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Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Al-Jumu'ah 62:11

Word by word

وَإِذَا رَأَوْا۟ تِجَـٰرَةً أَوْ لَهْوًا ٱنفَضُّوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوكَ قَآئِمًا ۚ قُلْ مَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ ٱللَّهْوِ وَمِنَ ٱلتِّجَـٰرَةِ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ خَيْرُ ٱلرَّٰزِقِينَ

But [on one occasion] when they saw a transaction or a diversion, [O Muḥammad], they rushed to it and left you standing. Say, "What is with Allāh is better than diversion and than a transaction, and Allāh is the best of providers."

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Prohibition of leaving the Masjid while the Imam is delivering the Friday Sermon

Allah criticizes what happened during one Friday sermon, when a caravan arrived at Al-Madinah and the people rushed out to the merchandise. Allah said,وَإِذَا رَأَوْاْ تِجَـرَةً أَوْ لَهْواً انفَضُّواْ إِلَيْهَا وَتَرَكُوكَ قَآئِماً(And when they see some merchandise or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it, and leave you standing.) meaning, on the Minbar, delivering the Khutbah. Several of the Tabi`in said this, such as Abu Al-`Aliyah, Al-Hasan, Zayd bin Aslam and Qatadah. Muqatil bin Hayyan said that the caravan belonged to Dihyah bin Khalifah before he became a Muslim, and there were drums accompanying it.

So they rushed to the caravan and left Allah's Messenger ﷺ standing on the Minbar. Only a few remained, according to the authentic Hadith that Imam Ahmad recorded that Jabir said, "Once, a caravan arrived at Al-Madinah while Allah's Messenger ﷺ was giving a Khutbah. So, the people left, and only twelve men remained with the Messenger . Then Allah sent down this Ayah,وَإِذَا رَأَوْاْ تِجَـرَةً أَوْ لَهْواً انفَضُّواْ إِلَيْهَا(And when they see some merchandise or some amusement, they disperse headlong to it,)" The Two Sahihs also recorded this Hadith. Allah's statement,وَتَرَكُوكَ قَآئِماً(And leave you standing.) proves that the Imam should deliver the speech on Friday while standing. In his Sahih, Imam Muslim recorded that Jabir bin Samurah said, "(During Jumu`ah,) the Prophet gave two speeches, and he used to sit between them.

The Prophet would recite the Qur'an and remind the people (of Allah)." Allah's statement,قُلْ مَا عِندَ اللَّهِ(Say: "That which Allah has...") means the reward that is with Allah in the Hereafter,خَيْرٌ مِّنَ اللَّهْوِ وَمِنَ التِّجَـرَةِ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الرَزِقِينَ(is better than any amusement or merchandise! And Allah is the best of providers.) means, for those who trust in Him and seek His provisions when they are allowed to do so. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Jumu`ah. All praise and thanks are due to Allah and from Him comes the success and immunity from error.

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Admonishing those who abandon the Imam while he is delivering the Jumu’ ah Khutbah [ Sermon ]وَإِذَا رَ‌أَوْا تِجَارَ‌ةً أَوْ لَهْوًا انفَضُّوا إِلَيْهَا وَتَرَ‌كُوكَ قَائِمًا ۚ قُلْ مَا عِندَ اللَّـهِ خَيْرٌ‌ مِّنَ اللَّـهْوِ وَمِنَ التِّجَارَ‌ةِ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ خَيْرُ‌ الرَّ‌ازِقِينَAnd when they see some merchandise or amusement, they break away to it, and leave you standing. Say, “ What is with Allah is much better than the amusement and the merchandise, and Allah is the best giver of sustenance.” (62:11)The verse admonishes those who once abandoned the Friday sermon and attended some trade activity. Imam Ibn Kathir says that this incident took place when the Holy Prophet ﷺ used to deliver the Friday sermon after the Jumu’ ah prayer, as it happens on ‘Idain عِیدَین even in our days. It once happened that the Friday prayer had finished and the Holy Prophet ﷺ was delivering his sermon. Suddenly a trading caravan arrived in the market-place of Madinah. Drums were beaten to announce the arrival of the caravan. The Friday prayer had finished and the sermon was in progress.

Many of the noble Companions went away to the market-place. Only a few of them had remained behind with the Holy Prophet ﷺ who were about twelve in number [ according to a narration in Marasil of Abu Dawud ]. According to some narratives, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “ If all had gone, the entire valley of Madinah would have been filled with the fire of punishment”. [ Transmitted by Abu Ya’ la, as quoted by Ibn Kathir ].

Muqatil, the leading scholar of Qur’ anic commentary, says that this was the trading caravan of Dihyah Ibn Khalaf Kalbi, which had come from Syria. This caravan normally came to Madinah with all the essentials, especially essential foodstuff. Whenever it arrived in Madinah, and the people came to know about it, men and women all rushed towards it. Dihyah Ibn Khalaf was not a Muslim until then. He became a Muslim later on.

