|
Wa`alykum As-Salaamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother in Islam, thanks for forwarding your question to us, and we implore Almighty Allah to make our efforts come up to your expectations.
As regards your question, the following is the fatwa issued by Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
“Insha’Allah, I would like to thank the viewer or the listener for taking the time for asking questions. Allah Almighty says, “The true believers are those who hear the advice and act upon the best of it.” So may Allah grant us the tawfeeq to benefit from knowledge and act upon it, amen!
Allah says in the Qur’an: “O believers! When the call for the Prayer is heard on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and cease your trading. That is better for you if you but knew.” (Al-Jum`ah: 9)
It is clear from this verse that all Muslims, who are eligible to attend the Jum’ah, must cease all their activities and respond to the call of the Mu’adhin (prayer caller). Thus no one is allowed to go on with his business for this contravenes his duty of attending the Jum’ah.
In the above verse, we read Allah’s statement, “Hasten to the remembrance of Allah”. According to authentic scholars, “remembrance of Allah” includes not only Prayer but also Khutbah, and thus it is not enough for a person to simply find time for the Prayer, but he must also listen to the Friday Khutbah. It is worth mentioning that the two Rak`ahs deducted from the Friday Prayer have been compensated for by the Khutbah,. Accordingly, all business must stop immediately after the first Adhan (call to Prayer) so that one may attend the full Jum’ah service.
As far as resuming one’s business after the Jum’ah is concerned, there is no taboo associated with that; for we read in the succeeding verse, “And when the Prayer is ended, then disperse in the land and seek of Allah’s favor, and remember Allah much, that you may succeed.” (Al-Jum`ah: 10)
Having said this, it is important for us to make an exception to the above rule: If your drugstore is attached to the emergency wing of a hospital or a clinic that serves patients who may require urgent medical attention, then you should not close it. Should this be the case, then you are allowed to open the store during the Jum’ah service provided the store is managed either by Muslim women who are not mandated to attend the Jum’ah or non-Muslim personnel, who are exempted from the rules of Shari`ah. If neither Muslim women nor non-Muslims are available to manage the store, then men should take turns in such a way that at no time one ends up missing two or more Jum’ah Prayers consecutively. The Prophet, peace be upon him, has warned us against missing three Jum’ahs consecutively; if we were to do so, he says, Allah may put a seal upon our hearts. This is indeed such a dire warning that no Muslim can ever take so lightly.
If, on the other hand, there is no shortage of drugstores in the area and, therefore, closing your store would not pose any problem for those who may be in need of urgent medical care, then you should close it for the Jum’ah, and resume business after the prayer.
By obeying Allah we stand to gain immense blessings which definitely outweigh any material benefits we may derive by failing to do so. Let us pray to Allah to inspire us to judge all matters from the point of view of our salvation in the Hereafter.
|
 |
