Verses 9–11
This section stresses the obligation of the Friday ritual prayer (ṣalāt al-jumuʿa) and the prohibition of engaging in trade when the Friday ritual prayer is due. This section also contains rebuke and admonishment for those who broke up and scattered off, rushing to trade and amusement during the time of the Friday ritual prayer, and condemns them for their deed.
Commentary
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا نُودِيَ لِلصَّلَاةِ مِنْ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ٩
() O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trading; that is better for you, if you know.
The intent of ‘the call made for prayer on Friday’ in this verse, is the Islamic call to ritual worship (al-adhān), as in the verse And when you call to prayer (nādaytum ilā al-ṣalāti) they make it a mockery and a joke; this is because they are a people who do not understand ().
The word ‘Friday’ in Arabic can be spelt either as al-jumuʿa or as al-jumʿa. It is one of the days of the week and it used to be known previously as ‘the day of Pan-Arabism’—yawm al-ʿarūba. Later, the name al-jumuʿa prevailed over it. The identity of the ...prayer on Friday... is the Friday ritual prayer whose day is legislated. The word al-saʿyu in this verse means “to walk quickly, to hasten” while the phrase ...the remembrance of Allah... (dhikrillāh) in this verse, according to one suggestion, refers to the ritual prayer (al-ṣalāt), as in the verse ...and keep up prayer (al-ṣalāt); surely prayer (al-ṣalāt) keeps (one) away from indecency and evil, and certainly the remembrance of Allah (dhikrullāh) is the greatest (). But it is also suggested to refer to the (Friday) sermon (al-khuṭba) which is delivered before the ritual prayer. The part of this verse that says ...and leave off trading... is an imperative to abandon it, and the meaning of this imperative, contextually, is a prohibition from being occupied with any activity which keeps one away from the Friday ritual prayer, irrespective of whether it is trade or other than trade. This is while the reason the prohibition, (in this verse), is (specifically) associated with trade (al-bayʿ) is because trade is the most apparent instance of what occupies a person from the ritual prayer and keeps him or her away from it.
Thus the meaning obtained is: “O you who believe! When the Islamic call to the ritual prayer (al-adhān) is made for the Friday ritual prayer, on its (legislated, chosen) day, then diligently and earnestly walk to the ritual prayer, and leave off trade and everything that preoccupies you or keeps you from it.”
The end part of this verse which reads ...that is better for you, if you know serves as an encouragement and an incitement to the Muslims regarding what God has ordered them of the (Friday) ritual prayer and abandoning trade.
فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَانْتَشِرُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ١٠
() But when the prayer is ended, then disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah’s grace, and remember Allah much that you may be successful.
The initial statement But when the prayer is ended... means “(when) the establishment of the Friday ritual prayer (is ended),” while the clause ...then disperse abroad in the land... means “to separate and disperse in the land.” The statement ...and seek of Allah’s grace... means “to seek sustenance,” considering that this imperative functions as the opposite of the imperative to leave off trade in the previous verse. It was pointed out previously that the (actual) meaning and intent (of leaving off trade) was to leave off everything that preoccupied a person and kept him from the Friday ritual prayer (ṣalāt al-jumuʿa), so similarly, ‘seeking God’s grace’ means seeking His gifts and bestowals in an absolute sense when dispersing in order to seek His grace, (such as) by buying and selling, and seeking divine rewards by visiting the sick, striving to fulfil a Muslim’s need, visiting a believing brother/sister, attending knowledge sessions, and similar deeds.
The imperative ...(and) then disperse abroad in the land... comes after a prohibition (the prohibition of leaving off trading in the previous verse). Consequently, it signifies permissibility and legality rather than obligation. The imperatives ‘seek!’ and ‘remember!’ in this verse also need to be understood in the same fashion.
