'Whoever makes ablutions on Friday, it is well and good'

05/12/2013 02:42

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'Whoever makes ablutions on Friday, it is

well and good'
Purification [1]
Date:
Fri, 04/11/2008
Author:
Sheikh Salman al-Oadah [2]
Short Content:
Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: "Whoever performs ablutions on Friday, it is well and good.
And whoever takes a bath has done what is better."
Body:
Samurah b. Jundub narrates that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever
performs ablutions on Friday, it is well and good. And whoever takes a bath has done what is
better."
The status of the hadth
This hadith is related from Samurah b. Jundub by way of al-Hasan al-Basr in Sunan alTirmidh (497), Sunan Ab Dwd (354), Sunan al-Nas' (1379), and Sahh Ibn Khuzaymah
(1757), among other sources.
The hadth has been criticized for two reasons.
1. There is disagreement about al-Hasan al-Basr. It is narrated that he heard the hadth from
Jbir or from Anas, or from Ab Hurayrah, or from Samurah. However, the correct chain of
transmission is that he heard the hadth by way of Samurah.
2. There is disagreement about whether al-Hasan al-Basr actually heard any hadth directly
from Samurah b. Jundub.
Many eminent scholars of hadth assert that al-Hasan al-Basr heard hadth from Samurah b.
Jundub. These scholars include `Al al-Madn, al-Bukhr, al-Tahw, al-Hkim, and alNawaw. However, other scholars have denied this, namely Shu`bah b. al-Hajjj, Ahmad b.
Hanbal, and Ibn Hibbn.
Al-Nas' sserts that al-Hasan al-Basr heard one hadth directly from Samurah b. Jundub.
This is a hadth about the `aqqah which is found in Sahh al-Bukhr (5472).
Al-Bazzr, explains al-Hasan's other narrations from Samurah b. Jundub as follows:
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'Whoever makes ablutions on Friday, it is well and good'

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Al-Hasan heard the hadth about the `aqqah from Samurah b. Jundub, then
became disinterested in hearing anything else from him. When he met Samurah's
children, they presented to him a written document of what they had heard from
their father. Al-hasan would narrate from the document without asserting that he
heard these hadth, since he did not hear them directly from Samurah.
Ibn al-Qayyim comes to the hadth's defense in I`lm al-Muwaqqi`n (2/125) where he writes:
It is established that al-Hasan heard some hadth from Samurah. The only
possible criticism here is that he read this hadth from a written source and
Muslims have relied on written documents from the outset up until the present day.
The Companions, including the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs were unanimous in
their consensus that written documents could be used. People on the scholarly
community rely exclusively upon books. If they refused to do so, the whole field of
Islamic law would come to a standstill.
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) used to send written dispatches to
outlying areas and the recipients of those dispatches would act upon them without
hesitation. The Rightly Guided Caliphs and all people since then have done the
same. Rejecting hadth on this basis is unfounded and wrong. Memory can fail us
at anytime, while what is written down remains faithful from the time of writing.
There are also a number of supporting narrations for this hadth. Though all of their chains of
transmission are weak taken individually, they are of the kind that reinforce one another, so
that we can attest with confidence to the hadth's authenticity.
These include a narration of the hadth from Anas b. Mlik in Sunan Ibn Mjah (1091). There
is another from Jbir in Sunan al-Bayhaq (1/295) and Sharh Ma`n al-Athr (1/119). A third
narration of this hadth comes from Ibn `Abbs in Sunan al-Bayhaq (1/295).
The hadth as been declared authentic by al-Tirmidh, Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Baghaw, and
others.
Its legal implications
The hadth brings up the ruling of taking a full bath on Friday.
Ibn Rajab says: "There is full agreement that a bath is not a condition for the Friday prayer's
validity. The prayer is valid in any case."
What scholars disagree about is whether it is a separate religious duty to bathe on Friday
before attending the Jumu`ah prayer. Some scholars say it is a duty to do so, while the
majority of scholars say that it is just strongly preferred.
The first opinion is that bathing on Friday is obligatory. This was the view of a few
Companions, including Ab Hurayrah and `Umar. It is the opinion adopted by the Zhir
school of thought.
They cite the hadth where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Bathing on Friday is an
obligation on everyone who has reached sexual maturity." [Sahh al-Bukhr (879) and Sahh
Muslim (846)]
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'Whoever makes ablutions on Friday, it is well and good'

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They also cite where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If any of you finds it to be Friday,
he should take a bath." [Sahh al-Bukhr (877) and Sahh Muslim (579)]
Then there is where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "It is every Muslim's duty to bathe
once a week, washing his head and body." [Sahh al-Bukhr (897) and Sahh Muslim (582)]
These are all authentic hadth.
The second opinion is that bathing on Friday is strongly recommended and preferred, but it
is not a religious obligation. This was the view o the vast majority of Companions. It is also the
official ruling of the four schools of law.
The Mlik jurist Ibn `Abd al-Barr asserts: "The Muslims have agreed, throughout the ages,
that bathing for Friday is not obligatory. This is sufficient to put and end to much argument."
[al-Tamhd (10/79)]
They cite as evidence a number of authentic hadth.
1. `A'ishah said: "The people used to engage in their various employments. Then when they
went off to the Jumu`ah prayerr in the state that they were in, they were told: 'Would that you
had taken a bath'." [Sahh al-Bukhr (903) and Sahh Muslim (847)]
This hadth states the reason for taking a bath. It is so that the people attending the prayer will
be clean and not bring an unpleasant smell with them into the crowded mosque form their
having worked and sweated all morning.
Moreover, these people were told "Would that you had taken a bath." This indicates
encouragement, not obligation.
2. `A'ishah also tells us: "People used to go out on Friday from their homes and families. They
would get dirty. They would sweat and become covered in dust. One such person approached
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) while he was with me. The Prophet (peace be upon
him) said: 'If only you people would bathe for this day of yours'." [Sahh al-Bukhr (902) and
Sahh Muslim (847)]
This hadth is like the former in that it specifies the reason for taking a bath on Friday and
indicates that doing so is preferable.
There s a similar hadth narrated from Ibn ``Abbs. [Sunan Ab Dwd (353)]
3. Samurah b. Jundub narrates that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever
performs ablutions on Friday, it is well and good. And whoever takes a bath has done what is
better." [Sunan al-Tirmidh (497), Sunan Ab Dwd (354), Sunan al-Nas' (1379)]
This hadth the authenticity of which we have already discussed is decisive in that wud'
on Friday is not only sufficient, but something good. Bathing is only preferred.
The strongest opinion and Allah knows best is that bathing on Friday is strongly
recommended and preferable, but not obligatory as a general rule. However, it is obligatory
for those who exert themselves on Friday morning and work up a sweat and for those who
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'Whoever makes ablutions on Friday, it is well and good'

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generally have a bad smell when they do not bathe. For such people, bathing is incumbent
upon them before they go to attend the Friday prayer. This is so their smell does not cause
discomfort for others in the congregation. This is the reason that we find indicated in hadth of
`A'ishah and Ibn `Abbs.
This is the conclusion that Ibn Taymiyah arrived at in his Ikhtiyrt (30).
Though this conclusion considers all of the evidences, the fact that we have the Prophet's
statement "Bathing on Friday is an obligation on everyone who has reached sexual
maturity." should make us feel uncomfortable about neglecting to bathe on Friday. The
eminent Companion Sa`d b. Ab Waqqs said: "I never saw any Muslim neglecting to bathe
on Friday."
And Allah knows best.
Purification
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Links:
[1] http://en.islamtoday.net/artlist-12-377.htm
[2] http://en.islamtoday.net/author-202.htm

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