Good Friday

For Muslims, all Fridays are good. It is a day to renew our spirits, our commitment to leading a good life. Allah commands us in the Quran to leave all matters and attend to prayer at the time of Juma prayer. It can be tricky to get enough time off from school or work to go the mosque, but it is very important that we try our best to do this. And what if we cannot? Can we have a little Juma in our heart? While people around us rejoice that it is Friday and the weekend has begun, we can join in, but also remember that Fridays and weekends are not just about making big plans and having fun. They are times to take a break from the frantic pace of the week, for when we are forever rushing, we do not have time to look within us or reflect on the signs of Allah all around us.

If we were not able to make it to the mosque for Juma prayer, we can do some Quran reading when we come home and are relaxed. One ruku of the Quran is a complete sermon in itself, if we take time to think about it and absorb its lessons. Allah does not require us to devote the entire day to worship and neglect our worldly lives. We can study, work and play on Juma, but we must create some space in this day for something bigger than our daily worldly concerns. Allah calls us on Juma to rise above our petty concerns, to see them for what they really, to take a step back and observe the course of our days.

Sometimes worldly concerns can feel like an octopus with all eight tentacles digging into us. Juma reminds us that we can drop all matters to turn to Allah, even temporarily. The world will not come crashing down. We do not hold it up. Allah does.

All Fridays are good for Muslims if we choose to make them so. May all our Jumas be good.