The Jumua'h prayer is an important part of a muslim's routine so much so that Allah dedicates an entire Surah to it. In this piece, we will look at the discussion that Allah makes in this relatively short surah with the believer so that we can appreciate the flow, beauty and importance of this Surah as well as the importance of Jumua'h prayers. The Surah is just 11 ayat so read through and please be patient, you will not regret it. in sha Allah

Ayah 1

Yusabbihu lillahi ma fee alssamawati wama fee al-ardi almaliki alquddoosi alAAazeezi alhakeemi

Everything in the heavens and earth continues to and will continue to declare the perfection of Allah, the king, the source of all purity, the ultimate authority, the Wise.

Discussion: This is not the first time in the Quran, Allah says that everything in the heavens and the earth declare His perfection, but the other ayat always use just two names of Allah at the end. The ayat of Quran where Allah is praised usually end with two attributes/names of Allah eg al ghafur al raheem or alAAazeezi alhakeemi, etc. You will find this repeated multiple times in the Quran.

This Ayah is unique, it has four names of Allah instead of two. It is already making us remember Allah more. Friday is the day of week in which we are supposed to remember Allah more. The surah is setting us in the frame of mind of remembering Allah more from the beginning. So let look at these names:

i. almaliki - The King
ii. alquddoosi - The source of all purity
iii. alAAazeezi - The ultimate authority
iv. alhakeem - The wise

Keep note of these names, we will refer to them later.

Allah tells us that everything else in the heavens and the earth understands that Allah is the king, the source of all purity, the ultimate authority, the wise.

But there are humans that are heedless,of these the most heedless were the unlettered, those that didn't even have access to books or literature. These people lived in the middle of the desert, mostly unable to read or write, How are they going to come to this reality when they don't even have access to books? Allah says he sent a messenger(Peace and blessings be upon him) amongst them.

Ayah 2

Huwa allathee baAAatha fee al-ommiyyeena rasoolan minhum yatloo AAalayhim ayatihi wayuzakkeehim wayuAAallimuhumu alkitaba waalhikmata wa-in kanoo min qablu lafee dalalin mubeenin

It is He who raised a messenger,among the unlettered, to recite His miraculous signs to them, to purify them and teach them the law and wisdom

Discussion: The messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) also have four duties

i. to recite His miraculous signs to them
ii. to purify them
iii. teach them the law
iv. teach them the wisdom

The first name of Allah mentioned is the King
The first job of the messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) is that he recites to them Allah's miraculous signs (Ayat)

In old kingdoms, when a king wants to deliver a message to parts of his territory, he sends a messenger with a message usually in a scroll, the messenger of the king goes to that territory, the people gather and he reads the message of the King to the people. So just like the people gather to listen to the message from the king, we gather on Friday to listen to the miraculous signs of our King.

Here, the messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) recites the ayat of the king to the people

The Second name of Allah mentioned is The source of all purity
The second attribute of the Messenger(Peace and blessings be upon him) is that He purifies them

How does he purify them? by reciting the miraculous signs of the king to them. The words of Allah purifies them, just listening to it and understanding it purifies them.

You can't clean your heart once and expect it is going to be clean forever, Same with your car or house... In the natural world, you can't clean something once and expect it to be clean forever. If you leave something clean for a while, dirt comes on it,

Our coming together is a recognition of Allah's kingdom, When the king calls, you show up... It is Friday prayer. When you come, to the Friday prayer, you also benefit because you get purified.

The third name of Allah mentioned is the authority
The third job of the Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) is that he teaches them the law

The law comes from the authority, Law has no value if it does not come from the authority.

The fourth name of Allah mentioned is the wise
The fourth Job of the Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) is that he teaches them the wisdom

SubhanAllah

The four names of Allah are now brought into the people's lives by the actions of the Prophet(Peace and blessings be upon him). These four attributes of Allah recognized by everything in the skies and the earth are brought to the knowledge of the unlettered by the activities of the messenger(Peace and blessings be upon him).

These four activities:

i. to recite His miraculous signs to them
ii. to purify them
iii. teach them the law
iv. teach them the wisdom

summarise the entire strategy of prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) on how to introduce God to humanity. The entire seerah can be summarised in this one ayah. The entire atrategy of how to give people Islam and make society better.

