Friday Prayers at the Mosque

This is the scene in front of a Dubai mosque just yesterday, Friday, and I took it at a stop light on Jumeirah Beach Road. You'll notice how full the mosque is. This is atypical for the middle of the week but somewhat normal on Friday at the Jumuah prayer.

The Jumuah is the name for the Friday prayer time in Islam that happens just after noon and is preceeded by a sermon or Khutba by the Imam of the mosque. The friday prayer is perhaps the most important of all the prayer times for muslims. Prayer is required 5 times a day but this one is special in importance. Thus most of the mosques see large crowds gather particularly on Friday. The Khutba (or sermon) is typically broadcast over a loudspeaker to the surrounding neighborhood here in the UAE.

Here's a selection of things the Koran, the Hadith's (saying of the Prophet), and some Islamic scholars/teachers have said about the Jumuah and muslim prayer in general:

The Prophet said...

"If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it five times a day, do you think he would have any filth left on him?" The people said, "No filth would remain on him whatsoever." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, "That is like the five daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

In another hadith, the Prophet said,

"The five daily prayers and the Friday Prayer until the Friday prayer are expiation for what is between them." (Recorded by Muslim.)

And...

"Of all the days, Friday is the most virtuous. It is on this day that the trumpet will be blown. Send abundant blessings upon me on Fridays because they are presented to me on that day."

On this day it is commanded by the Prophet that you should take a full bath (ghusl), put on clean clothes and perfume/cologne if you have it. Also, it is not obligatory for females to offer this particular prayer.

The Koran says...

"O you who believe! When the call for Friday prayer is made, hasten towards the remembrance of Allah Most High and leave all transactions. This is best for you if only you know." (I'm unsure of this reference)

"Verily, man was created impatient, irritable when evil touches him and niggardly when good touches him. Except for those devoted to prayer those who remain constant in their prayers…" (al-Maarij 19-23)

The Christian View of Prayer - A Very Short Summary

The Christian view of prayer is different from the Muslim view. Christian prayer is simply communication with God. In prayer, a person can do any number of different things including, acknowledge God's character, holiness, and other attributes, cry out to him in emotional pain and anguish, make requests of God to intervene in our lives and in the world to act in certain ways in keeping with his character and purposes in the world, remind God of his promises, ask for wisdom for decisions and life choices, etc. The Bible is full of examples of prayers of people in many different life situations. We should study them and pattern our prayers after them in the appropriate times and situations.

I know of no examples of Muslim prayers in the Koran presumably because the Koran is almost thoroughly a recounting of God's words directly to the Prophet.

One of the most important things about Christian prayer is that is not a duty that atones for or makes expiation for sin. It does not enhance one's moral standing before God. In fact, only through Christ, the perfect God-man, can we "boldly approach the throne" of God in prayer. Apart from Christ we approach a holy God as sinful and rebellious people and we will not be accepted.

Also, it should be noted that for the Christian no physical cleaning is required to approach God in prayer.

For the Muslim readers who check out this post, let me know if I've made mistakes in my simple recounting of Islamic prayer and specifically the Jumuah prayer. I got most of the information from here, here, and here.