Why Friday is Islam's Most Blessed Day

Tonight inshaallah we wish to discuss some of the virtues of the day of jumu' and a very important issue regarding the day of jummah and that is that there is an hour an hour meaning a time a portion of time in which all dua that is made sincerely and properly to allah with his conditions of course will be accepted by allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and answered during this this period of time and that period of time is on the day of jumu' what period of time that is is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars of islam and this is what ibm rahimahullah will deal with and research with us tonight he says that this chapter is regarding the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam's traditions and ways on the day of jumu' and this chapter will also deal with some of the khasas some of the particular things particular virtues particular aspects that are specific to the day of jummah he says.

[Silence]

In which the prophet sallallahu alaihi was said allah had concealed the virtue of the day of jumu' of the day of friday upon those nations which have preceded us of jews and christians he says allah appointed for the jews the day of a sabbath the day of saturday and he appointed for the christians the people of isa it's not what's meant by christian here is the followers of isaac the true followers of asa the true followers of he appointed for them as their special day of the week as the day of sunday and allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala then created this ummah and brought it forth and appointed for this ummah the day of jumu' the day of friday what does this mean what this means is that allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has given particular virtue to particular days and the most amount of virtue and the most amount of potential reward is found on the day of jumu' but allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala did not appoint the day of jumu' as the special day of worship for the people of musa he appointed for them the day of saturday which is less in its virtue likewise the people of isa alayhis he appointed for them the day of sunday al ahad and that is of lesser virtue than the day of jumu' and he appointed for this ummah the ummah of muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam the day which has in it the most possible potential virtue of all of the days of the week this is the virtue of allah which he distributes upon his creation as he sees fit and as he chooses and so it doesn't mean that the day of saturday was not virtuous for the people of musa it was virtuous likewise that the day of sunday was not virtuous for the people of isa is virtuous for them but the amount of potential virtue that is in the day of jumu' is not in the other days and so allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reserved this highest amount of potential virtue for this ummah which would be on the day of jumu' and this is part of the honor that allah has given this ummah aside from other nations we have to understand something and that is that this nation has opportunities and has a relief that was not allotted to any other nation before just as we have aspects of revelation that were not allotted to nations before what does this mean in order to understand this we have to understand first of all the difference between giving virtue and taking away from a people and punishing them in sahih al-bukhari the prophet salallahu this nation his nation when we say this ummah this nation or the nation of the prophet.

[Arabic recitation]

What is meant by it is anyone who is born after the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was appointed as a messenger or anyone who was you know who was conscious who was able to benefit from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam's from his message and from his revelation until the end of time so we have the ummah of the prophet.

[Arabic recitation]

Alaihi wasallam is anyone whom his message applies to anyone whom his message applies to they are considered his and so he is the final of prophets the final of messengers his book is the final of books and his ummah his nation is the last of the nations of mankind after this nation there will be the day of resurrection the day of judgment there is no other nations or prophets or messengers or divine revelations after the prophet muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam and so the prophet alaihi wasallam gave an example of this he said the example or the parable or the similitude of this ummah this nation to the nations that have preceded it meaning the jews the christians the nations of the various prophets and messengers that have preceded this nation is a man or an individual who hired some workers to do some work for him so here in this parable the one who is hiring or the one who is giving the reward and giving the employment this is as allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has chosen these nations and given them the various books because allah i am going he said to the angels i am going to appoint in the earth a successor meaning to succeed allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala in the earth and implement his will thereon and so allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala has created the various nations and he chose of them whom he chose the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam said this nation to the nations that have preceded it is like an individual who hired a group of people to work for him and to do some particular work on a contract and so these individuals they worked until the middle of the day and they were no longer able to work and so allah subhanahu wa he gave them their their pay and then from the middle of the day until evening he hired another group of people and then they were unable to finish the work and complete it and he gave them the pay that he promised them then he brought another group of people and he employed them to finish the work between early evening until sunset until dusk and he promised them more reward and more pay than those who preceded them and so they took this job and they completed it and so the other workers that came before they worked longer hours and they had a subjectively more difficult task and so they complained to the individual who hired them and said we worked more than them but you paid us less and so the this person asked them hel have i not given you what you earned they said yes you you paid us what is fair and you paid us what we worked for you didn't you didn't decrease or take away from are worth anything but you did pay them more he said he said and as for the extra pay that i have given to those who completed the work that is it's my money it's my property and i can give it to whom i choose and so the nations that came before the nation of musa alaihi the jews the nation of the christians the the the people of isa alaihissalam these are the different groups they came before us they did a certain amount of work and they were given a virtue they were given reward for that work however allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala chose this nation from amongst the rest of the nations and gave particular precedence and virtue to them and so this nation is relieved of a lot of the hardships that previous nations went through yet they are given more revelation a more virtuous prophet a more virtuous book less strict and stringent regulations and there is no difficulty in the religion of allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon this ummah and he gave them more reward now a person can't say well that's not fair it is fair because allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not oppress anyone and he gave everyone his due however he chose to give an additional portion to the last and the most latter of those nations which is this nation alhamdulillah and so we have been given a messenger that is the most virtuous of all messengers and we have been given the best of role models that messenger was appointed the best and most virtuous of companions and the best and most virtuous of apostles and and the best and most virtuous of followers the companions and disciples and so they are the most virtuous of mankind after the prophets and messengers holistically speaking and so the disciples of our prophet muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam are the most virtuous of the disciples of any prophet or messenger likewise he has given this prophet the best and most virtuous of revelations the quran it is the most concise yet it is all-encompassing and all-inclusive of everything relevant from the nations that have preceded us and the revelations that have come before it and so this quran has everything relevant from revelation that has preceded it and it has also additional things and additional information that is not found in the other revelations that have been given to the prophets and messengers and so for instance the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam mentions that that is particular to this ummah and also the final closing verses of surat al-baqarah they are particular to this prophet and this messenger no other prophet has been given that though that that aspect of revelation likewise from the quran which starts from surat kaff or surat al-hajir all the way to surat and nas those chapters and verses and revelations they are specific to the prophet.