...and remember Allah much that you may be successful: The meaning of ‘remembrance’ (dhikr) in this verse is more expansive than verbal remembrance. It includes God’s remembrance by the heart by turning to Him from within. This is while ‘success’ (al-falāḥ) (mentioned in this verse) means deliverance from every misery, and in this instance it is purification and knowledge. This is in light of the previous discourse about purification and teaching (of the book and wisdom), and what is in the next verse of severe rebuke and censure. This is because abundant remembrance (of something) entrenches the meaning of what is remembered and evoked, in the soul, and it etches it in the mind, and consequently, the source of heedlessness is removed, while it bequeaths religious piety and God-consciousness, which are the root and source of success. God says O you who believe... be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful ().
وَإِذَا رَأَوْا تِجَارَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا انْفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوكَ قَائِمًا ۚ قُلْ مَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ اللَّهْوِ وَمِنَ التِّجَارَةِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الرَّازِقِينَ ١١
() And when they see merchandise or sport they break up for it, and leave you standing. Say: What is with Allah is better than sport and (better) than merchandise, and Allah is the best of Sustainers.
The word al-infiḍāḍ, in light of what al-Rāghib mentions, means “the breakdown or fracturing of something and the separation and scattering of its pieces one from the other.” In this verse the word is used figuratively or metaphorically.
Transmitted reports of the Shiʿa and the Sunnis agree that once upon a time (during the Prophet’s time), there arrived in Medina a trade caravan. That day was a Friday. The Prophet was standing, delivering a sermon (before the Friday ritual prayer) when they (that is, the members of the caravan) began to beat the drum and the tambourine in order to inform the people (of their arrival) whereupon the congregants in the mosque broke up and scattered off, rushing to them, leaving the Prophet standing (almost alone) preaching, which is when this verse was revealed.
The word al-lahw means the usage of stringed instruments and instruments of singing and music so that people may gather together for trade/merchandise. The feminine singular pronominal suffix hā (it) in ilayhā (infaḍḍū ilayhā—they broke up and scattered off, hastening to it) refers to ‘trade/merchandise’ (tijāra, which is a feminine noun in Arabic) for it was trade/merchandise that was the (actual) intent and purpose (of the caravan) while al-lahw—the use of stringed instruments and instruments of music and singing—was intended for trade/merchandise or for the purpose of (informing and calling people to) trade/merchandise.
It is also suggested that the feminine singular pronominal suffix hā (it) refers to one of them (that is, to merchandise/trade or to sport), as if it was said: “they broke up and scattered off, hastening to sport (al-lahw)” (infaḍḍū ilayhi), or “they broke up and scattered off, hastening to trade/merchandise (al-tijāra)” (infaḍḍū ilayhā). (It is argued that) this is because each one of them, sport (al-lahw) and trade/merchandise (al-tijāra), is a cause or a reason for people to break off and scatter in haste towards it and to gather together for it. That is why (it is argued) the verse in question vacillates between the two, and says ...merchandise or sport... and does not say ‘merchandise/trade and sport’. This is while (it is argued) the feminine singular pronominal suffix hā can be held to validly refer to both of them (that is, to merchandise/trade (tijāra) and to sport (lahw)) for (although) al-lahw—sport (is generally considered to be a masculine noun and therefore referenced by a masculine pronoun yet since it) is primarily a verbal noun (al-maṣdar) both masculinity and femininity are permissible for it (and therefore the feminine singular pronominal suffix can validly apply to it too).
This is the reason the clause ...What is with Allah... is reckoned as being better than each one of them, with regards to it, and so the verse says ...What is with Allah is better than sport and better than merchandise... rather than saying “better than sport and merchandise.”
The sentence Say: What is with Allah is better than sport and (better) than merchandise, and Allah is the best of Sustainers is an imperative to the Prophet to warn them of their error in what they had done—and how horrible and atrocious it was! This is while the meaning of ...What is with Allah... refers to the divine reward (al-thawāb) which accrues from listening to the Friday sermon and the exhortation (it includes).
Thus the meaning obtained is: “Tell them (O Prophet), what is with God of divine reward (al-thawāb) is better than sport (al-lahw) and better than trade/merchandise (al-tijāra) because God’s divine reward (al-thawāb) is goodness which is true, real, eternal, and continuous while whatever goodness exists in sport (al-lahw) and trade/merchandise (al-tijāra) is fanciful, a fantasy, fleeting, futile, and worthless, and perhaps it may entail God’s wrath (too) as in the case of sport (al-lahw).”
