FRIDAY KHUTBA OF TOKYO CAMII “FRIDAY: OUR WEEKLY DAY OF ‘EID”

“FRIDAY: OUR WEEKLY DAY OF ‘EID”

Dear brothers and sisters, who run to mosques every Friday when the adhan, the symbol of tawhid, echoes from the minarets! Jumu’ah mubarak! May Allah’s (swt) peace, grace, and mercy be upon all of us.

Dear Believers!
Allah the Almighty (swt) states in the verse I have recited at the beginning of the khutbah as follows, “O believers! When the call to prayer is made on Friday, then proceed diligently to the remembrance of Allah and leave off your business. That is best for you, if only you knew.”¹ As it is clear from the verse, for those for whom the Friday prayer is fardh, their transactions and earnings made after the adhan is recited are not halal. Yes, our most important duty today is to put aside everything we are working on and come together in the mosques for the Friday prayer. It is to obey the command of our Lord (swt) in a state of joy and happiness so that we might purify ourselves from material and spiritual impurities. It is to stand shoulder to shoulder cleanly without disturbing our brother next to us.

Dear Muslims!
Our Prophet (saw) gives us the following good news in one of his hadiths: “There is an hour (opportune time) on Friday and if a Muslim gets it while praying and asks something from Allah, then Allah will definitely meet his demand.”² In another hadith, our beloved Prophet (saw) warns us as follows:“Whoever missed three jumu’ahs out of negligence, Allah will place a seal over his heart.”³ How wonderful a piece of good news, and how great is the warning in these hadiths! Can a believer who is aware of this good news and this warning ever make a conscious decision to skip the Friday prayer?

Dear Believers!
It is not possible to speak of the Friday prayer without the khutbah. The khutbah is a remembrance of Allah (swt), just like prayer. There is a code of etiquette for the khutbah. It includes listening carefully to the preacher in the minbar. It also requires not chattering during the khutbah. Also, one should not get engaged with mobile phones or other things. The Messenger of Allah (saw) warns us about the manners to be observed during the khutbah as follows: “If you (even) ask your companion to be quiet on Friday while the imam is delivering the khutbah, you have in fact talked irrelevance.”⁴

Dear Muslims!
Let us not deprive ourselves of the blessings, the joy, the material and spiritual benefits of Friday. Let us make the Friday prayers the crown of our five daily prayers. Let us remind each other of the Friday prayer by heeding the divine appeal,“But continue to remind. For certainly reminders benefit the believers.”⁵ Let us encourage our youth and children to go to the mosques with love and affection and in a pleasant manner. Let us run, men and women, young and old, to the houses of Allah (swt).

[1] Jumu’ah, 62/9.
[2] Tirmidhi, Jumu’ah, 2.
[3] Ibn Majah, Iqamat, 93.
[4] Muslim, Jumu’ah, 11.
[5] Dhariyat, 51/55.

FRIDAY KHUTBA OF TOKYO CAMII “FRIDAY: OUR WEEKLY DAY OF ‘EID”(PDF)