062- AL-JUMU’AH
THE CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Although a minority maintain that al-Jumu’ah is a Makkan sūrah, internal indicators, such as the reference to the Jews in v. 6, affirm that it is from the Madinan period. It takes its name from the exhortation to gather for the Friday congregational prayer in v. 9 and is the fourth in the group of sūrahs known as “The Glorifiers” (al-Musabbiḥāt), which begin with a reference to the glorification of God; the other sūrahs are 57, 59, 61, and 64. This sūrah is connected to the previous sūrah by the manner in which both compare the commerce of this world with the affairs of the next. Some also liken the praise for those who fight in His way in ranks in the previous sūrah (61:4) to the call to attend the congregational prayer, as Muslims are also called to stand in ranks during prayer.
The Prophet is reported to have often recited this sūrah and the following sūrah, al-Munāfiqūn, together during the congregational prayer on Fridays. According to a ḥadīth, “The best day over which the sun has risen is the day of the congregational prayer (al-jumuʿah); on it did God create Adam, and on it did Adam enter the Garden, and on it was he removed from the Garden. And the Hour will not come save on the day of the congregational prayer”. According to another ḥadīth, “It is named ‘The Gathering’ [another translation for al-jumuʿah], because that is the day on which Adam’s physical nature (khalq) was gathered together” or “in which God gathered together the physical nature of Adam”.
After extolling the Prophet as a blessing for his followers present and future (vv. 1–4), al-Jumuʿah warns of the afflictions that befell the Jews for having failed to uphold the Torah (vv. 5–8). It then calls the Muslims to take leave of worldly transactions for a time in order to observe the Friday congregational prayer (vv. 9–11).
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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