We see from the seerah of the prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) that his society was changed like no other society in the history of humanity. No society has ever changed like that society in just 23 years... Every single thing changed, economically, socially, politically, morally, what they wore, what they ate, how they used the bathroom, how they planned their day, when they wake up, when they go to sleep, what they love, what they hate... Everything changed!!

There has never been a change in society like that. One man, one book, 23 years. This ayah tells us, how he made that change happen.

This message has gotten to us in this age and time, today, we have millions of people attending Jumua'h from the small numbers at the time of the prophet every single Friday because the activities of the prophet(Peace and blessings be upon him) . Allah say in the next ayah:

Ayah 3

Waakhareena minhum lamma yalhaqoo bihim wahuwa alAAazeezu alhakeemu

to them and others yet to join them. He is the ultimate authority, the Wise:

Discussion: Here, the prophet is told, he is going to have lots of people... to the unlettered in the desert and people like us who joined later. We are a fulfillment of this ayah.

Look at the people around you in Jumua'h, you are the others that have joined to listen to the miraculous signs of the king... Look around you and remember that this is the favour of Allah. So Allah tells us in the next ayah.

Ayah 4

Thalika fadlu Allahi yu/teehi man yashao waAllahu thoo alfadli alAAatheemi

such is God’s favour that He grants it to whoever He will; God’s favour is immense.

Discussion: The fact that we are muslims is an immense favour, the fact that the job given to the prophet has gotten to us is a great favour. Our messenger is a favour upon us.

This is the first passage.. The discussion can be divided into three parts, we are going to see how it flows into each other, In sha Allah.

The second passage, Allah talks about the Jews.

Allah was just talking about us, the muslims, the people that come together and are purified by the ayat of Allah. Then Allah tells us: by the way, you are not the first nation that has been given this favour.. There have been nations before too..

This previous nation had a book too, they had a messenger (alayhi salam) who gave them a message as well, The same exact formular as highlighted before ... Allah talks about what happened to the message they were given..

Ayah 5

Mathalu allatheena hummiloo alttawrata thumma lam yahmilooha kamathali alhimari yahmilu asfaran bi/sa mathalu alqawmi allatheena kaththaboo bi-ayati Allahi waAllahu la yahdee alqawma alththalimeena

Those who were burdened with the responsibility of the Torah, but did not carry iit, are like donkeys carrying books: how base such people are who disobey God’s revelations! God does not guide people who do wrong.

Just like we have been given the ayat from the King, this previous nation was given the burden of the torah and they didn't carry it. Just like your messenger gave you the book, they were given a book as well but they didn't take it seriously.

Allah is telling us here: even though you are going to have large numbers, if you do not take this book seriously, you are going to be just like the failures of the past.

Like donkeys carrying books, the books are there but they don't benefit you, you don't even know what they have to say. They don't affect you, they don't purify you. You do not even listen to what it says. It is just sitting there on the shelf and even if you read it, you do not connect it to your life. Don't become like those people. It is old stories that have no impact on your life.

On the other hand, if we are purified with the reminder, We recognize that this life is just a temporary stop in this journey. We are reminded that there is more and our heart is content with that. People who don't believe are scared of death. They don't want to talk about it. Believers are not scared or depressed about death because they know that this life is just a short stop. They are reminded of this reality every friday at least. Otherwise, if you don't think about the next life and if this life is all you think about, you hate death. If we are like donkeys carrying books and ignore the reminder, this is what it becomes for us.

The prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) said that the weakness of this ummah will come when we have "Love of the world and the hatred for death (Sahih- Abu Dawoud Book 37, Number 4284).

Allah describes a similar disease of the previous nation in the next ayah...

Ayah 6

Qul ya ayyuha allatheena hadoo in zaAAamtum annakum awliyao lillahi min dooni alnnasi fatamannawoo almawta in kuntum sadiqeena

6 Say [Prophet], ‘You who follow the Jewish faith, if you truly claim that out of all people you alone are friends of God, then you should be hoping for death.’

Allah is talking to us, one of the functions of the Jumua'h prayers is to remember where we are headed.

There are three simulations for Judgement day in the life of a muslim, they are

i. Daily Salat: Here, you stand infront of Allah and you are not looking around and you do what you are told. That is like Judgement day. Just like judegement day, we will come infront of Allah without looking around and we will say what is correct. Every salat is a reminder of Judgement day.

ii. Friday prayers: Here the call is sounded and we rush to the mosque. Every week, we gather and you have to come... There are no excuses. you come early, listen to the khutbah attentively.

