Nigeria: Blessings of 'Friday' in Islam

Every day of the week has its own uniqueness. For every Muslim, Friday is a big day as believers gather for sermon and worship. It is the Mother of all days and the most virtuous and best of the days. That is why believers look forward to it with so much eagerness. It is a day filled with mercy. It is a time when Muslims come together to worship the only One God, find strength and comfort by standing shoulder to shoulder and reaffirming their faith and devotion to Him.

"O you who believe! When the call to prayer is proclaimed on Friday hasten earnestly to the remembrance of God, and leave aside business. That is best for you if you but knew." (Quran 62:9)

That is why it is said that if a Muslim ignores it three times consecutively, with no valid reason, it could cause a believer to stray from the straight path.

You can start your Jumuah day by performing acts which include taking a bath and wearing clean clothes, saying numerous supplications to God, including blessings upon Prophet Muhammad, and reciting Chapter 18 of the Quran, 'The Cave'. The Prophet said,: "whoever reads Surah Al-Kahf on the night of Friday, will have a light that will stretch between him and the ancient House (Kaaba)"

In another area he said: "whoever reads Surah al-Kahf on the day of Jumuah, a light will shine for him from beneath his feet to the clouds of the sky, which will shine for him on the Day of Resurrection and he will be forgiven (his sins) between the two Fridays."

The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday: on it, Adam was created, on it, he was admitted to Paradise and on it, he was sent out of Paradise and the Hour will not be established except on Friday." At-Tirimidhi narrated this on the authority of Abu Hurairah.

Friday is a special day; the congregational prayer performed on this day holds special significance in the life of a Muslim.

Prophet Muhammad, (s.a.w), said, "There is no day more virtuous than Friday. In it there is an hour in which no one will pray to God except that God will hear his prayer".

"Friday consists of twelve hours, one of which is the hour where supplications are granted for believers. This hour is sought during the last hour after Asr (the third prayer in the day)

Friday is also the day on which one of the greatest verses in the Quran was revealed.

"This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favor upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion." (Quran 5:3)

A learned person from among the Jews during the time of Umar Ibn Al Khattab, the second Caliph while Prophet Muhammad was sitting on his camel on a special day of Arafat, after Asr prayer said: "In the Quran you people read a certain verse; if that verse had been revealed to us, we would have celebrated that day annually." Umar asked, "Which verse is that?" The man replied, "this day, I have perfected your religion for you'. Umar then said, "Verily I remember the day and the place where this verse was revealed. It was already a double celebration for us. Firstly it was Friday-a day of Eid (celebration) for all Muslims and secondly, it was the day of Arafat - the most important day of the Hajj."

Friday has many blessings that are underscored in numerous hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad. For example, in the following hadith, he emphasizes that dua, supplication, is accepted. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) said: "There is such an hour on Friday that if any Muslim makes dua in it, his dua will definitely be accepted." (Bukhari, Muslim) some Muslims scholars have said that hour lies between Asr and Magrib.

Every Muslim male should be dedicated to performing Friday Jumu'ah Prayer at its appointed times. Failure to do so without any valid excuse is a serious sin in Islam.

Abu Hurairah and Ibn 'Umar reported that they heard the Prophet (s.a.w) said: "Those who are not attending the Friday salah should change their ways; otherwise, Allah, the Exalted, will seal their hearts and they will be reckoned the heedless." This is related by Muslim, and by Ahmad and an-Nasa'i from ibn 'Umar and ibn 'Abbas.

Abu al-Ja'd ad-Damari reports that the Prophet said: "Whoever misses three Friday prayers in a row out of negligence will have a seal put over his heart by Allah." This is related by the five, and Ahmad and Ibn Majah have something similar from Jabir, while Ibn as-Sakin has graded it to be sahih.

Credit to

Haroon Balogun

Praying directly to God attracted me to Islam

Not convinced by the concept of trinity, Erin (Sumaya Fannoun) wrestled with the concept of faith and looked for the right path. In this first of the two-part narrative, she explains that she became Muslim when she began to research and study Islam. 

