Tafsir of Al-Jumu'ah 62:9

(Friday) is the day of the gathered assembly (fawj majmu‘), similar to their saying "a laugh" (ḍuḥka) for that which is laughed at.

(Friday/al-Jumu‘ah), with a fatḥa on the mīm, is the day of the gathering time, like their saying ḍuḥka (a laugh), la‘na (a curse), and lu‘ba (a game). Jum‘ah is an intensive form of jum‘a, just as ‘usra is said for ‘usra. It has been recited as bihinna jamī‘an. If you ask: What is the "min" in the phrase "from the day of Friday" (min yawm al-jumu‘ah)? I say: It is an explanation and clarification for "when" (idhā).

*The Call (al-nidā’)* is the adhān. They said it refers to the adhān when the Imam sits on the pulpit. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had one mu’adhdhin; when he sat on the pulpit, he would call at the door of the mosque. When he descended, he would perform the iqāmah for prayer. Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) followed this. When it reached Uthman, and the people increased and homes became distant, he added another mu’adhdhin, ordering the first call at his house called Zawrā’. When he sat on the pulpit, the second mu’adhdhin would call. When he descended, he would perform the iqāmah. This was not considered a fault.

It is said the first to name it "Jumu‘ah" was Ka‘b ibn Lu’ayy; it used to be called al-‘Arūbah. It is also said that the Ansar said: "The Jews have a day to gather every seven days, and the Christians have the same. Let us set a day to gather, remember Allah, and pray." They chose Saturday for the Jews and Sunday for the Christians, so they chose al-‘Arūbah. They gathered at Sa‘d ibn Zurārah, who led them in two rak‘ahs and exhorted them. They named it Jumu‘ah because of their gathering. Then Allah revealed the verse of Jumu‘ah. This was the first Jumu‘ah in Islam.

As for the first Jumu‘ah the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) performed: When he migrated to Medina, he stayed at Quba with the Banu ‘Amr ibn ‘Awf for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and founded their mosque. Then he left on Friday, intending for Medina, and the time for Jumu‘ah prayer caught him among the Banu Sālim ibn ‘Awf in a valley of theirs; he delivered a sermon and led the Jumu‘ah prayer.

Some say Allah refuted the Jews in three things: They boasted of being Allah’s friends and beloved, so He belied them in: "Then wish for death if you are truthful" (62:6). They claimed to be the People of the Book while the Arabs had none, so He likened them to a donkey carrying books. They claimed the Sabbath was theirs, so Allah legislated Jumu‘ah for the Muslims.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "The best day the sun has risen upon is Friday; in it Adam was created, in it he was entered into Paradise, in it he was cast down to earth, in it the Hour will occur, and it is the Day of Increase (yawm al-mazīd) before Allah." He also said: "Gabriel came to me with a white mirror in his palm and said: 'This is Jumu‘ah, which your Lord presents to you so it may be an Eid for you and your nation after you. It is the master of days with us, and we call it the Day of Increase in the Hereafter.'" He also said: "Allah has six hundred thousand freed from the Fire every Friday."

Ka‘b said: "Allah favored Mecca among cities, Ramadan among months, and Friday among days." The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever dies on Friday..." The angels sit at the doors of the mosque with silver scrolls and gold pens, writing the first to arrive according to their ranks. In the time of the predecessors, the roads at dawn and after Fajr were crowded with those rushing to Jumu‘ah, walking with torches. It is said the first innovation in Islam was abandoning the early arrival to Jumu‘ah. Ibn Mas‘ud once arrived early and saw three people had preceded him; he was distressed and rebuked himself, saying: "You are the fourth of four, and the fourth of four is not fortunate."

