Black Friday or Bright Friday? Why Friday Is the Best Day in Islam

Black Friday is a shopping day, not a religious one. Most scholars say a Muslim may buy what they need when prices drop, while warning against waste, and some say Muslim shops should not single the day out for sales. For Muslims, the Friday that matters comes every week: Jumu'ah, the day the Prophet ﷺ called the best day the sun rises on.

That is why, this November, Furqanwear is not running a Black Friday sale. We already have a Friday. Here is what scholars say about Black Friday, why its name has nothing to do with Friday itself, and how to make the most of the Friday Allah gave us.

Is Black Friday haram? What scholars say

Scholars do not all agree. Most say buying on Black Friday is allowed, but they differ on how Muslims, and Muslim shops in particular, should treat the day.

Where they all meet is waste. The Quran says: "Do not spend wastefully. Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils" (Surah Al-Isra 17:26–27). The scholars' shared advice is simple: buy what you need, not what a countdown timer tells you to.

If you are unsure what applies to you, ask a scholar you trust. For us as a shop, the choice was easy. We will not single out Black Friday, and we will put Friday back where it belongs.

Why is it called Black Friday?

The name has nothing to do with Friday being bad or dark. In the 1950s and 1960s, police in Philadelphia used "Black Friday" for the crowds and traffic jams on the day after American Thanksgiving. In 1961 the city tried to rename it "Big Friday", but the new name never stuck.

The popular story that stores go "into the black" (into profit) that day came later. It first appeared in print in 1981. So Black Friday was named after shopping crowds, while Jumu'ah has a whole surah of the Quran named after it.

Why Friday is the best day in Islam

The best day the sun rises on. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday; on it Adam was created, on it he was made to enter Paradise, on it he was expelled from it." (Sahih Muslim 854)

A weekly Eid. Muslims have two Eids a year, and one every week. The Prophet ﷺ said of Friday: "This day is an Eid (festival) which Allah has ordained for the Muslims." (Sunan Ibn Majah 1098)

An hour when duas are answered. "There is an hour (opportune time) on Friday and if a Muslim gets it while praying and asks something from Allah, then Allah will definitely meet his demand." (Sahih al-Bukhari 935)

A surah that tells us to leave trade. Surah Al-Jumu'ah says: "O you who have believed, when [the adhān] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumuʿah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allāh and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew." (62:9)

The very next verse lets trade back in: "And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allāh, and remember Allāh often that you may succeed." (62:10) Islam does not look down on buying and selling. It puts them in their place: the prayer first, then the market.

The 8 Sunnahs of Friday

You do not need a sale to make Friday special. These 8 Sunnahs come straight from the hadith, and most of them take a few minutes.

1. Take a bath (ghusl). Wash before Jumu'ah, as the Prophet ﷺ taught (Sahih al-Bukhari 883).
   
   
2. Wear your best clothes. The Prophet ﷺ listed wearing your best clothes among the acts that make Friday's prayer an atonement for the sins between that Friday and the one before (Sunan Abi Dawud 343). The Quran says the same about every prayer: "Take your adornment at every masjid" (7:31). Our guide to the Sunnah of dress for men covers what that means in practice, and a clean thobe is a favourite for Jumu'ah. You can see ours in men's thobes.
   
   
3. Put on perfume. Use oil or perfume if you have it (Sahih al-Bukhari 883).
   
   
4. Use the siwak. The Prophet ﷺ urged using the tooth stick on Friday (Sunan Ibn Majah 1098).
   
   
5. Listen to the khutbah quietly. Stay silent while the imam speaks (Sahih al-Bukhari 883).
   
   
6. Read Surah Al-Kahf. "If anyone recites sūra al-Kahf on Friday, light will shine brightly for him till the next Friday." (Mishkat al-Masabih 2175, from al-Bayhaqi) That is the brightest Friday we know.
   
   
7. Send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ. "Invoke more blessings on me that day, for your blessings will be submitted to me." (Sunan Abi Dawud 1047)
   
   
8. Look for the hour of dua. There is an hour on Friday when dua is answered (Sahih al-Bukhari 935). Scholars differ on exactly when it falls, so many Muslims keep making dua through the whole day.

White Friday, Blessed Friday: how Muslim countries renamed it

We are not the first to rethink the name. When Black Friday sales reached Muslim-majority countries, several of them changed the name for religious and cultural reasons.

In Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the online store noon also runs its own "Yellow Friday" sale. Our name for it is Bright Friday.

Our Bright Fridays this November

We don't do Black Friday. We already have a Friday. So instead of one day of rushing, we are giving something every Friday in November.

Each Friday email lands at 9 AM Toronto time, before Jumu'ah.

Jumu'ah Mubarak. Don't forget Al-Kahf.

Sources

1. The Quran, Sahih International translation (7:31, 17:26–27, 62:9–10)
2. Hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah and Mishkat al-Masabih (via sunnah.com)
3. IslamQA, Question 326165, "Is Black Friday Prohibited in Islam?" (2023)
4. IslamWeb, Fatwa 281020, "Taking part in Black Friday promotions" (2015)
5. Jamiatul Ulama KZN, "Is it permissible to shop for deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday?"
6. Wikipedia, "Black Friday (shopping)"