The completion of the Sunnahs that must be followed on Friday.
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
I hope you will give us the Sunnahs that a Muslim should follow on Friday, and what is the ruling on reciting Surat al-Kahf on Friday?
The Shaykh : Reciting Surat al-Kahf is a recommended practice (sunnah), because there is a great reward established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for what is done on Friday: First is the bath. The bath for Friday is obligatory (wajib). If a person leaves it without an excuse, he is sinful, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1152 meaning: upon every adult. And he (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: Sunan Abi Dawud 340Sahih (Al-Albani) And when 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) entered while the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar, was delivering the sermon, he rebuked him for his delay. He said: So you see that the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), rebuked 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) despite his status in Islam, and as we all know that he is the third caliph in this Ummah, and yet he rebuked him when he limited himself to ablution (wudu'). However, it is obligatory, and the prayer is valid without it, because it is not obligatory due to a state of ritual impurity (hadath) like the bath for major impurity (janabah), but it is an obligation for which a person is sinful if he leaves it except for an excuse, such as if there is severe cold and he has nothing to warm the water with, or if he is sick and would be harmed by the bath, or something similar.
And among these is also the toothpick (siwak). This siwak is not the ordinary siwak, but it is a special siwak, with which you clean the teeth more and massage them more.
And among them is perfume. A person should perfume his head, his beard, and his garment.
You cut off the time—as they say—in the house and not the market, and you leave this great reward. Go to the mosque and you will get the reward of this nearness: a camel, or a cow, or a horned ram, or a chicken, or an egg, after you have taken a bath.
Then when you go to the mosque, you will get much good. You occupy yourself with prayer and recitation. If you get tired of prayer, you recite, and if you get tired of recitation, you pray. There is no harm in talking to one of your brothers about something beneficial, such as discussing knowledge or something similar. But deprivation and Satan—may Allah protect us and you from him—overcome many people. You find him in the house with no business, going back and forth in the house just to pass the time until the time for prayer comes, and this is a great deprivation.
Also, among what is recommended (sunnah) on Friday before the prayer is that a person wears his best clothes, his best clothes that he has, whether new or washed, because that is from the Sunnah. And he should seek the time for supplication (du'a') when the imam enters on Friday. He should seek the time for supplication with whatever he wishes, especially during the prayer,.
And among its special features is that one increases the sending of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Increase it. Pray constantly. A person does not get tired or weary. Pray constantly: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon Muhammad. And you are walking, and you are sitting in the mosque, in the house, in the market.
And the good is much. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in *Zad al-Ma'ad* many things to which you can refer, if Allah wills, to complete the benefit.
The questioner : Is the Friday hadith authentic, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Which one?
The questioner : Whoever recites Surat al-Kahf on Friday.
The Shaykh : Authentic, yes, authentic.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
I hope you will give us the Sunnahs that a Muslim should follow on Friday, and what is the ruling on reciting Surat al-Kahf on Friday?
The Shaykh : Reciting Surat al-Kahf is a recommended practice (sunnah), because there is a great reward established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). As for what is done on Friday: First is the bath. The bath for Friday is obligatory (wajib). If a person leaves it without an excuse, he is sinful, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Taking a bath (before coming to Friday prayers) is obligatory on every adult.
غسل الجمعة واجب على كل محتلمWhen any one of you comes for Friday (prayer) he should take a bath.
إذا أتى أحدكم الجمعة فليغتسلO Commander of the Faithful, by Allah, I did not do more than perform ablution and then come. He said to him: And ablution too?—meaning: and you limit yourself to ablution too—and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: When one of you comes for Friday, let him take a bath.
يا أمير المؤمنين والله ما زدت على أن توضأت ثم أتيت، فقال له: والوضوء أيضاً؟ -يعني: وتقتصر على الوضوء أيضاً- وقد قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: إذا أتى أحدكم الجمعة فليغتسلAnd among these is also the toothpick (siwak). This siwak is not the ordinary siwak, but it is a special siwak, with which you clean the teeth more and massage them more.
And among them is perfume. A person should perfume his head, his beard, and his garment.
You cut off the time—as they say—in the house and not the market, and you leave this great reward. Go to the mosque and you will get the reward of this nearness: a camel, or a cow, or a horned ram, or a chicken, or an egg, after you have taken a bath.
Then when you go to the mosque, you will get much good. You occupy yourself with prayer and recitation. If you get tired of prayer, you recite, and if you get tired of recitation, you pray. There is no harm in talking to one of your brothers about something beneficial, such as discussing knowledge or something similar. But deprivation and Satan—may Allah protect us and you from him—overcome many people. You find him in the house with no business, going back and forth in the house just to pass the time until the time for prayer comes, and this is a great deprivation.
Also, among what is recommended (sunnah) on Friday before the prayer is that a person wears his best clothes, his best clothes that he has, whether new or washed, because that is from the Sunnah. And he should seek the time for supplication (du'a') when the imam enters on Friday. He should seek the time for supplication with whatever he wishes, especially during the prayer,
Because in Friday there is an hour in which no Muslim servant asks Allah for anything while he is standing in prayer but that He gives it to him.
لأن في الجمعة ساعة لا يوافقها عبد مسلم يسأل الله شيئاً وهو قائم يصلي إلا أعطاه إياهAnd among its special features is that one increases the sending of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Increase it. Pray constantly. A person does not get tired or weary. Pray constantly: O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad. O Allah, send blessings and peace upon Muhammad. And you are walking, and you are sitting in the mosque, in the house, in the market.
And the good is much. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in *Zad al-Ma'ad* many things to which you can refer, if Allah wills, to complete the benefit.
The questioner : Is the Friday hadith authentic, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Which one?
The questioner : Whoever recites Surat al-Kahf on Friday.
The Shaykh : Authentic, yes, authentic.