Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
In this hadith, five levels of reward have been mentioned. The time for attending Jumu‘ah (Friday prayer) begins from the morning itself, and the greatest reward is given to the one who comes to the mosque at the earliest time for Jumu‘ah.
This was the practice of the pious predecessors (salaf) of the ummah: on the day of Jumu‘ah, they would go to the mosque early in the morning, and after the prayer, they would return home, eat food, and take a midday nap (qaylulah).
In other ahadith, it is mentioned that when the imam comes out for the sermon (khutbah), the angels who record rewards also enter the mosque and become occupied with listening.
The mention of the egg along with the chicken is also found; if this is taken literally, then the actual sacrifice of an egg would also be permissible, which no one holds to be valid.
It is thus established that here the word “sacrifice” (qurbani) has been used metaphorically, in the sense of seeking nearness to Allah (taqarrub ilallah), as will be explained (kama sayati).

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In this hadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has mentioned the virtue of those who come early for the sermon, but there is a difference of opinion as to whether the time of virtue begins from the morning itself or after the sun has passed its zenith, when the time for the Friday prayer begins. Thus, Imam Malik rahimahullah holds the view that it is after the zenith. He states that he did not find the practice of the people of Madinah in accordance with the former view; rather, they used to come to the mosque after the zenith. Furthermore, the word "rah" is derived from "rawah," which means to set out after the zenith. However, the majority of scholars did not agree with this position. Their evidence is the practice of the Salaf, as these elders used to start coming to the mosque from the morning, and after finishing, they would return home to eat lunch and take a midday nap (qaylulah). Also, in the Arabic language, "rawah" can mean to go at any time. Moreover, it is possible that the people of Madinah, due to their needs and occupations, did not come early in the morning for Jumu'ah, so in such circumstances, presenting the practice of the people of Madinah is not correct.

(2)
It should be noted that some individuals have derived the issue of sacrificing a chicken from this hadith, whereas sacrificial rulings are not being discussed here. Rather, to explain the different levels of virtue, reference is made to the higher and lower ranks of animal sacrifices. None of the scholars of the Ummah have derived the ruling of sacrifice from this hadith, nor has any practice of the Ummah been presented regarding this. If there is insistence on such ijtihad, then the hadith also mentions an egg, so its sacrifice should also be permissible. And Allah knows best.

(3)
Some narrations indicate that the mentioned virtue is attained by the one who comes to the mosque on Friday after performing the ritual bath (ghusl) of major impurity (janabah), i.e., on Friday, he first has intercourse with his wife, then performs ghusl and comes early to the mosque. Imam Nawawi declared this understanding to be incorrect, but Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has stated that there is no reasonable cause to declare this understanding incorrect, because Friday is a day of gathering. For this, one has to pass through the markets to reach the mosque. It is possible that he may cast a glance at a woman and then fall into the sin of gazing with desire. The way to remain safe from this is that he frees himself from such causes and thoughts, because when he has performed ghusl after intercourse, there will be contentment and tranquility in his disposition. This will prevent a state of agitation and he will not fall into the sin of gazing with desire. Therefore, this understanding cannot be declared incorrect in any way. (Fath al-Bari: 2/471)

(4)
The relevance of this hadith to the chapter heading is that performing Jumu'ah is akin to fulfilling both physical and financial acts of worship, because, in essence, the Friday prayer is a physical act of worship, but the one who comes earliest for it attains the reward of sacrificing a camel, cow, goat, etc. Sacrificing animals in the way of Allah is a financial act of worship, so by performing the Friday prayer, a person attains the reward of both physical and financial acts of worship. This is a unique characteristic not found in the performance of other prayers. (Umdat al-Qari: 5/18)

(4)
The "hours" mentioned in the hadith refer to brief moments that extend from the sun's zenith until the preacher sits on the pulpit, or do they refer to actual hours that begin from sunrise? Imam Ibn Daqiq al-'Id rahimahullah states that it is more appropriate to take them as the well-known hours. Although five hours are mentioned in this hadith, in one narration a sixth hour is also mentioned. (Sunan al-Nasa'i, al-Jumu'ah, Hadith: 1388, in which a sparrow is mentioned, but these words are munkar. This was said by al-Albani.) In another narration, twelve hours of Friday are also mentioned. (Sunan al-Nasa'i, al-Jumu'ah, Hadith: 1390, and Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Salah, Hadith: 1048)

