Desirable things for a Muslim to do on Friday? A- On Friday, it is desirable for the Muslim to pray for Allah's blessings as much as possible on the Prophet (peace be upon him). It has been narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Verily, Friday is one of the best days of yours. On that day, Adam was created and on that day he passed away, and on a Friday (the Trumpet) will be blown and all the humans will swoon away (i.e., die right before resurrection). Therefore, invoke Allah's blessings on me much on that day, for, verily your invoking blessings on me will be presented to me.” Those listening said, “O Messenger of Allah! How will our invoking blessings on you be shown to you when you (your body) will have deteriorated (after death)? He (peace be upon him) replied, “Verily, Allah has made it forbidden for the earth to eat away the bodies of Prophets.” It is also desirable that the Muslim recites the Surah of Al-Kahf (the Cave). It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Said Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever recites Surah Al-Kahf on Friday, that will provide him with light (in the period) between the two (days of) Friday. It is also desirable for the Muslim to beseech Allah much on this day, trying to seek the hour in which Allah responds to invocations on Fridays. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There is an hour on Fridays and if the Muslim gets it while performing prayer and asks something from Allah, then Allah will definitely accept his supplication.” He (peace be upon him) then pointed out the shortness of that time with his hands. Q- What is the Shariah ruling concerning Zakah due on things taken out from the sea? A- The majority of Fuqaha (scholars of Islamic jurisprudence) maintain that no Zakah is due on whatever is taken out from the sea, such as fish, pearls, corals, ambergris,...etc. because Al Bukhari has narrated that Ibn Abbas (my Allah be pleased with him) said, “Ambergris is not included in rikaz (buried wealth; here rikaz can be translated as ore), as something that the sea throws out.” Q- What are the conditions for combining prayers? A- The scholars of Islamic jurisprudence who adopt the view that it is permissible to combine prayers on a journey have stipulated that a traveler who wants to combine prayers must observe the following conditions: • He should have the express intention for the combination in question. • He should perform the Zuhr (Noon) Prayer before the Asr (Afternoon) Prayer and the Maghrib (Sunset) Prayer before Isha'(Evening) Prayer, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to do that. • He should not perform any voluntary prayers in between the two prayers he wants to combine. Q- How many times did the Prophet (peace be upon him) perform Haj (pilgrimage) and how many times did he perform Umrah (lesser pilgrimage)? A- It has been authentically narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed Haj only once and that was the Haj known as the Farewell Pilgrimage. That was in the 10th year after Hijrah as explicitly stated in the narration of Muslim. As for Umrah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed it four times as authentically narrated in more than one hadith. Q- Is it an act of Sunnah that the Muslim performs voluntary prayer before or after Eid Al-Fitr (Day of Feast after Ramadan fast)? A- On the contrary, according to the Sunnah no voluntary prayer is to be performed before or after the Eid Prayer. It has been narrated by Muslim on the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) went out for the Eid Prayer on the Day of Sacrifice or on the Day of Fast-breaking and performed two Rak'ahs (prayer units), but he did not perform any prayer before or after that. – Extracted from 500 Questions and Answers on Islamic Jurisprudence, compiled and translated by Muhammad Abdul