According to Abu Hanifa (may Allah be pleased with him), Jumu‘ah is not held except in a major city (miṣr jāmi‘), based on the Prophet’s saying: "There is no Jumu‘ah, no tashrīq, no fiṭr, and no aḍḥā except in a major city." A major city is one where legal punishments are established and judgments are executed. Among its conditions is the Imam or his deputy, based on the Prophet’s saying: "Whoever abandons it while having an Imam, whether just or unjust..." and his saying: "Four belong to the rulers: the fay’, the ṣadaqāt, the punishments, and the Jumu‘ahs." If a man leads without the permission of the Imam or his appointee (judge or police chief), it is not valid. If there is no permission and they gather for one and he leads them, it is valid. It is established with three besides the Imam. According to Shafi‘i, it requires forty. Jumu‘ah is not obligatory for travelers, slaves, women, the sick, the bedridden, the blind (according to Abu Hanifa), or the elderly who cannot walk without a guide.

Umar, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas‘ud, and others recited: "Then proceed" (famḍū). Umar heard a man reciting "Then hasten" (fas‘aw). He asked: "Who taught you this?" He said: "Ubayy ibn Ka‘b." He replied: "He continues to recite the abrogated; if it were fas‘aw, I would have hastened until my cloak fell off." It is said that sa‘y means intention, not running. Sa‘y is the exertion in any work, as in: "When he reached the age of exertion with him" (37:102) and "Man shall have nothing but what he exerted" (53:39). Hasan said: It is not the exertion of feet, but of intentions and hearts. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan mentioned in his Muwaṭṭa’ that Umar heard the iqāmah while at the Baqi‘ and walked quickly. Muhammad said: "There is no harm in this as long as one does not exhaust himself."

"To the remembrance of Allah" means the sermon and the prayer. Because the sermon is called a remembrance of Allah, Abu Hanifa said: If the preacher limits himself to an amount called remembrance, like "Alhamdulillah" or "Subhanallah," it is valid. Uthman once ascended the pulpit, said "Alhamdulillah," and then faltered. He said: "Abu Bakr and Umar used to prepare a speech for this station, and you are in more need of an acting Imam than a speaking one. The sermons will come to you." Then he descended. This was in the presence of the Companions, and no one objected. According to his two companions and Shafi‘i, there must be speech called a sermon.

If you ask: How is the remembrance of Allah interpreted as the sermon when it contains the mention of others? I say: Whatever is the mention of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), praise of him, his rightly guided Caliphs, the pious believers, and exhortation, it is in the ruling of the remembrance of Allah. As for the mention of tyrants, their titles, praising them, and praying for them—while they are deserving of the opposite—that is far from the remembrance of Allah. If a person listening to the sermon says "Hush" to his companion, he has engaged in idle talk; would the preacher who exaggerates in that not be engaging in idle talk? We seek refuge in Allah from the strangeness of Islam and the misery of the times.

He intended the command to abandon worldly distractions that cause one to forget the remembrance of Allah. He singled out trade because Friday is a day when people descend from their villages and deserts to the city. When the day swells and the sun rises high, trade flourishes. Since this time is a place of potential distraction, they were told: Hasten to the trade of the Hereafter, leave the trade of the world, and proceed to the remembrance of Allah, than which nothing is more beneficial or profitable. "And leave trade" whose benefit is small and profit is near.

If you ask: If trade at this time is commanded to be left and is forbidden, is it invalid? I say: The majority of scholars hold that this does not necessitate the invalidity of the sale. They say the sale was not forbidden for its own sake, but because of the distraction from the obligation. It is like praying on usurped land or in a usurped garment. Some say it is invalid.

Then He permitted them what He had forbidden after the prayer—spreading out and seeking profit—while recommending frequent remembrance, that nothing of trade or otherwise should distract them from it, and that their concerns in all states and times should be entrusted to it. Ibn Abbas said: They were not commanded to seek worldly things, but rather visiting the sick, attending funerals, and visiting a brother in Allah. Hasan and Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib said: Seeking knowledge. It is also said: Voluntary prayer. Some predecessors would occupy themselves after Jumu‘ah with worldly matters, considering this verse.

"And when they see a transaction or a diversion, they disperse to it and leave you standing. Say: 'What is with Allah is better than diversion and than transaction, and Allah is the best of providers.'"