Scholars’ disagreement:
The jurists differed over the ruling on the Friday bath.

The Ẓāhirīs hold that it is obligatory, citing the Prophetic statement, “Bathing on the day of Friday is obligatory upon every adult,” which is agreed upon.

The majority, however, regard it as recommended rather than compulsory. They adduce the ḥadith transmitted by al-Ḥasan from Samurah in which the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever performs ablution on Friday, that is good; and whoever bathes, bathing is better,” narrated by the Five (Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah, and Aḥmad). Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd comments that the chain of this report is not on a par with the chains that impose the obligation, even though the best-known recension of it is sound.

The majority answer the ḥadith invoked by the Ẓāhirīs by saying that it merely underscores the sunnah. They argue that the word wājib in the narration means “a due right,” as when one says, “You have a right that is due upon me.” Others maintain that the ruling applied only in the early days of Islam, when the Companions wore heavy, coarse garments, perspired, and thus emitted an unpleasant odor. When Allah later granted them ease and they began to wear lighter clothes, the ruling was moved from obligation to recommendation.

Abū ʿAwānah relates from Ibn ʿUmar: “People used to leave early for their work; when Friday arrived they came wearing soiled clothes and complained about it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so he said, ‘Whoever among you comes to the Friday prayer should bathe.’ ”

In truth, these responses are insufficient to divert the ḥadith from its apparent meaning. Hence Ibn al-Qayyim, in Zād al-Maʿād, said, “Its obligation is stronger than that of witr, reciting the basmalah in prayer, performing ablution after touching women or one’s private part, and sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ in the final tashahhud.”

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah stated, “Bathing is obligatory for anyone whose perspiration or odor would offend others.” Al-Baghawī, in Sharḥ al-Sunnah, noted that while the scholars disagreed over whether the Friday bath is obligatory, they unanimously agreed that the prayer itself is valid without it.

Accordingly, whoever goes to the Friday prayer should not omit the bath, for its legitimacy is undisputed, the proofs for its obligation are strong, and precaution is the better course. Al-Ṣanʿānī remarked, “Those who re-interpreted the ḥadith focused on its rationale and neglected the devotional aspect; combining both the rationale and the spirit of worship is essential.”