Question
Why was Saturday chosen as a sacred day for Bani Israel, instead of Friday?
Answer
Salaam.
In the opinion of Mr Ghamidi, the sacred day for the Children of Israel was Friday, which they later on changed to Saturday. In his reading, the Almighty has also alluded to this in the Qur’an (16:124). In his commentary on Qur’an 2:65, Ghamidi writes:
The word “Sabbath” means “holiday.” It was originally on Friday but the Israelites changed it into the day following it.
Several hadith narratives of the Prophet (sws) also seem to allude to the fact that Friday was the original sacred congregational day for the progeny of Abraham (pbuh).
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ أَضَلَّ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْجُمُعَةِ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَنَا فَكَانَ لِلْيَهُودِ يَوْمُ السَّبْتِ وَكَانَ لِلنَّصَارَى يَوْمُ الأَحَدِ فَجَاءَ اللَّهُ بِنَا فَهَدَانَا اللَّهُ لِيَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah (ra) said: “The Messenger of Allah (sws) said: It was Friday from which Allah diverted those who were before us. For the Jews (the day set aside for prayer) was Sabt (Saturday), and for the Christians it was Sunday. And Allah turned towards us and guided us to Friday (as the day of prayer) for us…”
Muslim, The Book of Friday Prayer, Chapter 6, Hadith 1978
Regards,
Answered by: Mushfiq Sultan
Date: 2017-05-31