It is said that the word khayr (goodness) that occurs in this verse is used here devoid of the meaning of preference, similar to the verse... are sundry lords better or Allah the One, the Supreme? Such usage is widespread ().
The statement, And when they see... consists of the phenomenon of iltifāt, which is a grammatical shift in address. In this case the shift is from second person address (in the previous two verses) to third person address. The point intended to be conveyed by this shift in address is to emphasise, in light of what the context suggests, the condemnation and reproof of the deed by avoiding or refusing to honor them (the perpetrators) with a direct address, and leaving them in the state of the third person, their lord refusing to address or face them by His noble, gracious visage. What (further) augments this refusal to a direct address is the part of this verse which says ...Say: What is with Allah is better... where God does not point out to whom the Prophet has to convey the message. So God did not say “say to them (the perpetrators)” just as He previously mentioned them by means of the third person plural personal pronoun hum (they) (which is implicit in the verb raʿaw—they see) at the beginning of the address, without preceding it with a relevant reference point to which the pronoun could (be understood to) refer to. Thus he merely said And when they see... and He sufficed by the meaning the context provided.
The Best of sustainers (khayr al-rāziqīn) is one of the beautiful names of God, similar to the beautiful name of God ‘the Ever providing/Sustaining’ (al-razzāq), and a discussion on the meaning of sustenance/provision (al-rizq) has already been made before.
Examining Narrations
- Man Lā Yaḥḍuruhu al-Faqīh: It is related that when the muezzin (caller to the Islamic ritual worship (al-muʾadhdhin)) would give out the call for the Islamic ritual prayer on Friday in Medina, a crier would call out: ‘Trade is forbidden due to the speech of God O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on Friday, then hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off trading; that is better for you, if you know ().’
Author’s comment: He (al-Suyūṭī) has recounted this report in (his narrative-based Qur’an commentary) Al-Durr al-manthūr on the authority of Ibn Abī Shayba, ʿAbd ibn Ḥamīd, and Ibn al-Mundhīr from Maymūn ibn Mihrān. The wording of the report there is as follows: When the muezzin (caller to the Islamic ritual worship (al-muʾadhdhin)) would give out the call for the Islamic ritual prayer on Friday in Medina—they (presumably the criers) would call out in the markets: ‘Trade is forbidden, trade is forbidden!’
- Tafsīr al-Qummī explains the words ...then hasten to the remembrance of Allah () as follows: “(It means) speed (or haste or acceleration) in walking.”
- Abū al-Jaʿfar (al-Bāqir) said the following regarding the imperative to hasten (isʿaw) to the remembrance of God in 62:9: ‘It is said “then hasten” meaning: go, depart. And it is said “hasten” meaning: strive/get ready for it (that is, for the Friday ritual prayer, ṣalāt al-jumuʿa). This refers to trimming the moustache, shaving the armpit, cutting the fingernails, having a bath, donning the cleanest attire, and perfuming oneself for (the) Friday (ritual prayer). This is (the meaning of) al-saʿyu (in ).’ (The Imām then offers the following verse to substantiate the second meaning for al-saʿyu by saying): ‘God says And whoever desires the hereafter—and strives for it as he ought to strive (wa saʿā lahā saʿyahā) and he is a believer; (as for) these—their striving shall surely be accepted (kāna saʿyuhum mashkūra) ()’.
Author’s comment: He (the Imām) intends to explain that the word al-saʿyu is not limited to walking quickly (but includes the meaning of ‘to strive for something, to prepare for something’ as outlined above).
- Majmaʿ al-bayān: Anas narrates from the Prophet who said with respect to But when the prayer is ended, then disperse abroad in the land...(): ‘It is not seeking the world but rather visiting the sick, participating in a funeral, and visiting a believing brother’.
Author’s comment: He (al-Suyūṭī) has recorded this report in (his narrative-based Qur’an commentary) Al-Durr al-manthūr from Ibn Jarīr from Anas, from the Prophet, and from Ibn Madawayhi from Ibn ʿAbbās from the Prophet.
