Friday is not like other days. The Prophet ﷺ said: « The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday » (Sahih Muslim, no. 854).
The Call of the Quran
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِن يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ
« O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on the day of Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trade. » (meaning of the verse, Al-Jumu'a 62:9)
The following verse adds: once the prayer is completed, « disperse through the land and seek the bounty of Allah » (62:10). Jumu'a fits into a working day: you stop for the prayer, then resume your affairs.
Who Must Attend
Friday prayer is an obligation for every Muslim man who is adult, healthy and resident. The Prophet ﷺ specified that it is not obligatory for the slave, the woman, the child and the sick (Sunan Abi Dawud, no. 1067); the traveler is also exempt. Those who are not required to go may still attend: their Friday prayer then replaces the Dhuhr.
Before Leaving
- The Great Washing (ghusl) : « When one of you goes to Friday prayer, let him perform ghusl » (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 877).
- Dress well and wear perfumeclean clothes.
- Leave early : arriving early at the mosque is meritorious, and it leaves time to pray and make dhikr before the sermon.
During the sermon
The sermon (khutba) is part of the Friday prayer: one listens to it in silence. "If you tell your neighbor "be quiet" while the imam is preaching, you have committed a futility" (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 934). Even reminding someone to be quiet interrupts listening: one also avoids the phone.
The Prophet ﷺ promised: whoever performs ablution, goes to the prayer, prays what is possible for him, then listens to the sermon in silence until the end and prays with the imam, his sins are forgiven until the following Friday, and three days more (Sahih Muslim, no. 857).
An answered hour
"There is an hour on Friday in which no Muslim asks Allah for something good while praying without Him granting it to him" (Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 935; Sahih Muslim, no. 852). Scholars seek it especially in the last hour before Maghrib: one multiplies supplications.
Find the time of your mosque
The Jumu'a time varies from one mosque to another. On Dalil, open My mosque The Jumu'a time and the language of the khutbah are displayed when the mosque has provided them. Do you know your mosque's time? Add it with ✍️ Contribute.