1 . Every Muslim should make preparations for jumu’ah from Thursday. After the asr salaat of Thursday, he should make a lot of istighfaar. He should clean his clothes and keep them ready. If he does not have any perfume in his house, then if it is possible he should try and obtain some and keep it ready so that he will not get distracted with these things on jumu’ah. The pious people of the past have stated that the person to receive the most benefit on Friday will be that person who waits for it and who makes preparations for it from Thursday. The most unfortunate person will be he who does not even know as to when Friday will fall, so much so that he will ask the people in the morning as to which day this is. Some pious people used to go and stay in the jaame musjid from the night of jumu’ah in order to make full preparations for the following day. (Ihya aul-Uloom, vol. 1, page 161)

2 . On the day of jumu’ah, ghusl should be made and the hair of the head and the rest of the body should be thoroughly washed. It is also very virtuous to use the miswaak on this day.

3 . After making ghusl, a person should wear the best clothing that he possesses, and if possible he should also apply some perfume. He should also clip his nails.

4 . He should try and go very early to the jaame musjid. The earlier a person goes, the more reward he will receive. Rasulullah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “On the day of jumu’ah, the angels stand at the entrance of that musjid in which jumu’ah salaat is to be offered. They write down the name of the person who enters the musjid first, and thereafter the name of the person who follows, and they continue doing this . The person who entered first will receive the reward of sacrificing a camel in the path of Allah, the one who followed him will get the reward of sacrificing a cow, thereafter a chicken, thereafter the reward of giving an egg as charity in the path of Allah. Once the khutbahcommences, the angels close the register and begin listening to the khutbah. ” (Bukhari and Muslim)

In olden times, the roads and alleys used to be extremely busy in the mornings and at fajr time . All the people used to go so early to the jaame musjid and there used to be such a large crowd that it used to look like the days of Eid . Later, when this habit was given up, people began saying that this is the first innovation in Islam. After writing this, Imam Ghazali rahmatullahialayh says: “Aren’t the Muslims ashamed of themselves that the Jews and Christians go so early in the morning to their synagogues and churches on Saturdays and Sundays. Those who are businessmen go so early to the bazaars in order to do their buying and selling . Why don’t the Muslims do the same?” The reality of the situation is that the Muslims have totally reduced the value of this blessed day. They do not even know what day this is, and what a high status it has. How sad it is that the day which was more valuable than eid in the eyes of Muslims of the past, which Rasulullah (Allah bless him & give him peace) was proud of and the day which was not granted to the previous nations has become so dishonoured at the hands of Muslims today and it is such a great ingratitude to the favor of Allah Ta’ala that the consequence of all this can be seen with our very eyes.

5 . By going walking for the jumu’ah salaat, one gets the reward of fasting for one year for every step that he takes. (Tirmidhi)

6 . On Fridays, Rasulullah (Allah bless him & give him peace) used to recite Surah Alif Laam Meem Sajdah and Surah Hal Ataa, in the fajr salaat . These Surahs should therefore be occasionally recited in the fajr salaat on Fridays . Occasionally they should be left out so that people do not regard their recitation as wajib.