Nur al-Luma fi Khasa is al-Jumua
- Author died
- 911 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Nur al-Luma fi Khasa'is al-Jumu'a (The Radiance of the Glimmer on the Distinctive Qualities of Friday) is a treatise on the virtues, rulings, and unique characteristics of Friday and the Friday prayer by the Shafi'i scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 CE) . It is also recorded under the variant title al-Luma' fi Khasa'is Yawm al-Jumu'a .
Background and Purpose
In the introduction to the work, al-Suyuti notes that Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya had enumerated twenty-odd special qualities of Friday in his book Zad al-Ma'ad (referred to by al-Suyuti as Kitab al-Hady) . Finding that Ibn al-Qayyim had omitted many additional characteristics, al-Suyuti compiled this treatise to provide a comprehensive yet concise survey along with the supporting textual proofs, compiling a total of over one hundred distinct characteristics .
Structure and Content
The treatise is structured around numbered individual characteristics (khasa'is) of Friday and its associated worship, extending to 101 distinct points with cited hadiths and narrations :
- Rituals and Legal Rulings: The work details Friday as a recurring weekly festival (eid) for the Muslim community; the dislike of singling out Friday for fasting or its preceding night for vigil prayers; the specific recitation of Surah al-Sajdah and Surah al-Insan during the dawn prayer; the specific requirements of the Friday congregation and sermon (khutbah); the obligation of listening attentively; the prohibition of travel before prayer; and the prescribed etiquette of taking a ritual bath (ghusl), using the toothstick (siwak), perfuming, clipping nails, trimming hair, perfuming the mosque with incense, and wearing fine clothing .
- Devotional Merits and Supplications: It addresses the multiplication of rewards for charity and righteous actions; the special hour of divine response (sa'at al-ijaba) on Friday, accompanied by discussions of scholarly opinions concerning its timing; the recommendation to invoke abundant blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ on Friday and its eve; and the specific recitation of chapters from the Quran, including Surahs al-Kahf, al-Dukhan, Ya-Sin, Al 'Imran, and Hud .
- Eschatological and Otherworldly Virtues: The work details narrations concerning Friday as the master of days (sayyid al-ayyam); the day stored specially for the Muslim nation; protection from the punishment and trial of the grave for whoever dies on Friday or its night; the assembly and visitation of souls in the intermediate realm (barzakh); that Hellfire is not stoked on that day; and that the Day of Resurrection will take place on Friday .
Transmission and Manuscripts
Manuscript copies of the treatise have been preserved in several international libraries and collections, including the Vatican Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, Princeton University Library, Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya and al-Azhar Library in Cairo, and the central libraries of King Saud University and the Islamic University of Madinah .
Answer updated