بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
1) The messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said on the planks of his pulpit:
‘People must cease to neglect the Friday prayer or Allāh will seal their hearts and then they will be among the negligent.’
رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ عَلَى أَعْوَادِ مِنْبَرِهِ “ لَيَنْتَهِيَنَّ أَقْوَامٌ عَنْ وَدْعِهِمُ الْجُمُعَاتِ أَوْ لَيَخْتِمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ ثُمَّ لَيَكُونُنَّ مِنَ الْغَافِلِينَ ”
(Sahīh Muslim 865)
Imām Nawawī said:
‘His statement: ‘Neglect’, meaning: leaving them, and in that (contains) Friday prayer is an individual obligation.
The meaning of seal is to stamp (i.e. seal) and cover. As Allāh said: خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ – “Allāh has set a seal on their hearts” (al-Baqarah:7) meaning: stamp. Similar to it is Rayn (cover) and it is said: the rayn is easier than stamp and the stamp is easier than iqfāl (lock) , and iqfāl is the most severe of them.
Qādī (Iyād) said: The theologians differed greatly on this matter (i.e. meaning of seal here). It is said: It is the creation of disbelief in their hearts, and this is the saying of most theologians of ahlul sunnah. ‘
(Al-Minhāj 3/379)
2) The messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:
‘Whoever leaves (i.e. doesn’t attend) the Friday prayer three times (in a row) without an excuse*, then Allāh places a stamp (i.e. seal) upon his heart.’
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ مَنْ تَرَكَ الْجُمُعَةَ ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ تَهَاوُنًا بِهَا طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قَلْبِهِ ”
(Al-Tirmidhī 500. Declared Hasan Sahīh by Al-Albānī, Sahīh by Shu’ayb al-Arnāūt)
3) He (ﷺ) also said:
‘Whoever leaves (i.e. doesn’t attend) the Friday prayers thrice without an excuse then he is a hypocrite’.
مَن ترَك الجمعةَ ثلاثًا مِن غيرِ عذرٍ فهو منافقٌ
(Isnād declared Hasan by Shu’ayb al-Arnāūt in Sahīh Ibn Hibbān 258. Declared Hasan Sahīh by Al-Albānī in Sahīh Targhīb wa Tarhīb 1/451)
4) He (ﷺ) also said:
‘Whoever leaves (i.e. doesn’t attend) three Friday prayers, without an excuse, he will be recorded as being from the hypocrites.’
مَنْ ترك ثَلاثَ جمعاتٍ ، مِنْ غيرِ عذرٍ ، كُتِبَ مِنَ المنافقينَ
(Sahīh Targhīb wa Tarhīb 729. Declared Sahīh (Lighayrihi) by Al-Albānī)
5) He (ﷺ) also said:
‘Whoever hears the announcement of Friday prayer and he does not come, then he hears it again and does not come, then he hears it again and does not come, Allāh will place a seal over his heart and turn his heart into the heart of a hypocrite’.
مَن سمعَ النِّداءَ يومَ الجمعةِ فلم يأتِها ثمَّ سمعَهُ فلم يأتِها ثمَّ سمعَهُ ولم يأتِها طبعَ اللَّهُ على قلبِهِ ، وجعلَ قلبَهُ قلبَ مُنافق
(Sahīh Targhīb wa Tarhīb 735. Declared Hasan by Al-Albānī)
Ibn ‘Abbās said:
‘Whoever leaves (i.e. doesn’t attend) the Friday prayer for three consecutive Fridays, then he has thrown Islām behind his back.’
عن ابنِ عبَّاسٍ : من ترَكَ الجمعةَ ثلاثَ جمعٍ متوالياتٍ ، فقد نبذَ الإسلامَ وراءَ ظَهرِه
(Sahīh Targhīb wa Tarhīb 733, declared Sahīh by Al-Albānī. Also authenticated by Ibn Hajr and al-Haythamī)
Al-Mubārakfūrī said:
‘Irāqī said: What is meant by negligence is leaving it without an excuse, and of course what is meant by stamp (i.e. seal) is that his heart becomes like the heart of the hypocrite. End quote.
(Regarding the saying) : ‘A stamp (i.e. Seal)’ it was said: He is recorded as a hypocrite’, such as in Al-Mirqāt (3/420). ‘
(Abridged from Tuhfatul-Ahwadhī 5/197)
Ibn al-‘Arabī said:
If he persists in this (i.e. neglecting and not attending jummu’ah), it is a sign that Allāh has placed a stamp (i.e. seal) on his heart with the the stamp of hypocrisy. And in sahih (Muslim 144) : (The prophet (ﷺ) said:) ‘The Fitan (trials, tests) are offered to the hearts, just as the straws that are sewn into a woven mat, one after another. Any heart that accepts the Fitan, then a black dot will be engraved on it. Any heart that rejects the Fitan, then a white dot will be engraved on it. The hearts will therefore become two categories: white, just like the barren rock; no Fitnah shall ever harm this category as long as the heavens and earth still exist. Another category is black, just as the cup that is turned upside down, for this heart does not recognise good or reject evil.’
Persisting upon disobedience results in a bad end (i.e. death) or takes away the sweetness of obedience, so one loses his religion without feeling it.
(‘Āridat al-Ahwadhī 2/330)
* Legitimate excuses from the Shari’ah:
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymīn said (Regarding the ones that are excused from attending jumu’ah) :
- The sick person who is not able to get to the mosque. Or he is able but with difficulty and (consequently) the humility of prayer is lost, then he is excused.
- The owned slave is excused, because he is busy serving his master.
- The traveller is also excused.
(Abridged from Sharh Mishkāt 2/474-478)
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