from major ritual impurity.”

There is also the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah, who said:

“People used to earn their living with their own hands, so they would come to the Friday prayer in the very state they were in; therefore it was said to them, ‘If only you would bathe.’”

The first report is unanimously authentic, and the second was recorded by Abū Dāwūd and Muslim. The outward sense of Abū Saʿīd’s ḥadīth indicates that the Friday bath is obligatory, whereas the outward sense of ʿĀʾishah’s ḥadīth shows that it was for the sake of cleanliness and not an act of worship. It has likewise been transmitted:

“Whoever performs ablution on Friday, that is good and sufficient; and whoever performs a full bath, the bath is better.”

This is a clear text showing that the obligation is waived, though the ḥadīth itself is weak.

Issue Two

As for whether the Friday obligation applies to one who is outside the city limits, some scholars said that it does not, while others held that it does—though they differed greatly among themselves. One group said: whoever is a day’s journey away must attend, and this opinion is anomalous. Another said: it is binding upon anyone within three miles. Yet another said: it is binding upon the one who can generally hear the call to prayer, which is likewise about three miles from the place of the call. The last two positions are attributed to Mālik, and this question has already been treated under the conditions of obligation.

The cause of their disagreement lies in the differing transmitted reports. For it has been narrated that “in the Prophet’s time people used to come to the Friday prayer from al-ʿAwālī, which is three miles from Madinah.” Abū Dāwūd also related that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“The Friday prayer is incumbent upon whoever hears the call.”

It is further reported, “The Friday prayer is incumbent upon anyone who can reach his family again before nightfall,” but that report is weak.

Issue Three

They also disagreed about the “hours” mentioned in the ḥadīth on the virtue of setting out early, wherein the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said:

“Whoever goes out in the first hour, it is as though he has offered a camel; whoever goes out in the second hour, it is as though he has offered a cow; whoever goes out in the third hour, it is as though he has offered a ram; whoever goes out in the fourth hour, it is as though he has offered a hen; and whoever goes out in the fifth hour, it is as though he has offered an egg.”