Jumu'ah: the Friday prayer
Islamic Studies · Key Stage 2 · The School
One prayer, replaced
On Fridays, the Dhuhr prayer is replaced. JUMU'AH takes its place instead, a shared prayer at the mosque. It includes a sermon first, called the KHUTBAH. For adult men, going is required. It is not simply the same prayer, said in a different place.
What the Quran instructs
The Quran addresses it directly (62:9). When the call to prayer is made on this day, hurry towards it. Leave off trading. That is better for you, it says. Business pauses. The mosque comes first, right at that moment. Even a busy market slows down.
After the prayer ends
The same surah continues (62:10). Once the prayer has ended, disperse. Go and seek out Allah's provision. Ordinary life is not set aside for the whole day. It is one focused pause, in the middle of it. Then life carries on. Shops open their doors again.
Midday gets close. Shops near the mosque grow quiet. People arrive early for a good spot, since the mosque fills up fast. The khutbah comes first, usually in two parts. Then the shared prayer, everyone standing in straight rows together. Then, exactly as 62:10 says, people disperse back into their ordinary Friday. Shops reopen. Work starts again.