Which day of the week is the day of worship in Islam?

In Islam every day is a day of worship, because Muslims pray five times a day. On Friday they also gather for the congregational Friday prayer.

Many religions have a fixed day of the week for going to worship. Islam is different. Here every day is a day of worship. Five times a day a Muslim stands before God in prayer, from early morning until night.

This is a beautiful teaching. Someone who stands before God only once a week goes without that encounter on all the other days. The best servants of God, however, are those who honour Him day and night. The first verse above brings both together. Prayer has its fixed times, and in between a person should remember God while standing, sitting and lying down.

Even so, one day does have a special place in Islam, and that is Friday. At midday on Friday Muslims gather in the mosque for the congregational Friday prayer with a sermon. The verses above call on people to leave their business for this prayer. Afterwards everyone may return to their work. So Friday is not a day of rest like a Sunday, but a day with a special prayer.

The fixed times of prayer make it possible to pray together and to devote oneself fully to God. That is why mosques are kept clean and simple, without pictures, so that nothing distracts one’s attention. In this way the whole of life is meant to be filled with the remembrance of God, not just one day a week.