When the call is for judgement day, it won't be the adhan but we will all be herded towards Allah.. The friday prayer is a training.. So we have a daily trining and a weekly training.

iii Hajj: The once in a lifetime adventure, Here you dress like you are about to be buried and you go the mount of arafat where humanity will be gathered. The biggest exercise of judgement day.

Our religious practises revolve around not forgetting death, this is one of the fundamental purposes of the friday prayer.

Allah reminds us in Ayat 7 and 8, that even if we disregard the miraculous ayat read upon us, we will face death and unto Him, we will be returned. we are reminded of one of the fundamental purposes of the friday prayer, resurrection.

Ayah 7

Wala yatamannawnahu abadan bima qaddamat aydeehim waAllahu AAaleemun bialththalimeena

But because of what they have stored up for themselves with their own hands they would never hope for death––God knows the wrongdoers very well

Ayat 8

Qul inna almawta allathee tafirroona minhu fa-innahu mulaqeekum thumma turaddoona ila AAalimi alghaybi waalshshahadati fayunabbi-okum bima kuntum taAAmaloona

so say, ‘The death you run away from will come to meet you and you will be returned to the One who knows the unseen as well as the seen: He will tell you everything you have done.’

Now on to the final passage...

Ayah 9

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo itha noodiya lilssalati min yawmi aljumuAAati faisAAaw ila thikri Allahi watharoo albayAAa thalikum khayrun lakum in kuntum taAAlamoona

Believers! When the call to prayer is made on the day of congregation, rush towards the reminder of God and leave off your sales––that is better for you, if only you knew––

Key word muslims: RUSH!! HURRY!! Do not take your time!!

Many people wait till when the prayer is about to start to make the prayer or worse when the first rakat is over... Come early, muslims... Immediately the call is made, rush to the remembrance of your King.

Leave off sales, He does not just say leave business, He said leave sales... It is easy to leave the store when you are doing other things related to your business. Sales is the most juicy part of business, where we make the money.

Allah says: Immediately you hear the adhan, stop sales even if you have a customer that is about to buy the whole of your store.... STOP SALES!!! It is better for you if you only knew...

RUSH!! oh muslims, because a day will come when we will all be rushing to Allah whether we like or not... We have to be of the people who rush to Allah because we like to because we were doing that on this earth.

Then Allah says:

Ayah 10

Fa-itha qudiyati alssalatu faintashiroo fee al-ardi waibtaghoo min fadli Allahi waothkuroo Allaha katheeran laAAallakum tuflihoona

then when the prayer has ended, disperse in the land and seek out God’s bounty. Remember God often so that you may prosper.

After the prayer, go back to your business, have fun!! After you have observed Allah's rights, go out there to seek Allah's bounty.

Allah calls it His bounty meaning you have barakah in your money now, just because you observed Allah's rights.

GUYS, THIS IS ALLAH TALKING.. GO EARLY FOR JUMUA'H.... You are not going there to be entertained, you are going because Allah told you to come... Allah told you to RUSH, oh muslims!!

Why are you on your cell phone during the Jumua'h khutbah (sermon)

Why do you walk out with your cell phone to answer a call during the Sermon

Why are you checking your text messages

Why are you on your browser

What is wrong with you, oh muslims

Are you in Jumua'h for Allah or the people

SWITCH YOUR PHONES OFF!!!!!!

Why are we so oblivious of what a big thing, the friday prayer is

A whole surah was revealed over this day,

People got distracted even during the prophet's time, We can watch soccer games without losing attention but when it comes to listening to the words of Allah, we are distracted by entertainment.

Allah talks about something like that during the prophet time and made this distraction affair a permanent part of the Quran... A procession was passing by, and some of the companions left the prophet during the khutbah to see what was going on.... Allah says:

Ayah 11

Wa-itha raaw tijaratan aw lahwan infaddoo ilayha watarakooka qa-iman qul ma AAinda Allahi khayrun mina allahwi wamina alttijarati waAllahu khayru alrraziqeena

Yet they scatter towards trade or entertainment whenever they observe it, and leave you [Prophet] standing there. Say, ‘God’s gift is better than any entertainment or trade: God is the best provider.’

