they fold the scrolls and come to listen." Muttafaq 'alayh (12). Alqamah said: I went out with 'Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud] to the Friday prayer, and I found that three [people] had preceded me. He said: "The fourth of four, and the fourth of four is not far [from the reward]. I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 'People shall sit before Allah the Almighty on the Day of Resurrection according to how early they went to the Friday prayer.'" Narrated by Ibn Majah (13). It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Whoever performs ghassala [wash] on Friday and performs ghusl [full body wash], goes early and arrives at the beginning, for every step he takes, he has the reward of a year of fasting and standing in prayer [at night]." Recorded by Al-Tirmidhi (14), who said: A hasan hadith. Ibn Majah narrated it (14) and added: "And he walked and did not ride, and he drew near to the Imam, and he listened and did not engage in idle talk." His saying "bakkara" means he went out at the beginning of the day, which is its first part. "Wa-ibtakara" [and arrived at the beginning] means he exaggerated in being early, that is, he came at the very start of the morning, according to what Imru' al-Qays said: Do you go out in the evening from the tribe, or do you go early? It was also said: Its meaning is that he initiated the worship from its earliest time. And it was said: He reached the beginning of the khutbah, meaning he attended the khutbah, derived from the bakurah [the first fruit], which is its beginning. The other [interpretation] is better, because whoever comes at the beginning of the day necessarily attends the beginning of the khutbah. His saying "ghassala wa-ightasala" means he had intercourse with his wife, then performed ghusl. For this reason, he said in the other hadith: "Whoever performs ghusl on Friday like the ghusl for janabah" (15). Ahmad said: The interpretation of his saying "man ghassala wa-ightasala" with shaddah [on the s], is that he wants [the man] to make his wife perform ghusl. More than one of the Tabi'in, such as 'Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Aswad and Hilal ibn Yasaf (17), used to recommend that a man make his wife perform ghusl on Friday, and it is only on the basis that he should have intercourse. It was recommended as such because it makes him calmer and more able to lower his gaze on his way. This is also reported from Waki'. It was also said: The meaning is that he washed his head and performed ghusl on his body. This is narrated from Ibn al-Mubarak. His saying "ghusl al-janabah" according to this interpretation means: like the ghusl for janabah. As for the opinion of Malik, it is contrary to the reports [atharat], because it is recommended to perform the Friday prayer at the time of the meridian, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to go early to it. Whenever the Imam emerges, the scrolls are folded, and whoever comes to the Friday prayer after that is not recorded; so what merit is there for this [late arrival]? If he delays even more than that, he enters into the realm of prohibition and reproach, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the one who came stepping over the people: "I saw you arrive late and cause harm" (18), meaning you delayed your coming. 'Umar said to 'Uthman when he arrived while he was delivering the khutbah: "What time is this?" in a manner of reproaching him. If he delays more than this, he misses the Friday prayer.