- The following report from Abū ʿAbdillāh (al-Ṣādiq) is related in Majmaʿ al-bayān. He said: ‘The ritual prayer is on Friday, and dispersing abroad (al-intishār) is on Saturday.’
Author’s comment: There are many reports available with this meaning.
- In the same source, ʿUmar ibn Yazīd relates from Imām al-Ṣādiq who said: ‘I surely ride out for (my) needs, which needs God has sufficed (me). I do not ride out for them save with the hope and solicitation that God should see me setting out/engaged in procuring lawful (ḥalāl) sustenance. Have you not heard the speech of God But when the prayer is ended, then disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah’s grace, and remember Allah much that you may be successful ()? Have you considered?! If a man enters a house, has its door tightly shut behind him, and then says “My sustenance will come down to me.” Will that happen?! Rather, he is one of three people who are not responded to (by God).’
ʿUmar ibn Yazīd said: ‘I asked: “Who are these (three people)?” He replied: “(The first is) a man who has a wife, whom he prays against (curses her). Such a person shall not have his (negative) entreaty responded to (by God). This is because she depends on him and her custody is in his control (due to the matrimonial authority he has over her). If he wishes he can divorce her and set her free (thereby ridding himself of her). (The second is) a man who has a right on another man but does not testify to it, and so the latter denies him his right and the former prays against (or curses) him. Such a person shall not have his (negative) entreaty responded to (by God). This is because he abandoned what he was instructed to do (which was to testify to his right). (The third is) a man who has a certain ability but chooses to sit at home rather than dispersing abroad in the land. He neither seeks nor searches so that he may sustain himself. When such a person prays (to God) he will not be responded to.”’
- Majmaʿ al-bayān: Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh narrates: ‘A caravan arrived while we were praying with the Messenger of God. So the people (congregants) broke up and scattered off, rushing to it. None save twelve men remained behind and I was one of them, whereupon this verse was revealed And when they see merchandise or sport they break up for it, and leave you standing. Say: What is with Allah is better than sport and (better) than merchandise, and Allah is the best of Sustainers ().
- In ʿAwāli al-Laʾālī, Muqātil ibn Sulaymān narrates: ‘The Messenger of God was delivering his sermon on Friday when Diḥya al-Kalbī arrived from al-Shām (Byzantine) with (his) trade wares. When he would arrive, not a person remained save that s/he visited him (in order to sample his wares). He would offer everything the people needed, when he arrived, from flour and wheat and other things. Then he would beat the drum in order to call the people and inform them of his arrival. The people would come out and purchase from him. Once he arrived on Friday, and this was before he had embraced the Muslim faith. The Messenger of God was delivering the sermon on the pulpit and the people rushed out. None remained in the mosque save twelve men whereupon the Prophet said: “Had it not been for these (twelve), stones from the sky would have rained on them (that is, the people),” and God revealed the verse of Sūrah al-Jumuʿa’.
Author’s comment: This anecdote is narrated by means of many chains of transmission, both Shiʿa and Sunni chains of transmission. The reports however differ regarding the number of congregants who stayed behind in the mosque, between seven to forty congregants.
ʿAwāli al-Laʾālī has the third person plural past tense verb infaḍḍū defined as tafarraqū—to separate and scatter. It is (also) reported from Abū ʿAbdillāh (al-Ṣādiq) who explained the words, And when they see merchandise or sport they break up for it, and leave you standing....() as: ‘they departed for it (inṣarafū ilayhā) and left you standing, preaching on the pulpit (wa tarakūka qāʾiman ʿala al-minbar)’.
- Jābir ibn Samra said: ‘I have not seen the Messenger of God preaching save that he was standing. Therefore, whoever relates to you that he preached while sitting (on the pulpit), deny him and call him a liar’.
Author’s comment: This is related in other reports too.
- Ṭāwūs said: ‘The Messenger of God preached standing. Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUthmān did the same. The first person who sat on the pulpit was Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān’.