Friday. So he said, "Hast thou said the prayer, O such a one?" He said, No. He said, "Get up and say two rak'ahs of prayer."5
(B. 11:32.)
10 Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī reported that
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, one day ascended the pulpit
5. Two rak'ahs of prayer must be said before the service is held. Two rak'ahs are also said after the service is over, as in the Zuhr prayer.
(B. 11:27.)
11 Ibn 'Umar said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, used to deliver the sermon standing, then he sat down, then he stood up again, as you do now.7
(B. 11:26.)
12 Salmān said on the authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, "One should remain silent when the imām speaks."
(B. 11:35)
13 Anas said,
While the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, was delivering the Friday sermon, a man stood up and said, O Messenger of Allāh! Horses have perished, goats have perished; pray to Allāh that He may send us
6. The imām sits on the pulpit and a call for prayer is then sounded. He then stands up and delivers the sermon, as the next hadīth shows.
7. The Friday sermon is thus divided into two parts, the imām sitting down to take a little rest in the middle. The Holy Prophet used to take some verse of the Holy Qur'ān as his text, which he explained to the audience. The object of the sermon is to give true guidance to the congregation on the various questions of life; and it is, therefore, quite meaningless to deliver the sermon in Arabic to people who do not understand that language.
14 Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him, said:
"Whoever joins in one rak'ah of the Friday service, he should add to it another, and whoever misses both rak'ahs, he should say four (rak'ahs)," or he said, "the Zuhr."
(DQ-Msh. 4:45.)
15 Ibn 'Abbās reported on the authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allāh be on him,
He used to recite (on Friday) al-Sajdah (ch. 32) and Hal atā 'ala-l-insāni (ch. 76) in the morning prayer, and al-Jumu'ah (ch. 62) and al-Munāfiqūn (ch. 63) in the Friday service.9
(Ah. I, 340.)
8. The Friday service thus consists of two rak'ahs of prayer, and whoever misses both should say the Zuhr prayer.
9. This shows that the Holy Qur'ān was recited in a loud voice in the Friday service.