❖ Prescribed Recitation in Fajr Prayer on Friday
✍ Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❀ Recitation in Friday’s Fajr Prayer
The noble Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was to recite specific chapters of the Qur’an in the Fajr prayer on the day of Jumuʿah (Friday). This practice is a distinct mark of the spiritual importance of this day.
✿ ① Sūrah al-Sajdah and Sūrah al-Insān
Ḥaḍrat Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) reported:
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقرأ في صلاة الفجر يوم الجمعة بـ ﴿الم تَنْزِيل﴾ و ﴿هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الْإِنسَانِ﴾
“The Prophet ﷺ used to recite ‘Alif-Lām-Mīm Tanzīl’ [Sūrah al-Sajdah] and ‘Hal Atā ‘Alā al-Insān’ [Sūrah al-Insān] in the Fajr prayer on Friday.”
[Bukhārī: 891 | Muslim: 880 | Nasā’ī: 2/159]
✿ Wisdom Behind This Recitation
These two chapters contain:
✔ Themes of creation,
✔ resurrection,
✔ the Hereafter,
✔ and reward and punishment,
… which serve as powerful reminders at the beginning of the most blessed day of the week. The recitation sets a reflective tone and spiritually uplifts the believers.
❖ Conclusion
It is Sunnah Mu’akkadah for the Imam to:
✔ Recite Sūrah al-Sajdah (32) in the first rak‘ah,
✔ And Sūrah al-Insān (76) in the second rak‘ah of Fajr on Friday.
This established Sunnah connects the congregation to the deeper meanings of existence and accountability.
