7- Charity is accepted even when it is small, for the ḥadith sets the donation of an egg as a benchmark for reward.
8- Angels stand at the doors of the mosques, recording the arrivals in the order in which they come to the Friday prayer.
9- They depart after the imam enters, in order to listen to the remembrance; whoever arrives after their departure receives none of the reward attached to coming early.
10- These five “hours” run from sunrise until the imam’s entry and are divided into equal portions. Al-Ṣanʿānī notes that the word sāʿah (hour) here is not meant to denote a precise, universally agreed length of time.
11- Even within any one of those five hours the worshippers differ in how early they arrive, and the merit of their offering rises according to the quality of that offering.
12- According to al-Ṣanʿānī, people’s rank—whether with respect to Friday or any other deed—is determined by their works, as in the verse, “Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah are those who are most God-fearing” (Q 49:13). Lineage, ancestry, or wealth confer no distinction.
13- The sacrificial animal (hady) required for the rites of ḥajj and the state of iḥrām must come from livestock—camels, cattle, or sheep. A chicken, an egg, or anything similar is not valid in that context, for the ḥadith is speaking only of unrestricted charity.
Hadith 7
On the authority of Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ—one of the Companions who gave the pledge beneath the Tree, may Allah be pleased with him—who said: “We used to perform the Friday prayer with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and then depart when the walls still cast no shade in which we could find shelter.”
In another wording: “We would gather for the Friday prayer with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once the sun had passed its zenith, and then we would return, following the shade.” (1)(2)
Overall meaning
Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ, may Allah be pleased with him, relates that their practice when praying Friday with the Prophet ﷺ was to pray early, completing the two sermons and the prayer and then returning to their homes, and there was no