a communal obligation, the Friday prayer must likewise be a communal obligation (1). This reasoning is unsound. Rather, al-Shāfi‘ī’s statement explicitly declares that the Eid prayer is obligatory (2) upon everyone. This admits two possibilities: it may be an individual obligation, like the Friday prayer, or a communal obligation. A communal obligation is binding upon everyone just as an individual obligation is; they differ only in that, once a communal obligation has become binding, some people’s performance of it relieves the others of that obligation.

Twenty-second: Friday includes the sermon, whose purpose is to praise and glorify Allah, to testify to His oneness and to His Messenger’s messengership, to remind His servants of His days of blessing and retribution (3), to warn them of His might and punishments, to exhort them to do what brings them closer to Him and His Gardens (4), and to forbid them from doing what brings them closer to His wrath and His Fire. This is the purpose of the sermon and of gathering to hear it.

Twenty-third: It is the day on which setting aside time for worship is recommended. It is distinguished above other days by various obligatory and recommended acts of worship. Allah, glorified be He, has appointed for the followers of every religion a day on which they devote themselves to His worship and set aside their worldly occupations. Friday is therefore a day of worship. Among the days, it is like Ramadan among the months, and its hour in which supplications are answered is like the Night of Decree in Ramadan. Thus, whoever’s Friday is sound and free of failings will have the rest of his week free of failings. Whoever’s Ramadan is sound and free of failings will have the rest of his year sound. Whoever’s pilgrimage is sound and free of failings will have the rest of his life sound. Friday is the measure of the week, Ramadan the measure of the year, and pilgrimage the measure of a lifetime. And Allah grants success.