Merits of Friday

Your trusted source for breaking news and expert analysis

The Qur'an

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

O’ you who have faith! When the call is made for prayer, on Friday, hurry toward the Remembrance of Allah and leave the business. That is the best for you, should you know.

Friday is the last day of the week, and it has been of great importance among Muslims since ancient times, to the extent that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWAS) referred to this day as “the leader of days” and “the joy of days.“

The Prophet (SAWAS) said: “Friday is the chief of all days and deemed greater by Allah, the Exalted, than the day of al-Adhha and the day of al-Fitr”. [Bihar al-Anwar,V.89, P. 267, Hadith no.5]

Friday is one of the four significant Islamic occasions: Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Ghadir, and Friday. Its virtue has been mentioned in various jurisprudential sources. In many narrations, Friday is titled as the day of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (AS), and hence, among the awaiting believers, it holds a special value and respect.

The gathering of Muslims on this day for congregational prayers is another reason for its significance.

Imam Ali (AS.) said: “Treat your families to some fruits every Friday, so that they rejoice on Fridays”.[Ibid. v. 104, p. 73, no. 24]

Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said: ‘Good and evil are given double the requital on Friday.’[Ibid. v. 89, p. 283, no. 28]

Imam al-Baqir (a.s.) said: ‘The charity given on Friday is considered double, because of the superiority of Friday over other days.’[Thawab al-A’amal, p. 220, no. 1]

Imam Sadiq (AS) said about the importance of Friday: “Allah has chosen one thing from everything, and He has chosen Friday from the days.”