Hasan al-Basri (رح) and Abu Malik said that that was a time when there was scarcity and dearth of things. [ Mazhari ] There were several factors on account of which a large group of the blessed Companions left the mosque when they heard the sound of the caravan. First, the fard prayer had already finished, and they did not know until then the status of the Friday sermon whether it was part of the fard prayer. Second, there was scarcity and dearth of essential goods and items. Third, buyers would rush to the caravan and they feared that if they did not make it in time, they would not be able to obtain their essentials. As a result, the noble Companions committed the mistake and the above Tradition sounded a warning, that is, if all of them had gone the Divine punishment would have overtaken them. The current verse إِذَا رَ‌أَوْا تِجَارَ‌ةً was revealed to admonish them and put them to shame. For this reason, the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، since that day, changed the order of Friday sermon and prayer, delivering the sermons before the prayer. This is now the approved way [ Sunnah ].

[ Ibn Kathir ]The verse under comment instructs the Holy Prophet ﷺ to tell the people that what is with Allah is better than the merchandise and amusement of this world, that is, the reward of the Hereafter. It is not far-fetched to conceive that people who forsake business and earning of livelihood for the sake or prayer and sermon will attract ample blessings in their provision from Allah, even in this world, as was cited earlier from the righteous elders on the authority of Ibn Kathir.

Al-Hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Al-Jumu’ ah

Ends here.

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

إذا رأى بعض المسلمين تجارة أو شيئًا مِن لهو الدنيا وزينتها تفرَّقوا إليها، وتركوك -أيها النبي- قائمًا على المنبر تخطب، قل لهم -أيها النبي-: ما عند الله من الثواب والنعيم أنفع لكم من اللهو ومن التجارة، والله -وحده- خير مَن رزق وأعطى، فاطلبوا منه، واستعينوا بطاعته على نيل ما عنده من خيري الدنيا والآخرة.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

يعاتب تبارك وتعالى على ما كان وقع من الانصراف عن الخطبة يوم الجمعة إلى التجارة التي قدمت المدينة يومئذ ، فقال تعالى : ( وإذا رأوا تجارة أو لهوا انفضوا إليها وتركوك قائما ) أي : على المنبر تخطب . هكذا ذكره غير واحد من التابعين ، منهم : أبو العالية ، والحسن ، وزيد بن أسلم ، وقتادة .وزعم مقاتل بن حيان : أن التجارة كانت لدحية بن خليفة قبل أن يسلم ، وكان معها طبل ، فانصرفوا إليها وتركوا رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - قائما على المنبر إلا القليل منهم .

وقد صح بذلك الخبر ، فقال الإمام أحمد :حدثنا ابن إدريس ، عن حصين ، عن سالم بن أبي الجعد ، عن جابر قال : قدمت عير المدينة ورسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يخطب ، فخرج الناس وبقي اثنا عشر رجلا فنزلت : ( وإذا رأوا تجارة أو لهوا انفضوا إليها )أخرجاه في الصحيحين ، من حديث سالم بهوقال الحافظ أبو يعلى : حدثنا زكريا بن يحيى ، حدثنا هشيم ، عن حصين ، عن سالم بن أبي الجعد ، وأبي سفيان ، عن جابر بن عبد الله قال : بينما النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يخطب يوم الجمعة ، فقدمت عير إلى المدينة فابتدرها أصحاب رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - حتى لم يبق مع رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - إلا اثنا عشر رجلا فقال رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : " والذي نفسي بيده ، لو تتابعتم حتى لم يبق منكم أحد ، لسال بكم الوادي نارا " ونزلت هذه الآية : ( وإذا رأوا تجارة أو لهوا انفضوا إليها وتركوك قائما ) وقال : كان في الاثني عشر الذين ثبتوا مع رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - : أبو بكر ، وعمر ، رضي الله عنهما .وفي قوله : ( وتركوك قائما ) دليل على أن الإمام يخطب يوم الجمعة قائما .

وقد روى مسلم في صحيحه عن جابر بن سمرة قال : كانت للنبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - خطبتان يجلس بينهما ، يقرأ القرآن ويذكر الناس .ولكن ها هنا شيء ينبغي أن يعلم وهو : أن هذه القصة قد قيل : إنها كانت لما كان رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يقدم الصلاة يوم الجمعة على الخطبة ، كما رواه أبو داود في كتاب المراسيل : حدثنا محمود بن خالد ، عن الوليد ، أخبرني أبو معاذ بكير بن معروف أنه سمع مقاتل بن حيان يقول : " كان رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يصلي يوم الجمعة قبل الخطبة مثل العيدين ، حتى إذا كان يوم والنبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - يخطب ، وقد صلى الجمعة ، فدخل رجل فقال : إن دحية بن خليفة قد قدم بتجارة يعني : فانفضوا ، ولم يبق معه إلا نفر يسير .وقوله : ( قل ما عند الله ) أي : الذي عند الله من الثواب في الدار الآخرة ( خير من اللهو ومن التجارة والله خير الرازقين ) أي : لمن توكل عليه ، وطلب الرزق في وقته .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.