Abdul Muqit Chowdhury :The last Friday of the Holy Ramzan is called ‘Zum’atul Wida’. It means ‘departing Zum’a’. The musallies with due religious fervour join the Zum’a congregation and bid farewell to this month of patience and self-restraint–the Holy Ramzan. Al-Quran imposes obligation of the Friday prayer in the following verses : “O ye who believe!/ When the call is proclaimed/ To prayer on Friday/ (The Day of Assembly),/ Hasten earnestly to the Remembrance/Of God, and leave off / Business (and traffic) :/ That is best for you /If ye but knew,/And when the Prayer/Is finished, then may ye/ Disperse through the land!/ And seek of the Bounty/Of God : and celebrate/ The Praises of God/ Often (and without stint) :/ That ye may prosper.” (Sura Zumu’a 62: Ayat 9-10) Allama Yusuf Ali comments on ‘Hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of God, and leave of business and (traffic)’: “The immediate and temporal worldly gain may be the ultimate and spiritual loss and vice versa.”On ‘Friday prayer’ Allama Yusuf Ali says : “Friday, ‘the Muslim Sabbath’, is primarily the Day of Assembly, the weekly meeting of the congregation, when we show our unity by sharing in common public worship, preceded by a khutba, in which the Imam (or Leader) reviews the week’s spiritual life of the Community and offers advice and exhortation on holy living. ….(3) At the two ‘Ids every year, there is a larger local area meeting in one centre, the ‘Id-gah. (4) Once at least in a life time, where possible, a Muslim shares in the vast international assemblage of the world, in the centre of Islam, at the Meccan Pilgrimage. A happy combination of decentralisation and centralisation, of individual liberty and collective meeting, and contact at various stages or grades. The mechanical part of this Ordinance is easy to carry out. Are we carrying out the more difficult part ? –the spirit of unity, brotherhood, mutual consultation, and collective understanding and action?”He comments on ‘That ye may prosper’ in the following way : “Prosperity is not to be measured by wealth or worldly gains. There is a higher prosperity, — the health of the mind and the spirit.” Generally, Zum’a prayer on Friday is the weekly best prayer. This day gets a special virtuous merit in the Holy Ramzan and the last Friday is of exceptional significance. Huge attendance depicts the fervour and sanctity of the occasion. Special preparation, concentration and dedication beautifies the solemn ritual. The fasting days thus come nearer to close for the year and the devotees under the leadership of the Imams bid farewell to these days ‘Al- Wida Al-Wida Ya Shahri Ramadan.’ Rasulullah (Sm) performed the Zum’a prayer regularly. He said, “Let people desist and refrain from neglecting the Friday prayers. Else, Allah will make their hearts inaccessible and they will be among those who are ignored.” (Muslim Sharif) “Allah will make a mark on his heart who deliberately neglects the Friday prayers”. (Abu Daud Sharif) Rasulullah (Sm) in his sermon on the day when the Friday prayer was made obligatory, said, “Let it be known that Allah has prescribed the Friday prayer for you on this spot, in this day, in this month, in this year, until the Day of Judgement. Whoever neglects it during or after may lifetime even though he has an Iman, who abstains and strays from the right path, who disdains and rejects Allah’s Ordinance, may Allah grant him no reunification. Neither will his affairs be blessed. There shall be no prayer for him, no alms giving, no pilgrimage, no fast.” The importance of Zum’a prayer, specially in the departing hours of Ramzan, thus bears added significance. On this Holy occasion, we pray to Allah to forgive our sins and bestow on us His mercy to make us united and victorious over all evil forces. Islamic resurgence, unity, solidarity of the Ummah and victory over all evil forces is a subject of common supplication to Allah through the year. Specially in such occasions as Taraweeh, Zum’atul Wida, Lailatul Qadr and Eid Mubarak the Imams with the huge attendance of musallies in the congregations pray for this. But the tragedy is that the Muslims are easy victims of aggression and genocide. Division, enmity and in-fighting in the community even in the name of Islam are the root of weakness, through which the aggressors enter and become victorious with the help of their tools, in the concerned states and lands.So, enmity of different sects and in-fighting among the followers of Islam should be stopped. Otherwise, the situation will always be worse and helpful to the aggressors. All supplications will be in vain as Allah does not help those who do not help themselves.
