Al hamdulillaah the Jumu’ah far exceeded our wildest expectations. Depending solely (after Allah) on only word-of-mouth announcements, a few emails, a post on Qatar living, more than 900 people attended and the mosque was filled almost to capacity – Allahu Akbar. It looks as though we will have to make arrangement for rugs outside the mosque for next Jumu’ah in order to accommodate the next wave, once the word spreads!!
The khutbah topic was on Jumu’ah itself and I hope to have it up here soon. In the first half, I spoke about Allah’s choice of Friday for Muslims, after ordaining Saturday for the Jews and permitting by Qadar Sunday to be chosen by the Christians. Then I discussed the status of Friday as the Eed of the week, and why fasting on Friday was prohibited. Also I focused on the relationship between Jumu’ah and daily prayers and the benefits of purification from sin attributed to both Jumu’ah and daily prayers.
In the second half I spoke about the etiquettes of Jumu’ah. Why we are doing it in English and why it is not considered Bid’ah to do so. I clarified that there was no “sunnah” prayers between the two athaans and the rules concerning talking and playing during the khutbah. The issue of bringing children to the mosque was also elaborated on and the responsibility of parents in keeping a close watch on their children was stressed. I also touched on the importance of the 2 rak’aat prior to sitting in the mosque, the importance of the first lines and sitting attentively, as well as preparations for Jumu’ah and Soorah al-Kahf.