* The twelve hours of the day are as follows:
* al-Shuruq * al-Bukur * al-'Adwah * al-Duha * al-Hajirah * al-Tahira * al-Rawah * al-'Asr * al-Qasr * al-Asil * al-'Ashi * al-'Urub

* The twelve hours of the night are as follows:
* al-Shafaq * al-'Asq * al-'Athmah * al-Sadaqah * al-Jahmah * al-Zillah * al-Ralaghah * al-Bahrah * al-Sahar * al-Fajr * al-Subh * al-Sabah

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues:

➊ The meaning of "whoever performs the ritual bath (ghusl) on the day of Jumu‘ah" according to most scholars is that one should perform the ritual bath with full care and thoroughness, just as one performs the ritual bath after major impurity (janabah). However, according to some of the Tabi‘in (rahimahumullah), what is meant is to perform the ritual bath after marital relations. This is also one of the opinions of Imam Ahmad rahimahullah. Imam Qurtubi rahimahullah has also given preference to this view.

➋ "The first hour" (as-sa‘ah al-ula) refers to the hours after the Fajr prayer or after sunrise, such that the time from Fajr until the Imam comes for the Friday sermon (khutbah) is divided into five parts. Those who arrive in the first part will attain such a great reward as if they have sacrificed a camel. Similarly, those who come in the second part will receive the reward of giving a cow in charity, and the beginning and end of these hours, as well as the middle, will be divided according to the size and value of the animals—meaning, the one who comes at the very beginning of the first hour, his camel will be greater in stature and value, and the one who comes at the end of that hour, his camel will be lesser in stature and value. This is the position of the majority of scholars. However, according to Imam Malik rahimahullah, these five hours are counted from the time the sun passes its zenith (zawal) until the Imam arrives. Among the later scholars, Imam Abu’l-Hasan Sindhi and Imam Muhammad Hayat Sindhi have also adopted this position, but in terms of evidence, the position of the majority is stronger.

➌ After the Imam arrives, the reward of excellence (for early arrival) ends; only the reward of Jumu‘ah is given according to one’s arrival, because when the preacher (khatib) arrives, the register for extra reward is closed, and the angels who carry it become occupied with listening to the sermon.

1:
That is, the person recording the names closes the register and begins to listen to the sermon.

351. Commentary:
➊ The Friday prayer of the one who arrives late is certainly valid, but he is completely deprived of the aforementioned virtue, and his name is not recorded in the special registers of the angels. It should be noted that deriving the permissibility of sacrificing chickens and eggs from this hadith is in no way correct. Here, what is meant is spending in the way of Allah as charity and alms for the sake of drawing near to Him and attaining reward.
➋ Whether the gathering of admonition and advice is on Friday or otherwise, the angels are also present in it.

1389. Commentary:

➊ By these "hours" or "times" are meant those periods before the zenith (zawal) which begin after the sun has risen, as is the position of the majority (jumhur). And this is the correct position according to the evidences. And Allah knows best. The details of this have already been discussed in the benefits of the previous hadith [1386].

➋ From the chapter heading, it appears that the position of the Imam (rahimahullah) may be that the time for the Friday prayer (Salat al-Jumu‘ah) begins after the zenith (zawal). This is the madhhab of Imam al-Bukhari (rahimahullah) and most of the scholars of knowledge. However, deducing this issue from the aforementioned hadith of Abu Hurayrah (radi Allahu anhu) is questionable, because in this hadith, five periods are mentioned, and at the end of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth period, the coming out of the Imam is mentioned, and this is before the zenith (zawal). In this way, this hadith becomes an evidence for those scholars who hold the view that the Friday prayer can be performed before the zenith. However, if the counting of these five periods is considered to begin from the second period, and the first period is for the ritual bath (ghusl) and preparation for Jumu‘ah, as Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) has explained, then this hadith does not serve as evidence for those who hold the view of Jumu‘ah before the zenith. The inference of Imam al-Nasa’i (rahimahullah) from the aforementioned hadith would be questionable only if the mention of «بطۃ» "duck" and «عصفور» "sparrow" in the ahadith is considered rare (shadh) and weak, and in fact, the truth is that both of these additions are weak. However, if they are considered authentic, then the aforementioned objection does not arise, because in that case, there would be a total of six periods, which would necessitate the khatib coming out at the beginning of the seventh period, and this time is after the zenith. This may have been the understanding of Imam al-Nasa’i (rahimahullah), because he established this chapter heading after narrating the reports containing these additions. And Allah knows best.