ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) was delivering the Friday sermon. ʿUmar said to him in front of the congregation, “What has kept you?” ʿUthmān replied, “By Allah, Commander of the Faithful, I did no more than perform wuḍūʾ and then come here,” meaning that he had been occupied and could not arrive early. Still standing on the pulpit, with the people listening, ʿUmar remarked, “And you were content with mere ablution? The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘When any one of you comes to Friday prayer, let him perform ghusl.’ How can you limit yourself to wuḍūʾ when the Prophet commanded whoever attends Jumuʿah to take a full bath?” Yet ʿUmar did not order him to leave and bathe, for had he done so the prayer itself—on account of which the ghusl is required—might have been missed, causing the principal act to be lost for the sake of its subsidiary.

In sum, although the ḥadīth cited by the author appears to indicate that ghusl is not obligatory, other narrations clearly establish that it is.

This ḥadīth also demonstrates the merit of listening attentively to the sermon and remaining silent. “Listening” (istimāʿ) means directing one’s hearing to it, while “being silent” (inṣāt) means refraining from speech; that is the distinction between the two. A worshipper should lend his ears to the preacher’s words and not speak. It is authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ that “Whoever speaks on Friday while the imam is preaching is like a donkey laden with books,” and the donkey is among the dullest of animals.