“When they caught sight of a trade caravan or some entertainment they rushed toward it and left you standing”—that is, they left the mosque out of eagerness for that commerce and amusement, forsaking the present good to the extent that they even left the Prophet ﷺ standing while he was delivering the sermon. Their need for the caravan that had just reached Madinah, coupled with their not yet realizing how blameworthy and ill-mannered the act was, combined to push them into what has been described. Otherwise, the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—were the most desirous of all people for goodness, the keenest to take from the Messenger, and the strongest in honoring and revering him; their well-known conduct testifies to this. Yet every valiant steed stumbles now and then. Moreover, a lapse for which a servant has been reproved, repented, returned to Allah, and which Allah has forgiven and replaced with a good deed, is not something anyone has the right to keep criticizing.

Say to those who put amusement and trade before obedience: “What is with Allah is better than entertainment and trade.” Even if worldly commerce achieves some aims, its gain is meager, tainted, and causes one to miss the far greater good of the Hereafter.

Being patient in obedience to Allah never deprives a person of provision, for Allah is the best of providers. Whoever fears Allah, He will grant him sustenance from where he never imagined. But whoever prioritizes business over obedience will find no blessing in it. Such conduct shows a heart devoid of seeking bounty from Allah, cut off from its Lord and attached solely to material means—a pure harm that ends in loss.

These verses contain many benefits:

Among them: that the Friday Prayer is obligatory upon the believers. They must hasten to it and give it due importance, and the benefits that flow from it are beyond comparison with anything else.