Distractions are going to be there, so Allah makes this a permanent ayah in the Quran to remind the muslim, switch your phone off, Do not tweet or change your facebook status telling people you are in the mosque.

They left the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) standing there and ran off to their entertainment, the same thing we do today, when we walk off the masjid because our phones rang...

The Surah began

This messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) purifies, he teaches you the book and the wisdom, you are favoured nation because of him..

The surah ends where Allah describes

Not paying attention to the khutbah, as leaving the prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) standing by himself...

PAYING ATTENTION TO THE FRIDAY KHUTBAH AND GIVING IT ITS RIGHT IS AN ACT OF LOYALTY TO OUR MESSENGER (peace and blessings be upon him).

Whatever Allah has, is better than your entertainment or busineess.... It is better than the games on your phone, it is better than whatever call, you are going to get.... It is better that your twitter or facebook updates...

And Allah is the best provider...

WE NEED TO TAKE THE FRIDAY PRAYER SERIOUSLY...

Hopefully, this message makes us understand the importance of the friday prayer and help us rush to the remembrance of Allah... Maybe you didn't know how important it is, but now you know..

The rest is on your conscience.

May Allah help the muslims and make us start taking the friday prayers more seriously.

May Allah forgive us our mistakes.

Assalamu Alaikum

ma shaa Allah...

It's as if I'm reading this surah for the first time.

@op
JazakAllah khayran

Wa iyyakum

you take tears form my eyes most time i read from your in depth Quran Tafsir, may Allah reward you and save us from hell. Jumat Mubaraq to all my brothers.

Ameen

Come to think of it, the Jumu'ah prayer in most places takes less than 1hr to complete yet we are always in a hurry, we come late and leave early.

May Allah assist us all amin.

sino: Come to think of it, the Jumu'ah prayer in most places takes less than 1hr to complete yet we are always in a hurry, we come late and leave early.

May Allah assist us all amin.

Ameen

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Interesting

GREAT ARTICLE!
JAZAKUMULAHUU KHAIRAN

Jazak Allahu Kayran...May Allah reward you abundantly..

Jazzakallahu khairan

Jazakallahu khayran, may Allah increase u in knwldge,wisdom n undrstnding, may ds benefit all f us

Jazakumullah aira....very very insteresting, i took my time 2 go through it all. Alhamdulillah!!!

Ameen summa ameen

ALLAH AKBAR

JazakAllahu Kayran for the reminder.... A great reminder it is

@OP, Jazakallaahu khayran. "This is sufficient as admonition, therefore whosoever will,let him take a path to His Lord"- Q : 73 vs 19.

Ok

Abeg make una pray for me oh! I too dey miss prayers thou I feel remorse every time I think about it. I'm trying hard to stay on the line too. @Op thank mhen, more blessings to you and yours!

Ayah 2 shares meaning with a similar verse I ve always loved to read and we do frequently share in our Masjid. It is in Surah AL-A'araf which eulogises the noble messenger, establishes his authority and describes him as the giver of glad tidings to the Beleivers(muslims) and a plain warner to the People of the Book(jews and xtains). IT READS: " Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, Muhammad (s) whom they find inscribed in their Torah and Gospel, in name and description, enjoining them to decency and forbidding them indecency, making lawful for them the good things, which were forbidden [to them] by their Law, and making unlawful for them the vile things, (such as carrion and the like), and relieving them of their heavy burden, and the shackles, the hardships and fetters that were upon them. Then those who believe in him, from among them, and honour, revere, him, and help him, and follow the light that has been revealed with him, namely, the Qur’ān, they are the ones who will prosper’. Q 7 ayah 157.

^JazakAllahu Khair, bro

killuminati: Abeg make una pray for me oh! I too dey miss prayers thou I feel remorse every time I think about it. I'm trying hard to stay on the line too. @Op thank mhen, more blessings to you and yours!

. My beloved brother,may Allaah(the Lord of Honours and Majesty) make your affairs easy in this dunya and hereafter. Allaah decrees ease for whosoever He wishes,and what He wishes,He decree. May Allaah facilitate ease for you,alleviate your plight,envelope you in His mercy,make your feet steadfast and grant you and us all a safe passage to Al-Jannantu Firdaus and rank us all amoung the Al-mutakum and the highest ranked on the Day of Judgement ( "a day when providence,wealth and progenies will be of no avail except him who returns back to His creator(Allaah) 'bih qalbi salim'( pure heart).-