The intention of writing my story is that for Allah’s sake, I may help someone who is searching for the truth, to realize that they have found it in Islam.
I began writing this on Easter Sunday, kind of appropriate, I think. I have been a Muslim now for seven years, Alhamdulillah (all praise is for Allah).
I first learned of Islam while attending university, from a Muslim friend of mine. I had managed to get out of a very good, college-prep high school believing that Muslims were idol-worshipping pagans. I was not interested in learning about a new religion.
I held the ethnocentric view that since the US was a super power nation, we must have the best of everything, including religion.
I knew that Christianity wasn’t perfect, but believed that it was the best that there was. I had a long-held opinion that although the Bible contained the word of God, it also contained the word of the common man, who wrote it down. As Allah would have it, every time I had picked up the Bible in my life, I had come across some really strange and actually dirty passages.
I could not understand why the Prophets of God would do such abominable things when there are plenty of average people who live their whole lives without thinking of doing such disgusting and immoral things, such as those attributed to Prophets David, Solomon and Lot (peace be upon them all) just to name a few.
I remember hearing in Church that since these Prophets committed such sins, how could the common people be any better than them? And so, it was said, Jesus had to be sacrificed for our sins, because we just couldn’t help ourselves, as the “flesh is weak.”
So, I wrestled with the notion of the trinity, trying to understand how my God was not one, but three. One who created the earth; one whose blood was spilled for our sins, and then there was the question of the holy ghost, yet all one and the same!
When I would pray to God, I had a certain image in my mind of a wise old man in flowing robe, up in the clouds. When I would pray to Jesus, I pictured a young white man with long golden hair, beard and blue eyes. As for the holy spirit, well, I could only conjure up a misty creature whose purpose I wasn’t sure of.
It really didn’t feel as though I was praying to one God. I found though that when I was really in a tight spot, I would automatically call directly on God. I knew inherently, that going straight to God, was the best bet.
When I began to research and study Islam, I didn’t have a problem with praying to God directly, it seemed the natural thing to do. However, I feared forsaking Jesus, and spent a lot of time contemplating the subject.
I began to study the Christian history, searching for the truth. The more I looked into it, the more I saw the parallel between the deification and sacrifice of Jesus, and the stories of Greek mythology that I had learned in junior high, where a god and a human woman would produce a child which would be a demigod, possessing some attributes of a god.
I learned of how important it had been to “St. Paul,” to have this religion accepted by the Greeks to whom he preached, and how some of the disciples had disagreed with his methods. It seemed very probable that this could have been a more appealing form of worship to the Greeks than the strict monotheism of the Old Testament. And only Allah knows.
I began to have certain difficulties with Christian thought while still in high school. Two things bothered me very much. The first was the direct contradiction between material in the Old and New Testaments.
I had always thought of the Ten Commandments as very straight forward, simple rules that God obviously wanted us to follow. Yet, worshipping Christ, was breaking the first commandment completely and totally, by associating a partner with God.
I could not understand why an omniscient God would change His mind, so to speak. Then there is the question of repentance. In the Old Testament, people are told to repent for their sins; but in the New Testament, it is no longer necessary, as Christ was sacrificed for the sins of the people.
“Paul did not call upon his hearers to repent of particular sins, but rather announced God’s victory over all sin in the cross of Christ. The radical nature of God’s power is affirmed in Paul’s insistence that in the death of Christ has rectified the ungodly (see Romans 4:5). Human beings are not called upon to do good works in order that God may rectify them.”
So what incentive did we even have to be good, when being bad could be a lot of fun? Society has answered by redefining good and bad. Any childcare expert will tell you that children must learn that their actions have consequences, and they encourage parents to allow them to experience the natural consequences of their actions. Yet in Christianity, there are no consequences, so people have begun to act like spoiled children.
Demanding the right to do as they please, demanding God’s and peoples’ unconditional love and acceptance of even vile behavior.

To be continued next week
Courtesy: islam-universe.com 

Saudi King Salman tiped to succeeded his half-brother Abdullah

King Salman bin Abdulaziz

 

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz was proclaimed the seventh King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 3 Rabi’ al Thani 1436H (January 23, 2015), upon the death of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

King Salman is also Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz was designated Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and appointed Deputy Prime Minister, by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on June 18, 2012, upon the death of Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz.  King Salman also serves as Minister of Defense.

King Salman was born in Riyadh on Dec. 31, 1935, and received his education at the Prince’s School in Riyadh. He served as Deputy Governor of Riyadh from March 1954 to April 1955, and Governor of Riyadh from April 1955 to December 1960 and again from February 1963 to Nov. 5, 2011, when he was appointed Minister of Defense.

Since 1956, King Salman has chaired various humanitarian and service committees that provide relief from natural and man-made disasters.  For his humanitarian services, he has been awarded many medals and decorations, including awards from Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Morocco, Palestine, the Philippines, Senegal, the United Nations, Yemen, and the King Abdulaziz Medal - First Class.

