Friday Prayers (Salat Al-Jum'a)
By Mirghani Hamed (e-mail: m62s7619@bih.net.ba)

DOES THE WORD YAWM ALWAYS MEAN A 24 HOURS DAY IN THE QURAN?

From the following research, we will, GW, see that the meaning of theword YAWN in the Quran can vary from one context to another but the mainmeaning or the essence of this word is in something that deals withtime. It can mean >when, then, during, day, period of time, time andetc.

Actually, its use as 24 hours day is very rare in the Quran but havingthis meaning in mind as its main meaning we always run to translate itas 24 hours day.

The word YAWM with its suffixes, prefixes and plural form is mentionedmore than 400 times in the Quran. I will, GW, mention some of them hereand you are all invited to check these and other occurrences in the Quran.

THE FIRST EXAMPLES (words in CAPS are the translations of the Arabicword (YAWM)

3:155, “Those of you who ran away on the DAY/WHEN/AT THE TIME (when) the two groups met/ (yawmal taqal jam&an)

5:109, “ (on the) DAY/AT THE TIME/WHEN God gathers the messengers (yawmayajma& Allah ar rusul)

6:73, “It was He who created the heavens and the earth in all truth andWHEN/(on the) DAY (when) He says: “Be” it shall be (wa yawma yaqulu kunfa ya koon.)

9:3, “A proclamation from God and His messenger (on the) DAY/DURING/ATTHE TIME (of the) greater pilgrimage (yawm al hajil akbar)

16:80, “God has given you houses to dwell in, and animals’ skins fortents, so that you may find them light WHEN you travel and easy to pitchWHEN you halt for shelter (yawma zha&nihum wa yawma iqamatikum)

33:66, “(On the) DAY (when)/WHEN their heads/faces will roll about inthe fire (yawma tuqal abu wujuhahum fin nari)

50:30, “(on the) DAY (when)/WHEN We say to/ask hell’ are you full.(yawma nagoolu li jahan nam hal im tala’t..)

The above are examples from the Quran about the use of the word >yawm<.Please go through them carefully and see if can they refer to a 24 hoursday.

But to make it clear cut how the Quran explains this word check thefollowing:

God in many places in the Quran informs us about the creation of theheavens and the earth. All these verses (7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59, 32:4,50:38, 57:4) say that the heavens and the earth were created in 6 (six)YAWMS. Does this means that God created them in 6 days or should we takethe right understanding, that is, 6 (six) periods of time.

I understand these 6 periods of time as periodical steps or stages ofcreation as explained in 41:9-12.

To see that yawm only indicates a period of time no matter how long itis, let us have a look at 9:36;

“God ordained the months twelve in number WHEN (yawm) created theheavens and the earth.”

You see, in all these verses (7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59, 32:4, 50:38,57:4) the heaven and earth are created in 6 YAWMS/ periods of time (sitata ayaam) but in 9:36 God says “ …yawm khalaqa Allahu as samawati walarda / On the DAY when God created the heavens and the earth.

The capitalized word DAY is the usual and traditional translation, whichis not correct because it contradicts with the Quran. However, if wetake the right meaning of the word YAWM, that is, a period of time, thenwe can see that 9:36 speaks about the time of creation of the heavensand the earth in general and the other verses (7:54, 10:3, 11:7, 25:59,32:4, 50:38, 57:4) speaks about periodical stages of creation (not days)

I think this makes it clear what is YAWM.

Another similar example is in 54:19; where Go speaks about the peopleof Ad (&ad) (see 54:18)

“We sent against them a furious wind on a day of bitter ill-luck (fiyawmi nahs(in) mustamir)”

Can >yawm< be translated as >a day< as the case with many translations?

But in 69:7, God says: “He made it rage against them seven nights andeight days in succession..” ( sakh kharah &aleyhim sab& layal(in) wathamaniyeta ayam(in) husum(an).

Notice that this verse too rfers to the people of Ad (&ad) (see 69:6).

So, I think that the correct translation for >fi yawmi nahsin mustamir<in 54:19 is “ in/during a time of continuos bitter ill-luck.” Which isexplained further in 69:7 with >seven nights and eight days insuccession<.

Further the All Knowing explains in the glorious Quran the meaning ofthe Arabic word >yawm<.

70:4, “The malai’ka and the rooh ascend unto Him to him in A PERIOD OFTIME the measure thereof is 50 thousand years ( ta&rujul malai’katu war roohu ileyhi fi yawmin kana miqdaruhu khamseena alfa sanatin”

YAWM AL JUM&A

So, why to take >min yawmil jum&a< as “on the day of gathering and not >in/during a time of gathering?

What justifies the first understanding? Does God command believers togather on a specific day in the week? Are we supposed to do business andtraffic only on “that day” of the week? What if I do not go out forbusiness or trade or any traffic on “that day”? What if I am on holidayand not doing any traffic for weeks?

The time of Gathering, of course in referred to in the broader sense bythe Quran – (marriage, conferences, businesses, fairs and etc. etc)

So, after this research I am stating my understanding of this issue. There is no such a thing as > salat on the day of gathering< or a congregational salat. The call is for salat in general >idha nudiya liAS SALAT< and the phrase > min yawmil jum&a< simply means > in/during atime of gathering. So, this is the translation I consider to be right:

“O you who believe, when the call is made for salat, in/during the timeof gathering, hasten earnestly to the remembrance of God and leave ofthe traffic, that is better for you if you but knew.”

The message of God is contained in His book and not in some people’sdesperate shouts and attempts to stop those who intend to study Hisbook. So, let us focus on the Message.