Acceptance Hour on Friday and Its Determination
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❖ The Time of Duʿā’ Acceptance on the Day of Jumuʿah
✿ A Special Hour on Friday
➊ Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once spoke about Friday, saying:
فيه ساعة لا يوافِقُها عبدٌ مسلمٌ وهو قائمٌ يُصلِّي يسألُ اللَّهَ عزَّ وجلَّ شيئًا إلَّا أعطاهُ إيَّاهُ
“There is a moment on Friday that if a Muslim servant happens to be in prayer during it, asking Allah for something, Allah will surely grant it to him.”
The Prophet ﷺ then gestured with his hand to indicate that this time is very brief.
[Bukhārī: 935, 5294 | Muslim: 852 | Nasā’ī: 3/110 | Ibn Mājah: 1137 | Aḥmad: 2/230 | Abū Dāwūd: 1046 | Tirmidhī: 488]
➋ In another narration from Ḥaḍrat Abū Lubābah al-Badrī (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
فيه ساعةٌ لا يسألُ العبدُ فيها شيئًا إلَّا آتاهُ اللَّهُ إيَّاهُ
“There is a moment in it (Friday) when the servant asks Allah for something, and Allah grants it to him.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 888 | Ibn Mājah: 1084 | Aḥmad: 3/430]
❖ Disagreement Over Its Exact Timing
Due to the variation in narrations, scholars have differed over the precise moment of this hour. In fact, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) documented forty different opinions regarding its timing.
📚 [Fatḥ al-Bārī: 3/82]
Hence, the most prudent approach is to remain engaged in duʿā’ from the conclusion of the Friday prayer until sunset, in hopes of attaining this blessed moment.
📝 Shaykh Ibn Jibreen also pointed toward this comprehensive approach.
📚 [Fatāwā al-Islāmiyyah: 1/400]
✿ Selected Aḥādīth Indicating Various Times
➊ From the Khutbah Until the End of the Prayer
Ḥaḍrat Abū Mūsā (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
هي ما بين أن يجلس الإمام – يعني على المنبر – إلى أن تقضى الصلاة
“It is between the time the Imam sits on the minbar until the prayer is completed.”
[Muslim: 853 | Abū Dāwūd: 1049 | Ibn Khuzaymah: 1739]
➋ The Last Hour of the Day
Ḥaḍrat ʿAbdullāh ibn Salām (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
آخر ساعة من ساعات النهار
“It is the last hour of the hours of the day.”
[Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 934 | Ibn Mājah: 1139 | Aḥmad: 5/451 | Muwaṭṭā’: 1/108]
📌 Ḥāfiẓ Būṣayrī authenticated its chain.
📚 [Miṣbāḥ al-Zujājah: 1/380]
➌ After ʿAṣr Prayer Until Sunset
Ḥaḍrat Jābir (رضي الله عنه) reported:
فالتمِسوها آخرَ ساعةٍ بعدَ العصرِ
“Seek it in the last hour after the ʿAṣr prayer.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 926 | Abū Dāwūd: 1048]
❖ Scholarly Opinions
➤ Imām Aḥmad (رحمه الله) stated that most aḥādīth indicate the acceptance hour is after ʿAṣr or near sunset.
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/531]
➤ Imām Shawkānī (رحمه الله) said:
“Among all the opinions, the most sound is that the hour is the last hour of the day.”
📚 [Nayl al-Awṭār: 2/531]
✔ Majority of the Companions, Tābiʿīn, and leading scholars subscribe to this opinion.
