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Can We Skip the Friday Congregational Prayer Once In A While?

Question: Is your religion so strict that you cannot skip your Friday prayers once in a while? Surely God understands that you have something important to attend to?!

Answer: Our religion is not strict or difficult. In fact it is a beautiful and practical religion designed by the Most Wise to ensure we stay within His protection all the time. The whole idea of Submission to God alone is that we do what He wants us to do as best as we can, not as and when it suits us. If we obey God, He takes care of all our requirements, and guarantees that He will make up to us anything we may feel we have lost. That is the test of our faith in God.

The verses that ask us attend the Friday prayers are:

[62:9-11] O you who believe, when the Congregational Prayer (Salat Al-Jumu`ah) is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of GOD, and drop all business. This is better for you, if you only knew. Once the prayer is completed, you may spread through the land to seek GOD's bounties, and continue to remember GOD frequently, that you may succeed. When some of them come across a business deal, or some entertainment, they rush to it and leave you standing! Say, "What GOD possesses is far better than the entertainment or the business. GOD is the best Provider."

Incidentally, it is the same for our 5 daily contact prayers. We must not miss them and God is witnessing everything. If we are in a situation where we cannot prostrate and pray, we must say the prayers in whatever way we can, even if standing, walking, sitting or lying down.
[5:12]…And GOD said, "I am with you, so long as long as you observe the Contact Prayers (Salat)…
[70:32-34] And the believers keep their word; they are trustworthy. Their testimony is truthful. They consistently observe their contact prayers (Salat) on time.
[2:238-239] You shall consistently observe the Contact Prayers, especially the middle prayer, and devote yourselves totally to GOD. Under unusual circumstances, you may pray while walking or riding….

Further, it is God who decides what we need, and provides what we get. Our job is to try and fulfill our obligations to Him first. In turn He looks after everything we need and knows exactly what our innermost intentions are. If we are sincere in our efforts and for any reason we cannot make the Friday prayers, we must seek His help and forgiveness. He is the Best Judge and Most Merciful.

Also consider this. If you were having some serious problems and were told to do certain prayers to have the problems fixed, would you not do so most steadfastly, no matter what? Would you then dare to miss your prayers “once in a while?” How about if God decided to skip answering your prayers for relief or anything else once in a while? Would you accept that or do you expect Him to answer you every time you ask for something?

Take an example from your daily life. You will accommodate genuine mistakes and reasons for absence from sincere employees once in a while. But if they attended to other matters on your time or did not regularly comply with office rules, how long will you tolerate that? It kind of works the same way with submission to God so we should never take His tolerance and mercy for granted. That one duty you skipped could just be the one you needed to save your soul! Therefore, we believers must look for ways to please God, not excuses for disobeying His commandments.

[5:35] O you who believe, you shall reverence GOD and seek the ways and means to Him, and strive in His cause, that you may succeed.
[7:163] Remind them of the community by the sea, who desecrated the Sabbath. When they observed the Sabbath, the fish came to them abundantly. And when they violated the Sabbath, the fish did not come. We thus afflicted them, as a consequence of their transgression.

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