Etiquettes of Friday Prayer

All praise is due to Allah (SWT). Peace and blessings upon our beloved prophet (SAWS) his family and

his companions.

Today’s khutba was on the Etiquettes of Friday prayer

Dear brothers and sisters, respecting and glorifying the day of Jumma or Friday is to glorify and

respect the religion of Allah SWT.

As we have mentioned numerous times in the past, the glorious Quran is the Final Testament from

Allah SWT but the Sunnah of the Prophet SAWS is the practical application of the Quran.

As Muslims we need to make it our life goal to adhere to these practical applications of Allah’s word

and this is confirmed in Sura Al-Imran, ayat 31 in which it is translated to have said:

Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah , then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and

forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”

Dear brothers and sisters, this is the best day of the week as Muslims and so this is the perfect day to

follow the example of the Prophet SAWS and to gain reward with Allah SWT.

This is mentioned in the Quran by Allah SWT in Sura Al-Jummah, ayat 9:

O you who believe, When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday (the day of assembly),

hasten earnestly to the rememberance of Allah, and leave off business (and traffic) : That is

the best for you if you but knew.

Dear brothers, we have been blessed with many mercies from Allah SWT and they really are too

many in number to mention but as the topic of Jumma is this week’s khutba, it is important to relate

the following hadith from Sahih Bukhari:

The Prophet (p.b.u.h) said:

“Whoever goes out of his out on day of Friday then prayed two Rak’as and did not cause any

nuisance and then listened until the Imaam finished, then prayed with the Imaam then Allah

will forgive his sins between this Friday and the next”

Dear brothers, here we have the Prophet SAWS informing us of how to wipe the slate clean from

one friday to the next. How important it is then that we adhere to the manners associated with this

blessed day?

The remainder of this khutba outlines the minimum that we should aim to achieve so that we can be

of the people that are mentioned in the Hadith above.

Firstly, purify yourself. It is highly encouraged to have a bath on Fridays before coming to the

mosque. This can be done first thing in the day and then ablution is performed if need be before the

start of the Jumma prayer. Follow this up by applying a nice scent as this is the blessed day of the

week.

Secondly, come early to the masjid in your best attire. There is great reward associated with listening

to the complete khutba and since this day is marked as a blessed day for us muslims then it makes

sense to come dressed well.

Thirdly, one should aim to pray two Rakas (units of prayer) upon entering the mosque on Friday. The

majority of the scholars believe that this should be the case even if the Khutba has begun.

Fourthly, one should refrain from talking once the khutba has begun. This is such an important point

that even telling others to be quiet is something that is considered impermissable. Complete silence

and attention is the requirement here.

And lastly, this is the day of Assembly. As Muslims in the UK, it is the one time we acutely witness

the feeling of community. And it is on this day that any announcements that need to be made that

affects the community should be made.

We should aim to be a part of this and so we should stay for the duration of the assembly, i.e.

Jumma so that we can receive any communication from the masjid.

And following on from that, we have an announcement to make regarding a network we are proud

to have joined this week.

It is called Feed A Friend network as part of the Myriad foundation. This is a project which has

moques such as ours collect food items for local people in need in Manchester.

The reality is that we have people in our neighbourhood that don’t have enough money to provide

for their families and therefore it is our responsibility to help.

We will now be collecting food in the box at the back and we urge you all to donate packets, tins etc

on a regular basis. This is a duty on each and every one of us so let’s show the wider community of

South Manchester the beauty of Islam with our actions in projects like this.

My brothers and sisters, Salat al-Jumuah is one of the most important acts of worship in Islam. The

Prophet (sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam) has described the wonderful blessings and benefits that Allah

has vouchsafed upon Muslims through this magnificent act.

Knowing how important this prayer is in Allah’s SWT sight, Muslims must do their best to perform it

in the best way possible. They should strive and sacrifice for the sake of this Prayer.

May Allah SWT enable us to recognize the importance of this blessed day. May Allah SWT give us the

ability to carry out the manners associated with this blessed day. And May Allah SWT make us from

amongst those who benefit the most from this blessed day.

Ameen wal hamdullilahi rabilalameen.