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Islam and Sabbath
- Thread starter Starlight
- Start date
I direct you to this portion of @Vouthon 's post,
'The fact that the Qur'an assumes, from the outset, that people will be "at business" on Friday when the summons to the prayer sounds, is reflective of the fact that Islam treats Friday - yes as the holiest day of the week but - not as a "sabbath" day of rest akin to the Jewish Shabbat on Saturday and the Christian Sunday.'
Do you regard being at business as being at rest?
If not then that is why it is a stretch.
In my opinion.
stvdv
Veteran Member
This feels like a question loaded with critique, is there?
Are you a Muslim? If not, what's it to you whether or not a Muslim does or does not observe Sabbath?
That's between Muslim and Allah, it's none of my business to question their beliefs, I just need to question my own beliefs
Epic Beard Man
Bearded Philosopher
In Arabic "Jummah" or Jumu'ah literally means Friday. Like Judaism and Christianity, congregants get together for prayer and remembrance. Unlike the interpretations of the Bible where "God rested," Islam or more specifically the Qur'an states that God does not rest in the sense of humans consider resting. However, Friday prayers are obligatory based on certain contingencies (which are based on certain Islamic schools of thought). Overall for both Sunnis and Shias it is important.
Epic Beard Man
Bearded Philosopher
Depends on the business. If one owns the business and is incapable of leaving said business they can do their prayers in unison to the Jumu'ah gathering or simply spend some time listening to the sermon online which is the performing of Dhuhr. However, we need to be careful in saying that Jumu'ah is akin to the Sabbath for Christians and Jews because it is not. To be clear in Islam God did not rest in creation (I would assume cosmologically creation is thus a continuous process ad infinitum). Technically according to some Hadiths (of course Quranic verses) Friday is obligatory if one hears the muezzin according to the following:
"For more benefit, it is to mention that the previous hadith also means that among the conditions of the obligation of the Friday prayer and congregational prayer is hearing the call to prayer which includes forcibly those who are outside of an agglomeration and, by a greater reason, those who are inside it. What should be considered in hearing the call to prayer is that the muezzin should have a resonant voice; the voices should be quiet, winds calm and no other impediments.
This been said, it is stated in jurisprudence that whomever Friday prayer is not compulsory upon and does not attend it, perform it Dhuhr."
See:Abandoning the Friday prayer for work | The official website of Sheikh Muhammad Ali FERKUS
I have to disagree with @Vouthon because the Qur'an imparts what it would seem the obligatory condition of attending Friday prayer in the following verse:
﴾O you who believe (Muslims)! When the call is proclaimed for the Salât (prayer) in Friday (Jumu ̀ah prayer) come to the remembrance of Allah [Jumu ̀ah religious talk (khutba) and Salât (prayer)] and leave off business (and every other thing). That is better for you if you did but know!﴿ [Al-Jumu`a (Friday): 9].
Supported by Hadith in the Following:
"Another evidence is the Prophet’s صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم statement: “Let those people (who do not attend the Friday congregational prayers) stop from leaving the Friday (congregational prayers), otherwise, Allah would set a seal upon their hearts, and they would become from amongst the negligents”(1). In another statement, he صلَّى الله عليه وسلَّم said: “Whoever leaves three Friday prayers through negligence, Allah will seal his heart”
[Reported by Abu Dâwûd, chapter of “Prayer”, concerning the branching of the Friday prayer chapters, concerning the grievous punishment for neglecting the Friday prayer, At-Tirmidhi, chapter of “Friday”, concerning what was said about abandoning Friday prayer without an excuse, Ibn Mâjah, chapter of “Performing prayer and the Sunna in it”, concerning whoever abandons the Friday prayer without an excuse, Ahmad (3/424-425), Ibn Hibân, chapter of “Prayer”, concerning the Friday payer (hadith 2275) from the hadith of Abu Al-Ja`d Ad-Dhamri رضي الله عنه. This hadith is judged authentic by Al-Albâni in “Sahîh At-Targhîb Wat-Tarhîb” (hadith 727).]
