Question:
Assalamualaikum, is there any mention about the advantages of a person dying on Friday?
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam.
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Regarding the above question, Friday is an honoured day and also a day of celebration for the Muslim ummah. The reason is on the day the Muslims are obligated to perform the Friday prayer in congregation where it is not so on any other day. Furthermore, on Fridays, there is a time when any supplication made by a person is granted by Allah SWT. Thus, a question arises, is there any advantages for those who die on the night or day of Friday? Hence, we would first state several hadiths which narrate the advantages of anyone who dies on Friday.
Matan Hadith
The following are the hadiths related for those who dies on the night or day of Friday:
- First hadith: Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
مَنْ مَاتَ يَوْمَ الجُمُعَةِ أو لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ وُقِيَ فِتْنَةَ القَبْرِ
"No Muslim dies on the day of Friday, nor the night of Friday, except that Allah protects him from the trials of the grave."
Musnad Ahmad (6359)
- Second hadith: Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَمُوْتُ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ أَو لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ إلَّا وَقَاهُ اللَّهُ فِتْنَةَ القَبْرِ
"No Muslim dies on the day of Friday, nor the night of Friday, except that Allah protects him from the trials of the grave."
Sunan al-Tirmizi (994)
- Third hadith: Narrated by Jabir bin Abdillah RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
مَنْ مَاتَ لَيْلَةَ الْجُمُعَةِ أَوْ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ أُجِيْرَ مِنْ عَذَابِ القَبْرِ وَجَاءَ يَوْمَ القيامةِ وَعَلَيْهِ طَابِعُ الشُّهَدَاءِ
“Whoever dies on the night of Friday or day of Friday will be freed from the punishment of the grave and on the day of Judgement will come with the signl of those who died as a martyr.”
Hilyah al-Awliya’ (3:181)
- Fourth hadith: Narrated by Abdullah bin Amr RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
مَنْ مَاتَ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ أَوْ لَيْلَتَهَا غُفِرَ لَهُ
“Whoever dies on the day of Friday or its night, then he is forgiven (sins).”
Mizan al-I’tidal (4:299)
Status of the Hadith
- First hadith: The hadith is ruled as hasan with all the chain of narration (sanad) by al-Albani in his book Ahkam al-Jana’iz. Syeikh Syu’aib al-Arnaout said the sanad of this hadith is weak (dhaif) and the syawahid supporting the hadith can’t and unsuitable to be used as syawahid. Furthermore, he stated that al-Albani has made a mistake in ruling the status of the hadith by following al-Mubarakfuri in Tuhfah al-Ahwazi. (See Musnad Ahmad, 11:150)
- Second hadith: Imam al-Tirmizi evaluated the hadith as Gharib and the sanad of the hadith is discontinuous. Likewise, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said the sanad of the hadith is weak. (See Fath al-Bari, 3:253)
- Third hadith: Imam Ibn Qayyim ruled the hadith as dhaif (weak) for there is a narrator named Umar bin Musa and he is dhaif (weak). (See al-Ruh, 81). Syeikh Syu’aib al-Arnaout said regarding the hadith by Jabir, Abu Hatim said that Umar bin Musa is forgetful and fabricator of hadith. Moreover, al-Daraqutni and al-Nasaie ruled him as matruk (his narrations are left). Furthermore, Ibn ‘Adiy said Umar bin Musa fabricated the hadith in terms of the matan and sanad. (See Musnad Ahmad, 11:150)
- Fourth hadith: Imam al-Zahabi ruled the narration (hadith) as mungkar. (See Mizan al-I’tidal, 4:299)
Disposition
According to the above status and evaluations stated, we are inclined to state that there is no sahih hadith which specifically narrates the advantages of anyone who dies on the day or night of Friday. Furthermore, we would like to state here that whoever who dies on the day or night of Friday, it is a sign of husnul khatimah (a good ending). However, for those who died on the day or night of Friday, for them to attain the specific advantages, they must fulfil several conditions according to the mafhum of numerous evidences. Among them are:
- Die as a Muslim
- Die as a believer
- Did not die in sin or committing transgressions
Consequently, Friday is the best of days and this is stated in a hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah RA, where the Prophet PBUH said:
خَيرُ يومٍ طَلَعتْ عليه الشمسُ يومَ الجُمُعةِ ، فيه خُلِقَ آدمُ ، وفِيه أُدْخِلَ الجنةَ ، وفيه أُخْرِجَ مِنها ، ولا تَقومُ الساعةُ إِلَّا في يومِ الجُمعةِ
“The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday; on it Adam was created. on it he was made to enter Paradise, on it he was expelled from it. And the last hour will take place on no day other than Friday.”
Sahih Muslim (1411)
Besides, on Fridays, there is a special time when Allah SWT will grant any supplication of His slaves to Him. This is stated in a sahih hadith from Abu Hurairah RA, the Messenger PBUH said the following when he was describing Friday:
فيه ساعةٌ، لا يُوافِقُها عبدٌ مسلمٌ، وهو قائمٌ يُصلِّي، يَسأَلُ اللهَ تعالى شيئًا، إلا أعطاه إياه
"There is a time in it (Friday) at which no Muslim would stand up while praying and beg Allah, Who is Great and Glorious, for something except that He would give it to him."
Sahih al-Bukhari (883)
According to some of the hadiths stated, it is clear that Friday has its own advantages compared to any other days.
Conclusion
To conclude, death is a certainty for every individual who is alive and it can come at any time, where it would not be delayed or hastened for even a second. Thus, let us all increase our worship and preparation to meet with Allah SWT. Lastly, may Allah SWT accept all our deeds and make us from among who dies in husnul khatimah. Amin.