[Arabic recitation]

No other prophet has been given that that virtuous revelation as he likewise the miracles that were performed by and through the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam many of them were very particular to him he has particular laws particular allowances that were not allotted to the nations that preceded our nation and so this is the virtue of allah subhanahu wa ta'ala it is the dominion of allah and he choose he does with it what he chooses and so just as the human being allah has created all of the humans and he has chosen the prophets from amongst those humans can we now say well that's not fair why weren't we chosen as prophets we were given our opportunity and we were endowed with the blessings that allah subhanahu has endowed us with but he gave an additional portion to the prophets and messengers he did not wrong us but he did give additional virtue to them and so this is to the discretion of allah subhanahu wa for this reason allah subhanahu he says and your lord he is the sole creator and he is the soul one who chooses to give virtue to any of that creation over any other portion of that creation so just as allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the only one who has created likewise he is the only one who has the discretion to give additional virtue to any of that creation subhana now this doesn't mean that it is just willy-nilly or random that's not to be understood rather allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chooses of his creation that which is that which is in line with his wisdom and his knowledge subhanahu ta'ala and his mercy and his virtue but ultimately it boils down to the discretion of allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala likewise is the days of the week and so the nations that have preceded us they have been given virtuous days but those days are not as virtuous as the day of jumu' the day of jumaa is the most virtuous day and so he reserved that day for us the nation of the prophet muhammed he says that the day of jumu' was not given to those nations that have preceded us for the jews the followers of muslim for them he appointed the day of saturday for the nasara appointed for them the day of sunday and allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created this ummah this final nation of the prophet muhammad and he appointed for their special weekly holiday and observance the day of friday and he had made these three days as the most virtuous of the days of the week friday saturday and sunday and likewise this is symbolic this is symbolic and emblemic of all that is to follow of the nations he says they are those who will follow us on the day of resurrection we were the ones who followed them in existence meaning we are the last of nations but we will be the first of nations on the day of resurrection and allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala will reward and he will bring forth and deal with judgment etc this nation first so this nation will be the first nation to enter paradise it will be the first nation to be judged all other nations will be judged after and based on the judgment of this nation all other nations will be judged based on the intercession of the prophet muhammad no one will enter paradise before the prophet muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam as the narrations mentioned let's take a stop here and discuss some of the issues that plague us with regards to language so many many years ago centuries ago during the dark ages european dark ages there was a huge divide between christianity and paganism and as the church during those times and it still is today was very powerful and it was important for anyone who was a king or ruler that he incorporate the power of the church into his own power to consolidate power he had to control the church and this is what happened however there was a large portion of the population that were pagans idol worshipers idolaters polytheists and so for political gain many of these polytheists and pagans were incorporated into the christian world and they were incorporated into the christian world by force so any people that would be brought into the christian empire if they were pagans or idolaters they would be forced to enter into christianity however the emperors and the kings at that time they understood that this is easier said than done and so what did they do they changed all of the times and days and holidays to coincide with the days and holidays of the pagans so that everybody would be celebrating on the same day the pagans could claim that they were christian but really they were celebrating their own celebrations the christians could celebrate on their own days as well and claim that they were christian and everybody could be happy and this way we could consolidate power political power and so lots of things were changed of those things was the day of christmas christ's mass which is supposed to be the day of the birth of isallam and this just happened to be to coincide with the winter solstice and equinox so it happened to be december 23rd 24th 25th and the day of the birth of isa alaihissalam was changed to the descent the 25th of december this does not coincide with the bible at all the bible actually mentions that shepherds and you know we all learn this in school that the little little drummer boy and the three kings who saw the north star and the the shepherd that came well there's not any shepherds out during the dead of winter running around with their flock in the snow to graze everything's dead this happens in the spring this is when isa alaihissalam was most