He is a recipient of several honorary degrees and academic awards, including an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University of Madinah, the Prince Salman academic award, and the Kant Medal by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in appreciation of his contributions to the field of science.

Breaking News: King Abdullahi Of Saudi Arabia is dead after a brief illness

King Abdullahi Of Saudi Arabia died after a brief illness at the age of 90 and he is succeeded by half brother King Salman 79yrs.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (1924 - 2015) was proclaimed the sixth King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 25 Jumada al-Thani 1426H (August 1, 2005), upon the death of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. 

King Abdullah was also Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers and Commander of the National Guard.

King Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924, and received his early education at the royal court. Influenced by his father, founder of the modern Kingdom King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, he developed a profound respect for religion, history and the Arab heritage.  His years spent living in the desert with Bedouin tribes taught him their values of honor, simplicity, generosity and bravery, and instilled in him the desire to assist in the development of his people.

In 1962, Prince Abdullah was chosen by King Faisal to command the National Guard. He was appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister in 1975 on the succession of King Khalid, and when King Fahd came to the throne in 1982, he was named Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister. In the latter capacity, he presided over cabinet meetings and governed the country as deputy to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz.

Since ascending the throne in 2005, King Abdullah made development a central focus of his reign. He initiated a range of major economic, social, education, health, and infrastructure projects that have brought about remarkable changes throughout the Kingdom.

King Abdullah’s notable achievements in this area included the launch of four mega economic cities, the creation of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University for Girls, projects to expand the Two Holy Mosques and major welfare projects. He also approved a historic reorganization of Saudi Arabia’s judicial system and enacted laws to formalize the royal succession. As Crown Prince in 2005, he closely monitored the ongoing election process for the country's municipal councils.

On a global level, King Abdullah’s participation in international diplomacy reflects the Kingdom’s leadership role in defense of Arab and Islamic issues and for the achievement of world peace, stability and security.

He took a leading role in promoting dialogue among the world’s leading faiths. His call for interfaith dialogue has resulted in the convention of the World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid, Spain and a United Nations conference on dialogue in 2008.

King Abdullah has also sought to resolve conflicts in the Arab and Islamic world. Peace in the Middle East and the plight of the Palestinians are of particular concern to him, and the initiative on these that he presented at the Beirut Arab Summit in 2002 has been adopted by the League of Arab States, as has his forward-looking strategy for a unified Arab stance on international issues. He has played a key role in brokering agreements for a Palestinian national unity government and a reconciliation accord between Sudan and Chad on Darfur.

A strong advocate of constructive global cooperation, King Abdullah has held a number of important international summits and meetings in the Kingdom. In June 2008, he hosted the Jeddah energy summit to discuss ways of stabilizing global oil markets. Other major international meetings include the Third OPEC Summit of Heads of State and the 19th Arab League Summit in 2007 and the 27th summit of the GCC Supreme Council in 2006.

On the issue of terrorism, King Abdullah has been unwavering in his condemnation of the taking of innocent lives, and in his denunciation of deviant groups that falsely claim to be Islamic. At the Counter-Terrorism International Conference in Riyadh in February, 2005, he urged international cooperation to fight this global scourge.

King Abdullah has undertaken numerous state visits both as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and as Crown Prince to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s relations with countries around the world. Recent state visits include Spain, France, Egypt, Jordan, Britain, Italy, Germany and Turkey in 2007, and China, India, Pakistan and Malaysia in 2006.

The King's first official visit to the United States was as Prince Abdullah in 1976, when he met with President Gerald Ford. His second visit was in October 1987, as Crown Prince, when he met with President George H.W. Bush. In September 1998, he made his third state visit to the United States, meeting in Washington, DC with President Bill Clinton. He met again with President Clinton in September 2000 while attending the Millennium event at the UN in New York.

On April 25, 2002, and again on April 25, 2005, Crown Prince Abdullah was received by President George W. Bush at the presidential ranch in Crawford, Texas. In 2008, King Abdullah twice hosted President Bush at the royal ranch in Jenadriyah, most recently in May when the president visited Saudi Arabia to mark the 70th anniversary of Saudi-US relations.

Throughout his life, King Abdullah has retained a love of the desert, along with a love of horsemanship. He is a breeder of pure Arabian horses, and founder of the equestrian club in Riyadh. Another life-long passion is reading, to which he attributes great importance. He has established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, and one in Casablanca, Morocco.