The Stronger Position on the Issue of the Friday Bath

The Shaykh : However, the stronger position in my view is that the Friday bath is obligatory, and that we cannot stand before Allah on the Day of Resurrection if He asks us, "What did you answer the messengers with?" We cannot say, "We answered," and claim that the meaning of "obligatory" is merely "emphasized." We know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was the most eloquent of creation, the most knowledgeable of them regarding the rulings of Allah, and the most sincere of them toward the worship of Allah. It is impossible for him to use a term that implies obligation but intends something less than obligation. As for the report of Samurah, it is well known what was said about al-Hasan’s narration from Samurah. Whoever reads the wording: knows that this wording is weak to be attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), because the speech of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is at the peak of eloquence. A person who frequently reads hadiths can recognize that this is the Prophet’s wording and that this is not his wording, even without referring to the chain of narration, because the wording contains some awkwardness. As for the report of 'Umar, it is stronger as evidence for the position of obligation than it is as evidence against the position of obligation. The reason is that it is unlikely that 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would rebuke Uthman ibn 'Affan, who was among the earliest of the first to embrace Islam, for leaving a recommended act in public, and then cite the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as the basis for this rebuke, given that the default ruling for a command is obligation. As for the fact that he did not order him to go and bathe, it is because the original purpose of the bath is for the prayer. If he had gone to bathe, the prayer might have caught up with him, causing him to be occupied with the means rather than the goal, which is contrary to wisdom. Therefore, there is no evidence in this report of 'Umar that the bath is not obligatory. So I advise everyone to bathe for Friday and not to leave the bath in order to be cautious for themselves, so that their conscience is not burdened while they are unaware.