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Friday days and nights excel the other days and nights in standing, honor, and regard. In this connection, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) is reported to have said,
“Surely, in each hour of the twenty-four hours of the Friday day and night, Almighty Allah releases from Hellfire six hundred thousand persons.”
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq(a.s.) is reported to have said,
“One who dies in the period between midday (zohr) on Thursdays and midday (zohr) on Fridays will be released, by Almighty Allah, from pressure in graves.”
Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) is also reported as saying,
“Verily, Fridays enjoy rights (incumbent upon people). Therefore, beware of violating Fridays’ sanctity through showing shortcoming in acts of worship; rather, seek nearness to Almighty Allah by means of righteous deeds and abandonment of all forbidden acts. Certainly, on Fridays, Almighty Allah doubles up the rewards (of good deeds), erases forgivingly punishments (for evildoings), and raises the ranks (of faith). Friday daytimes are as same as Friday nights; therefore, you may, when possible, stay up supplicating and offering prayers to Almighty Allah Who, at that night, orders the angels to descend to the lower sky in order to double up the rewards and erase the evildoings. Most surely, Allah is Ample-giving and All-generous.”
Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) is also reported, in a validly reported tradition, to have said,
“When a believing individual prays to Him for granting him his request, Almighty Allah may postpone the answer of that request to Friday in order that the individual will be given all the more due to the exclusive merit of Fridays.”
Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) is also reported as narrating that when Prophet Joseph’s brothers asked their father, Prophet Jacob, to ask Almighty Allah’s forgiveness of their faults, he promised to do that. Yet, he postponed that appeal to Friday early dawn (fajr) so as to guarantee response.
Again, Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) is reported as saying that on Friday nights, fishes in oceans and beasts in wildernesses raise their heads and pray Almighty Allah saying in a loud sound, “O Our Lord; torture us not for the sins of the human beings.”
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) is reported to have said that on Friday nights, Almighty Allah gives orders to an angel – on behalf of Him – to call out, from above the Divine Throne, throughout the night, “Is there not any believing servant who will, right now, supplicate Me, before dawn (fajr) comes upon him, for his world and Next World needs so that I will respond to him? Is there not any believing servant who, right now, repents to Me, before dawn (fajr) comes upon him, and gives up his sins so that I will accept his repentance? Is there not any believing servant whose sustenance has been made reduced who will, right now, prays Me for increase, before dawn (fajr) comes upon him, so that I will increase and develop his sustenance? Is there not any believing servant, being ailed, who will, right now, pray Me for healing, before dawn (fajr) comes upon him, so that I will heal him? Is there not any believing servant, being grieved and detained, who will, right now, pray Me for relief and release, before dawn (fajr) comes upon him, so that I will relieve and release him? Is there not any believing servant, being oppressed, who will, right now, pray Me for giving him victory and releasing him from oppression, before dawn (fajr) comes upon him, so that I will back and release from oppression?” This angel will keep saying so until dawn (fajr).
Likewise, Imam AliAmeer al-Momineen(a.s.) is reported to have said,
“As He has chosen Friday, Almighty Allah has decided their daytimes and nights to be feasts. One of its merits, whoever beseeches Him on Fridays will be granted his request. Chastisement that is decided for a people because of an evildoing will be canceled by Him if that evildoing is committed on Friday. All graces that Almighty Allah decides are put into practice on Friday nights. Hence, Friday nights are more favorable than other nights and so are their days.”
Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) is reported as saying,
“Avoid committing any act of disobedience (to Almighty Allah) on Friday nights, for the punishments (of evildoing) are doubled up, and rewards (for good deeds) are also doubled up. Whoever avoids committing an act of disobedience at Friday nights, Almighty Allah will forgive all of his previous sins. In the same way, whoever challenges Almighty Allah by committing an act of disobedience at such nights, Almighty Allah will punish him for each and every act of disobedience that he did in his whole lifetime and will double up the punishment for him.”
It has been authentically narrated on the authority of Imam Ali ibn Musa al-Rida(a.s.) that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said,
“Verily, Friday is the master of days. On Fridays, Almighty Allah doubles up the rewards (for good deeds), erases, forgivingly, the punishments (for evildoings), raises the ranks (of faith), responds to prayers, relieves from misfortunes, and fulfills the grand requests. Friday is the day of bonus. Almighty Allah, on Fridays, releases numerous individuals from Hellfire. When anyone prays Him on Friday while having already appreciated the actual standing and the sanctity of this day, it will be incumbent upon Almighty Allah to release him/her from Hellfire. If that individual dies on that day or night, he/she will be decided as martyr and will be resurrected (on the Judgement Day) secured. Conversely, if one belittles the sanctity of Friday and disrespects its standings, it will be incumbent upon Almighty Allah to cast him/her into Hellfire unless he/she repents thereafter.”
Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) is reported, through an authentic chain of authority, to have said,
“Sunlight has never risen in a day better than Friday. When beards meet each other on that day, they greet each other with, Peace! Good day!”
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq(a.s.) is authentically reported to have said,
“On Fridays, do not engage yourselves in anything other than acts of worship, for the servants’ faults are forgiven and the divine mercy is sent down on Fridays.”
Finally, the merits of Friday daytimes and nights are too many to be cited in this brief introduction.