The Best Time to Go to the Friday Prayer and Going Early
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, he asks: What is the best time to go to the Friday prayer? Is it from seven in the morning, or after the sun rises? And did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) pray whatever voluntary prayers they wished before the Friday sermon?
The Shaykh:
The time, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, is fromMuwatta Malik 5:1 Sunan an-Nasa'i 1388Sahih (Darussalam). After the fifth hour, the opportunity for nearness to Allah ends. So the earlier a person goes, the better it is. Some scholars say the first hour begins from the appearance of the dawn or from the Fajr prayer. It is recommended that he go when he has prayed Fajr and take his place in the congregational mosque, recite the Qur'an, and pray until the imam arrives, occupying himself with the remembrance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). How excellent that is! And some of them say it begins from the rising of the sun, that the first hour starts from the rising of the sun, from the rising of the sun.
So he goes when the sun rises. There is no doubt that going after the Fajr prayer is better, and occupying himself with the remembrance of Allah, prayer, and recitation of the Qur'an until the imam arrives. Among the Companions, some would occupy themselves with prayer until the imam arrived; whoever came when the imam was about to arrive, he was praying. From one prayer until the imam arrives, and some of them would pray and then sit, remembering Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and reciting the Qur'an. In any case,[Al-Baqarah 2:197].
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, my honorable brother. And this questioner says: I am a doctor.
The Shaykh:
But the problem now is that this has all gone, except what Allah wills. They do not come except after some of them have arrived when the sermon has ended; they just attend the prayer. Some do not come until the first rak'ah has passed. They want to lower the bar; they attend the rak'ah and say, "As long as my Friday prayer is valid, I will go to the second rak'ah and add another to it," as if he is getting rid of an enemy or a prison. So you do not find them attending; you do not find them attending. Some come when they hear the next adhan, attending the sermon. Some come when the sermon is finished, sit in their houses, and say, "We will come when the iqamah is called," missing the sermon, its attendance, and its benefit. And some, as I mentioned to you, even for the first rak'ah, they say, "Let it pass; I will go to the second rak'ah and add another to it, and it will be a Friday prayer." This is a clear loss. This is a great deficiency. The Muslim seeks reward and seeks recompense. A person has many sins and many transgressions, so how does he not strive for the salvation of his soul and the salvation of his religion from his sins and disobedience?
And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says[Al-Munafiqun 63:9]. If he had the wealth of the world and occupied himself with it instead of the remembrance of Allah, he would be a loser, and the wealth would not benefit him. And if he did not have even a single riyal but occupied himself with the remembrance of Allah, he is the generous, noble, righteous one in the sight of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The presenter:
O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness. May Allah reward you.
Honorable Shaykh, he asks: What is the best time to go to the Friday prayer? Is it from seven in the morning, or after the sun rises? And did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) pray whatever voluntary prayers they wished before the Friday sermon?
The Shaykh:
The time, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, is from
goes in the first part of the time, it is as if he had offered up a camel. If he goes in the second part of the time, it is as if he had offered up a cow. If he goes in the third part of the time, it
رَاحَ فِي السَّاعَةِ الأُولَى فَكَأَنَّمَا قَرَّبَ بَدَنَةً وَمَنْ رَاحَ فِي السَّاعَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَرَّبَ بَقَرَةً وَمَنْ رَاحَ فِي السَّاعَةِ الثَّالِثَةِ فَكَأَنَّمَاit is as if he sacrificed a ram. Then the one who comes in the fourth hour, it is as if he sacrificed a chicken. Then the one who comes in the fifth hour, it is as if he sacrificed an egg.
قرب كبشا، ومن راح في الساعة الرابعة فكأنما قرب دجاجة، ومن راح في الساعة الخامسة فكأنما قرب بيضةSo he goes when the sun rises. There is no doubt that going after the Fajr prayer is better, and occupying himself with the remembrance of Allah, prayer, and recitation of the Qur'an until the imam arrives. Among the Companions, some would occupy themselves with prayer until the imam arrived; whoever came when the imam was about to arrive, he was praying. From one prayer until the imam arrives, and some of them would pray and then sit, remembering Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and reciting the Qur'an. In any case,
And whatever good you do - Allah knows it.
وَمَا تَفْعَلُوا مِنْ خَيْرٍ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُThe presenter:
May Allah reward you, my honorable brother. And this questioner says: I am a doctor.
The Shaykh:
But the problem now is that this has all gone, except what Allah wills. They do not come except after some of them have arrived when the sermon has ended; they just attend the prayer. Some do not come until the first rak'ah has passed. They want to lower the bar; they attend the rak'ah and say, "As long as my Friday prayer is valid, I will go to the second rak'ah and add another to it," as if he is getting rid of an enemy or a prison. So you do not find them attending; you do not find them attending. Some come when they hear the next adhan, attending the sermon. Some come when the sermon is finished, sit in their houses, and say, "We will come when the iqamah is called," missing the sermon, its attendance, and its benefit. And some, as I mentioned to you, even for the first rak'ah, they say, "Let it pass; I will go to the second rak'ah and add another to it, and it will be a Friday prayer." This is a clear loss. This is a great deficiency. The Muslim seeks reward and seeks recompense. A person has many sins and many transgressions, so how does he not strive for the salvation of his soul and the salvation of his religion from his sins and disobedience?
And Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says
O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that - then those are the losers.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَThe presenter:
O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness. May Allah reward you.
Source
75-اللقاء الأسبوعي مع الشيخ صالح الفوزان - 11 — archive.org (1:14:23)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.