How to perform Friday prayers?

Take a bath and thoroughly clean the body

The first step is to take a bath, clean and clip the nails and wear clean clothes before heading for the mosque.

Visit a Mosque

It is important that a Friday prayer is done in a mosque. If there is a mosque located nearby, one must walk to it in a slow and relaxed manner.

Hear the Khutbah

Khutbah is a speech that an Imam of the mosque delivers. Muslims must listen to every word of it, carefully, without making any noise.

Call upon an intention to pray

After Khutbah, align closely with Muslim brothers and call for an intention to pray, perform two rakat prayers and follow the Imam.

Du’a: An Hour on Friday

There is a special hour on Friday, during which all prayers are accepted and answered by Allah, all praises and glory be to Him. This is part of the blessings that Allah bestowed on this day, over all the other days of the week.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

“On Friday, there is an hour during which, if any Muslim is standing in front of Allah in salat, and asking Allah for something good, he will be granted his request.” Then he made a sign with his hands, showing that it a very short period of time. (Recorded in al-Bukhari)

There are numerous opinions as to the exact hour of Friday during which this occurs, but two opinions are the strongest: when the Imam sits down between the two khutbahs until the end of the khutbah, and after the ‘Asr prayer until the maghrib prayer.
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, preferred the second opinion over the first, because of the following hadith: “Friday has twelve hours (or parts to it).
There is one hour during which if a Muslim asks Allah anything, Allah will give it to him, so find it during the last hour after ‘Asr.” (Recorded in Abu Dawud) This is also the opinion of the vast majority of early scholars and the Prophet’s companions, peace be on them all, that this hour occurs after ‘Asr, and right before sunset. And Allah knows best.

Hadiths about Fridays

#1 Ibn `Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah explained the importance of coming early for the Friday prayers. The descend starts with the one who comes at the earliest, and it is equivalent to sacrificing a camel. Further delays are equivalent to sacrificing a cow, a sheep, a duck, a chicken, and the last is an egg, which is the smallest sacrifice of all that one can offer when the person attends the prayer for the last time.

#2Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet saying that angels descend on the earth and sits on the doors of the mosque to record the names of Muslims who appeared for the Jumu’ah prayer. After the completion of the last prayer, Imam comes out, and angels roll their scrolls up.

#3 Abu Sa ‘id A-Khudari reported from the Prophet that the one who reads Surah Al-Kahf on a Friday night would experience a stretch of divine light between self and the Kaaba, also called the Ancient House.

#4 Abu Hurairah reported on the Prophet who called the five daily prayers, and prayers between two consecutive Fridays and one Ramadan to the next as a time when one can repent for sins and be blessed with mercy and forgiveness. The only condition is one must not have committed unavoidable sins in their lives.

Hadiths explaining Don’ts for Fridays

#1 Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet said that one must not speak when the Imam is delivering the Khutbah, not even to ask someone else or a partner to listen attentively. It is believed to be idle talk, which is not acceptable.

#2 Ibn `Umar and Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah said that people must not neglect Friday prayers, or the almighty would seal their hearts and not pay attention to them at all. They would be among the heedless for Him.