Section on the Friday Prayer, Travel, and the Call to Prayer

1 – The Exalted says: “O you who believe! When the call is made for the prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trade; that is better for you, if only you knew. (9) Once the prayer is finished, spread out through the land and seek Allah’s bounty, and remember Allah often so that you may prosper. (10) Yet when they see a transaction or an amusement they flock to it and leave you standing; say, ‘What is with Allah is better than play and trade, and Allah is the best of providers.’ ” (11) [Qur’an 62:9–11]

Allah thereby commands His believing servants to attend the Friday prayer and to proceed to it as soon as the call is heard.

The “hastening” (saʿy) enjoined here means giving the prayer full attention and disengaging from everything else; it does not mean running, which the Prophet ﷺ forbade when going to prayer. Walking with composure and dignity is what is meant by saʿy in this context.

“Leave off trade” means abandon it at the very moment you are ordered to go to the prayer. If leaving trade—something people naturally desire and pursue—is required, then refraining from every other distraction, such as crafts and similar occupations, is even more imperative.

“That is better for you, if you but knew the realities of things and their outcomes.”

The good referred to here consists of obeying Allah and His Messenger, engaging in this obligation—one of the most important obligations—gaining its benefits and reward, and obtaining everything the Lawgiver has attached to striving for it: coming early, moving forward, and taking all the means and complements that increase good and reward. It also involves acquiring virtuous qualities and avoiding base ones, for among the most reprehensible traits are greed and avarice, which drive a person to put paltry worldly profit ahead of an essential spiritual gain.