– niʿmat: Abū ʿAlī al-Qālī said: it is impermissible to say niʿmah, with a final hāʾ, because the feminine tāʾ in this word functions like the tāʾ in qāmat (“she stood”) and qaʿadat (“she sat”).
Ibn al-Sikkīt said: the tāʾ remains when one pauses.
Al-Miṣbāḥ states: “niʿma ar-rajulu Zaydun” (“Zayd is an excellent man”) is an emphatic form of praise; thus the wording in the ḥadith, “fīhā wa niʿmat,” means: “How excellent a practice the Sunnah is.”

– afḍal: the comparative form; the side described as “less excellent” still possesses merit, but to a lesser degree than the other side.

What is derived from the ḥadith:
1 – It is recommended to bathe for Friday on that very day, for the ruling was prescribed in connection with the prayer.
2 – Whoever is unable to bathe for a valid excuse, or chooses not to bathe without excuse, may suffice with ablution, yet he forfeits the extra reward and virtue.
3 – This ḥadith indicates that the Friday bath is not obligatory, and therefore appears to conflict with the earlier ḥadith that implies obligation.

Scholarly disagreement:
The majority of scholars—including the four Imams—hold that the Friday bath is recommended, not obligatory.
They base this on Samurah’s ḥadith, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever performs ablution on Friday, that suffices and is commendable; and whoever bathes, bathing is better.” That is, the one who contents himself with ablution has taken the concession—and what an excellent concession it is—whereas the one who bathes has attained greater good, and his deed is superior to stopping at ablution. This ḥadith is authentic and explicit in negating obligation; al-Albānī said: “Its transmitters are trustworthy, and it has many corroborating chains.”
The Ẓāhirīs, however, consider the bath obligatory, citing the ḥadith, “The Friday bath is obligatory upon every adult,” along with the reports in al-Bukhārī (894) and Muslim (844): “Whoever