likely born and that's what's found in the quran as well right that it was when the dates were ripe and mariam alaihissalam was given of these dates during this time it wasn't the dead of winter and december 25th however this is a very this is a very important day for the pagan world and for idolaters because this marks the winter solstice this is when a very important time comes in for the end of year and the change of seasons likewise easter right if we look at easter it happens to coincide with as well the spring solstice when the time and the seasons are changing and shifting and this is the day that was allegedly the resurrection of isa alaihissalam which this this was changed to be the day of easter easter sunday why in order to consolidate that power but if we look at when it was alleged that jesus was crucified well people say it was good friday but it could not have been good friday it would had to have been good wednesday because it was supposed to be three days and three nights as is alleged in the bible that just as jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights so will he be and he says the son of man be in the belly or in the tomb for three days and three nights so if good friday was the day he was crucified which you know obviously this is hypothetical we know that it couldn't have been any time before sunset on friday because that's saturday it had to be three days and three nights if this took place on friday then why is it that sunday is the day that he is allegedly resurrected right that doesn't make sense also we see very strange symbols for these holidays such as burning logs in the fire on christmas and a tree an evergreen tree that is decorated and we see santa claus right he goes around through the earth and gives out presents to children and reindeer right none of these things are middle eastern none of these things have anything to do with religion or christianity right this is something which our traditions of mesopotamian idolaters and pagans that was incorporated into christianity just as the time was so were the rituals likewise in easter we have bunnies and rabbits what does this have to do with the resurrection of isa alaihissalam it has nothing to do with the resurrection of jesus christ that of course we are speaking hypothetical as muslims we know that there was no resurrection there was no crucifixion for that matter but it's it's curious that there are eggs and there are rabbits well rabbits don't lay eggs because we have eggs and we have rabbits what do these things have to do with easter they have nothing to do with easter even the name itself easter what is that this is a reference to the goddess of fertility and mesopotamian paganism likewise the rabbit is considered to be a a symbol of fertility because rabbits are very quick to reproduce right and they have numerous amounts of litters throughout the year likewise the eggs we have eggs that have been discovered painted ostrich eggs from africa dating back as far as 5000 years long before isa alaihissalam ever walked the earth so these are ancient pagan rituals that are performed and the timings of these rituals are also to coincide with pagan rituals in order to consolidate power at the time if you understand this you will begin to understand a lot of the things that we see that we've just been born with and we see around us and we take for granted but nobody really sits and thinks what does this have to do with christianity or what does this have to do with isabel likewise is the days of the week the days of the week we have monday right which comes from mono which is one the first day then we have tuesday wednesday which is a reference to a wedding which is to get married on wednesday why because it's considered to be the most virtuous time and day of the week to be married right then we have thursday which is thor's day the day of thor then we have friday and saturday which is a reference to saturn which is the god of allegedly the god of of farming right the god that has to do with bringing forth harvest and so forth and then we have sunday which is the day of for the worship of the sun god likewise our gregorian calendar is based on that as well right in the days of the week this is why it's important for us to learn as muslims that we have our own calendar that is is completely void of any shirk or any poly polytheism or paganism or idolatry right so the language of english and the days of the week and the day months of the year the calendar and the holidays all of this revolves around paganism if you trace it back i mean we use these things because we have to in the time and place that we live but we have our own religious calendar we have our own religious days of the week so we have al ahad which is sunday which is the first day of the week in islamic calendar we have al-ithnan which is the second day which is the third day which is the fourth day which is the fifth day and then we have jumma which is the day of gathering and mustering in congregation right which is articulates our religious rights on the day of friday and we have also a sabbath a sabbath is taken from the root word a sabbath the day of sabbath is the day when there was no when there was no work it was the sabbath for the people who have come before us and so we see that these days of the week have no shirk in them they have no references or homages to any false gods or pagans likewise the months of the year as well they are particular to this ummah and they have and they are void of any references to paganism or idolatry and unfortunately you know we do have to use gregorian calendars in where we live i mean that's as