Ghusl for Friday

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates from Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We were commanded to take a ritual bath (ghusl) on Friday." I (Ibn Abbas) asked: "Is this command specific to you, the first Muhajirun, or is it general for all people?" He said: "I do not know."
This chain is hasan (good), provided that Imam Ibn Sirin's hearing from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) is established.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "I never even imagined that anyone would leave off taking the ritual bath (ghusl) on Friday."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated this report in al-Musannaf; in its chain Yazid bin Abi Ziyad is a da'if (weak) narrator, but there are other sahih hadith on the emphasis and importance of the Friday ritual bath.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) related a long hadith in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "And whoever takes a ritual bath (ghusl) on Friday (with the intention of the Sunnah), it is as though he fasted a day in the path of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and that one day is (in reward) equal to seven hundred days."
Imam Abd bin Humayd narrated this hadith in his Musnad; in its chain is a narrator named Mindal bin Ali, whom the Imams of jarh and ta'dil have graded da'if (weak); therefore this narration is weak in its chain.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever purifies himself and performs his purification (ablution or ritual bath) in the best manner, then comes to the Friday prayer, and having arrived there does not engage in idle talk or behave ignorantly, this deed will be an expiation for the sins between this Friday and the next; likewise the five prayers are an expiation for the sins in the times between them; and on Friday there is an hour in which no Muslim servant asks Allah Almighty for any good except that Allah Almighty surely grants it to him."
This narration is found in Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah; in its chain Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Abi Layla and Atiyyah al-Awfi are both da'if (weak) narrators, due to which it is weak in its chain; however, other sahih hadith on the virtue of Friday, the five prayers being an expiation, and the hour of acceptance on Friday exist as supporting reports for it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he related: "My close friend, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), specially enjoined and advised me to take a ritual bath (ghusl) on Friday."
[Recorded by al-Nasa'i in al-Sunan: 1383, and Ahmad in al-Musnad: 8011]; according to the hadith scholars the chain of this hadith is hasan (good), and it indicates the greatness of the blessed day of Friday and the importance of taking special care of purity and cleanliness for it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Indeed, taking care to bathe (ghusl) on Friday is the Sunnah way and part of the pure Sunnah."
Imam al-Tayalisi transmitted it through al-Mas'udi, Wabarah and Hammam bin al-Harith, and Imam al-Harith also narrated it through al-Muqri' with the chain of al-Mas'udi himself.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) (and the narrator thinks that this narration is from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever performs only ablution (wudu) on Friday (for the prayer) has acted upon the legal concession and the Sunnah, and that is very good; but whoever takes a ritual bath (ghusl), then the ritual bath is far more virtuous and better than ablution."
I (Ibn Hajar) say: What is more well-known and famous in the narrations reported from Imam Hasan al-Basri on this point is that he narrates it from Sayyiduna Samurah bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him), not from Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Zadhan (may Allah have mercy on him) that a man asked Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) about the ritual bath (ghusl), and he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If you wish, bathe every day." The man said: "No, rather (I mean) the bath that is legally recommended and virtuous?" At this he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Bathe on every Friday, on the day of Eid al-Fitr, on the day of Eid al-Adha, and on the day of Arafah (the 9th of Dhu al-Hijjah)."
The chain of this narration is sahih (authentic); Imam al-Shafi'i narrated it in "al-Musnad" and Imam al-Bayhaqi in "al-Sunan al-Kubra", and Allamah al-Albani graded it sahih in "Irwa' al-Ghalil".

It is narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "They (the righteous predecessors) liked to have intercourse with their wives on Friday so that they would make the ritual bath (ghusl) obligatory upon themselves (through this act) (and attend the Friday prayer in complete purity)."
And the hadith narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) will come later, if Allah Almighty wills, in the chapter on the prohibition of stepping over (people's necks during the sermon).

It is narrated from Ibn al-Sabbaq (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on one of the Fridays: "Indeed, this is a day of Eid which Allah Almighty has appointed for the Muslims, so take a ritual bath (ghusl); and whoever has perfume, there is no harm for him in using it; and make it binding upon yourselves to use the tooth-stick (siwak)."
Takhrij and grading: Imam Musaddad bin Musarhad recorded this hadith in his Musnad (as in al-Matalib al-Aliyah: 705), and supporting reports for it exist in Sunan Ibn Majah (1098) and the Muwatta of Imam Malik (1/115); Allamah al-Albani graded it sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from one of the Ansari Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is a (moral and legal) right binding upon every Muslim that he take a ritual bath (ghusl) on Friday, take care to use the tooth-stick (siwak), and, if perfume is available to him, apply it as well to his body or clothing."
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal recorded this hadith and its chain is sahih (authentic); it makes clear the importance of cleanliness and adornment on Friday.