Epic Beard Man
Bearded Philosopher
Well, Muslims don't observe Jewish customs (with the exception of a few things like eating pork, no regard for idolatry, and no depiction of prophetic figures, etc), and because the framework of Islam assumes that this religion is the perfection of God's religion for mankind, all other previous religions and customs are negated which is why Muslims don't observe the "Sabbath" as Jews do.
In my opinion what @Vouthon said had nothing to do with rejecting Friday prayers in favour of work.
Rather he appeared to be saying you are allowed to work on Friday until the time of Friday prayer.
This in my opinion makes it technically different and not in essence the same as the Sabbath where according to my understanding the whole day is a day of rest.
Still there is a sentiment from your post we can firmly agree on,
'we need to be careful in saying that Jumu'ah is akin to the Sabbath for Christians and Jews because it is not.'
InvestigateTruth
Veteran Member
In Islamic countries, working on Friday is not forbidden. But as far as I know, Jews are forbidden to work on Saturdays.
So, in this sense, the Muslims do not obey Law or Covenant of Sabbath.
This is because, God can change previous Laws and replace it with a new Law and ordinances as stated in the Quran.
stvdv
Veteran Member
Do you think they should?
IF answer is "no" THEN why you ask?
IF answer is "yes" THEN why you care?
Truthseeker
Non-debating member when I can help myself
No, Constantine did.Didn't you hear God changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, biblically?
On March 7, 321, Sunday, which was sacred to Christians as the day of Christ's resurrection and to the Roman Sun God Sol Invictus, was declared an official day of rest.
Constantine the Great and Christianity - Wikipedia
Truthseeker
Non-debating member when I can help myself
Another thing I learned from you about Islam:
In many predominantly Muslim countries Friday is a weekly holiday, sometimes combined with either Thursday or Saturday. However there is no mandatory closing of businesses except during the time of the congregational prayer.
Friday – The Best Day of the Week
firedragon
Veteran Member
- May I ask you why they should follow the sabbath?
- And please state what you mean by sabbath.
firedragon
Veteran Member
Muslims not believing in Friday being a forbidden to work day is not because they believe the law has changed.
You conflated a Muslim tradition and your faith statement and made one whole scriptural soup of it.
firedragon
Veteran Member
The Quran doesn't say "Friday". In the Tanakh, people who violate the Sabbath should be stoned to death. So these two theologies are poles apart.
Anyway, do you know what Sabbath means in the Quran?
exchemist
Veteran Member
Hmm, I seem to feel a No True Scotsman coming on.
Returning to the question I asked you in post 6, in what sense do Muslims not observe the sabbath, in your view? Or, to put it more generally, what in your view are the defining features of sabbath observance that neither Christians nor Muslims observe?
exchemist
Veteran Member
Yes. The weekend in many Muslim countries is Thursday afternoon and Friday, or sometimes Friday and Saturday. But like Christians, they don't necessarily feel strictly forbidden to work at all at the weekend.
I never said the Quran says "Friday" and no, I do not know what Sabbath means in the Quran, but assume it to be a reference to the Jewish Sabbath.
Spirit of Light
Be who ever you want
This might answer your question
- The Muslims believe the best day of the week is Friday. Allah asked us to stop and take time for Jummah prayer and then afterward, go back to work, home, or whatever we were doing better.
- The day of the Sabbath, in Judeo-Christian traditions, also comes from the idea that on the last day God needed to rest after he made the Universe. This is problematic because Islam says that Allah never needs to rest since He is above all human-like attributes
firedragon
Veteran Member
Well, Jewish sabbath is a western orientalists statement.
Sabbath or Sabth comes from 7, and means the 7th. Once a week. or 7th day.
BTW, I didnt say you said Friday, I dont know if it was a cut and paste from another post or something which said "Friday".
Anyhow you got me curious so I went to the Quranic Arabic Corpus and it (ie the QAC) appears to say the Quran does say friday. If you look at 62:9:9 here The Quranic Arabic Corpus - Word by Word Grammar, Syntax and Morphology of the Holy Quran
It says
(62:9:9)
l-jumuʿati
(of) Friday,
اسم علم مجرور