a matter of fact most of the world is is based on that now but it doesn't mean that we should be ignorant of our own calendar many muslims i won't say most but many do not know the months of the muslim calendar they couldn't if you say list them to me 12 months we could not list them list the sacred ones we could not list them most people think that ramadan is the most sacred month and it is not right likewise the a person's age most people that you speak to muslims they do not know their age their islamic age and that is the age and that is the calendar that all that all religious rights are based upon so for example if a person reaches the age of 7 or reaches the age of 15 or reaches the age of 40 these are significant milestones in a muslim's life this is based on the islamic lunar calendar not based on the gregarian calendar solar calendar this is a very important issue many people don't know their own age or their birth date on in the islamic lunar calendar and this is a shame this is unfortunate that even muslims or muslim leaders or imams etc are ignorant of this issue what is your what when were you born on the islamic calendar we don't know how old are you i'm not sure what are the months of the year we don't know and this is part of the part of the psychological colonization that has taken place on the psyche of the muslims at large just caused us to become detached from our religion detached from our calendar detach from our language detach from our books detach from our scholars and now we don't even know the difference this is the whole idea so it's important for us to understand that for example if a person is to fast for two consecutive months those are two consecutive lunar months not gregarian ones if a person is to look at his date of birth it is to be in islamic date of birth and so there will be a difference i mean a person will be one or two years older than they would be in gregarian calendar months because of the discrepancy in the number of days that are counted for each year so these are important things for us to know these are important things for us to teach our children and to pass on these things because fortunately alhamdulillah our customs and our language in the arabic language is a language that has been scrubbed and purified from paganism it has been scrubbed and purified from idolatry that plagues languages such as the english language everything from the day of the day of the week until to the the counting system the numbers the months of the year the holidays everything is based on idolatry of ancient times which is keeping alive many old mesopotamian pagan cultures which otherwise would have been dead by now and there are many things that we see around us that we do not investigate for example certain companies use certain brand names and certain symbols which are not permissible for a muslim to wear and to dawn a good example of that is nike nike is actually referred to by italians as nikki this is the way that it should be said and nikki is the is the goddess of victory that they would worship prior to battle and the swoosh mark the check mark is actually one of her wings that would be depicted over victorious armies and victorious leagues in ancient greek mythology this is not permissible for a muslim to wear these things we see these symbols we just put them on our body we plaster these things on our bodies and then we come and pray no different than putting a big cross on your back or on your shirt or on your hat or putting the star of david on what is alleged to be the star of david or any other marking that is particular to a pagan or non-muslim religion and then come into saleh or come into the masjid et cetera or even not soledad just having it on your body is something which is impermissible according to the consensus of the muslims scholars and so we have to make sure that we understand that the language we speak which is english and the days of the week and the months and a lot of our language and even our customs are based on ancient pagan rituals such as knocking on wood say well i haven't ever broken my leg knock on wood right this is a type of shirk which is a homage to one of the gods of ancient paganism this is something that is it is impermissible for a muslim to say such a thing even if it's just for laughs even if it's just a joke the thing the thankful thing that we have is that as muslims and if our religion is and and as muslims our language that is deeply entwined with our religion is the arabic language and so it has been purified by the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam and his companions from any references to shirk or paganism that was the custom of the people of that time and alhamdulillah in largely the arabic language is a pure of these types of references and parables of that have to do with the worship of idols even though there was a a long time and spout of arabs that had worshipped idols but it had not made its way into the language too far and it was reversed and then the arabic language the best of it was preserved by the quran and preserved by the muslims this is why the arabic language is so important because what language you think in and speak in will determine how your mind works this is an issue which we will need to discuss in further detail later in our discussion on the day of jumu' that is enough for tonight inshaallah will continue on next week thank you very much for joining us we ask allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he teach us of wisdom what we are ignorant of remind us of it what we have been made to forget and that he benefit us with whatever he teaches us to.