Friday prayer

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Believers praying on Friday in Bangladesh

The Friday prayer ( Arabic صلاة الجمعة salāt al-dschumʿa , DMG ṣalāt al-ǧumʿa  'prayer on the day of the meeting, i.e. on Friday') is areligious obligation anchoredin the Koran . It is prescribed for Muslim men and boys from pubertyand recommended for Muslim women.

The prayer on Friday is the most important of the week and should be performed together in the Friday mosque if possible. It replaces the midday prayer ( Zuhr ) on this day and differs from it in that it consists of two instead of four rakʿa (bows) and that the Qur'anic verses are recited aloud by the imam (prayer leader). The Qur'an prescribes that when the faithful are called to Friday prayer, they should rush to prayer and let the trade rest ( Sura 62 : 9).

The primary peculiarity of the Friday prayer consists in a sermon ( Chutba or Friday sermon), which is held before the actual prayer ( Salāt ) by a preacher ( Chatīb ), usually the imam of the mosque .

As a modern day of secular rest, Sunday has also influenced the Islamic world. Following his example and in contrast to him, many Muslim states have declared Friday a statutory day of rest because Friday prayer takes place on this day.

Origin and meaning of the Friday prayer

The Friday prayer does not get its meaning from the day of the week, but the day of the week only becomes a special day through the tradition of the Friday prayer.

The week has no sacred meaning in Islam. The holidays are determined exclusively on the basis of the lunar calendar. This is where Islam differs from Judaism and Christianity, both of which refer to the Sabbath commandment in Ex 20.8–11  LUT and Dtn 5.12–15  LUT . Christians later moved the holiday from Saturday to Sunday to commemorate the resurrection of Christ.

In Ex 20.11  LUT the Sabbath is justified with the example of God, who rested on the seventh day from his work of creation and blessed this day. But according to Quran verse 50:38, God did not need to rest. He began to rule immediately (57: 4 and 10: 4), and works every moment (55:29). The Sabbath commandment therefore does not apply to Muslims (16: 124).

So Friday is not a public holiday. The Friday prayer took place for the first time at the weekly market in Medina. Two large Jewish tribes lived in Medina. And according to Jewish custom, the weekly market fell on the day before the Sabbath. The Arabic term “day of assembly” comes from pre-Islamic times and is probably a loan translation from Hebrew.

Because all Muslims from the area were gathered on the market square on Friday, the midday prayer in the temple on the market square was particularly well attended on that day (see Zuhr ). The prophet probably used it to clarify believers' questions, resolve disputes, or deliver a talk. This was followed by the prayer, which was later shortened to gain time for a sermon. Such traditions are sacred in Islam.

The Koran interpreters tell that one Friday during the sermon, a caravan of merchants passed by to the sound of a game and the whole congregation, except for twelve people, left the temple to watch. Verses 9-11 of sura 62 refer to this:

9 “O believers, if you are called to prayer on the day of the meeting, hurry to the memory of Allah and cease all business. This will be better for you if you want to know.
10 When the prayer is over, you can scatter about the land as you please and seek riches from the grace of Allah; but think of Allah often so that you may be happy.
11 But if they see any deal or a funny game, they rush over and leave you standing. Tell them: 'What is found with Allah is better than fun game and trade, and Allah is the best provider'. "

You can see that an existing practice is being commented on here. There is no Qur'anic verse that uses this practice and describes it, as is common in the Torah or in the Old Testament. The tradition of those Muslims who still knew the Prophet personally is therefore just as normative as the Koran itself (see Hadith ).

From the beginning, the Friday prayer did not take place in a small mosque in the neighborhood or in private rooms, but in the centrally located Friday mosque, so that at least forty people came together. The sermon was delivered by a representative of the caliph and dealt with issues of public interest. Hence the obligation for free, male adults to participate.

According to a hadith, Abu Huraira reports that the Prophet said: “On Fridays there is an hour when God certainly gives every Muslim what he asks for when he prays and asks God.” The Prophet would have with his hands shows how short this period is. Although this healing opportunity is so brief, the whole day shares its hidden greatness.

Already the Muslim contemporaries of the Prophet noticed the parallel to the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday. So they looked for a justification to also interpret Friday as a day of remembrance. Then some discovered that the Last Day (al-ğamʿ) in Quran verse 64: 9 is also referred to as the “day of the meeting” (al-ğumʿa). Judgment day is in the future, so it's not clear whether it will be a Friday. Then Mohammed said: “We [Muslims] are the last [in the series of prophetic revelations] but the first on the Day of Resurrection, although the earlier communities received their books before us. That day [Friday] was imposed on them for worship; but they disagreed on him. God gave us the lead, and everyone else followed us: the Jews tomorrow [on the Sabbath] and the day after tomorrow [on Sunday] the Christians. "

literature

  • SD Goitein: "The Origin and Nature of the Muslim Friday Worship" in Muslim World 49 (1959), pp. 183-195.
  • Miriam Younes: Discussions by Shiite Scholars on Legal Foundations of Legality in the Early Safavid Period: the Example of the Treatises on Friday Prayer . Wuerzburg 2010.
  • Hans Zirker: “Day of the meeting. The Islamic Friday in the context of the Sabbath and Sunday. ”In religionen reisen , magazine of the contact point for world religions in Austria 13, 2007, No. 2, pp. 10-17. Online at the University of Duisburg-Essen

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 1.c (3), last paragraph
  2. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 1.c, Pages 4–7
  3. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 1.c (3)
  4. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 2.a
  5. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 2.b
  6. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 2.c (2)
  7. ^ Note from LW-Winter in the Koran translation by Ludwig Ullman, Goldmann Verlag 1959
  8. ↑ Quoted from the Koran translation by Ludwig Ullmann, edited by LW-Winter, Goldmann Verlag, 1959
  9. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 2.c (1) and (2)
  10. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 2.c (4)
  11. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), chapter 1.a, page 2
  12. ↑ Hans Zirker (2007), Chapter 1.c (3), page 6