Question:
Is there a hadith stating that Friday is the chief day among all days of the week?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Friday is an honoured day in Islam. The reason is, there are numerous hadiths that describe the benefits of Friday. Among them, we include the following:
- From Abu Hurairah RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
الصَّلَاةُ الْخَمْسُ، وَالْجُمْعَةُ إِلَى الْجُمْعَةِ، كَفَّارَةٌ لِمَا بَيْنَهُنَّ، مَا لَمْ تُغْشَ الْكَبَائِرُ
“Five prayers and from one Friday prayer to (the next) Friday prayer is an expiation (of the sins committed in between their intervals) if major sins are not committed.”
Sahih Muslim (233)
Imam al-Nawawi explains that the above hadith states that minor sins are forgiven if there are sins to be forgiven. If there are no sins either minor or major to be forgiven, then goodness is recorded for him and his status is elevated. If there is major sin but there are no minor sins, then hopefully, the major sins are alleviated from him. (See al-Minhaj,3/113)
Referring back to the question, there is a hadith that describes Friday as the chief of all days, which is as the following:
- From Abi Lubabah bin Abd al-Munzir, the Prophet PBUH said:
إِنَّ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ سَيِّدُ الْأَيَّامِ، وَأَعْظَمُهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ، وَهُوَ أَعْظَمُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْأَضْحَى وَيَوْمِ الْفِطْرِ، فِيهِ خَمْسُ خِلَالٍ، خَلَقَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ آدَمَ، وَأَهْبَطَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ آدَمَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَفِيهِ تَوَفَّى اللَّهُ آدَمَ، وَفِيهِ سَاعَةٌ لَا يَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ فِيهَا الْعَبْدُ شَيْئًا إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ، مَا لَمْ يَسْأَلْ حَرَامًا، وَفِيهِ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ، مَا مِنْ مَلَكٍ مُقَرَّبٍ، وَلَا سَمَاءٍ، وَلَا أَرْضٍ، وَلَا رِيَاحٍ، وَلَا جِبَالٍ، وَلَا بَحْرٍ، إِلَّا وَهُنَّ يُشْفِقْنَ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ
“Friday is the chief of days, the greatest day before Allah. It is greater before Allah then the Day of Adha and the Day of Fitr. It has five characteristics: On it Allah created Adam; on it Allah sent down Adam to this earth; on it there is a time during which a person does not ask Allah for anything but He will give it to him, so long as he does not ask for anything that is forbidden; on it the Hour will begin. There is no angel who is close to Allah, no heaven, no earth, no wind, no mountain, and no sea that does not fear Friday.”
Sunan Ibn Majah (1084), Musnad Ahmad (15548)[Syeikh Syu’aib al-Arna’outh states the sanad is weak due to Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Uqail or Ibn Abi Thalib al-Quraisyi. Ibn Hajar states that his memorization is terrible but his narrations can be of reference. While other narrators are thiqah]
Furthermore, there are other narrations of Ibn Majah from Abu Lababah that state Friday is the chief of all days. While, Ibn Jarir also narrated it in his commentary, as well as Ibn Abi Syaibah from the narration of Said bin al-Musayyib through mursal method with valid and authentic chain of narrators (sanad). Moreover, al-Thabarani also narrated in al-Awsath from the narration of Anas bin Malik and al-Hakim narrated from Abu Hurairah RA. Imam al-Baihaqi also narrated the same in al-Syu’ab from the statement made by Abdullah bin Mas’ud with a valid and authentic chain of narrators (sanad).
Hence, we are inclined to the opinion that it is a weak narration as stated above. However, there are other narrations that have the same meaning as the stated hadith which support it. Furthermore, the hadith is not related to acts of worship, just the benefit and honor of Friday compared to other days.
Closing
As a conclusion, Friday is an honoured day with numerous benefits compared to other days. Thus, we as Muslims should be concerned regarding this matter, so we do not neglect our worship especially on this honoured day. Lastly, may Allah SWT make us from among His slaves who are sincere in worship and strengthen us to be consistent in doing good deeds. Amin.
Wallahua’lam.