﴿ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا نُودِىَ لِلصَّلَوٰةِ مِن يَوْمِ ٱلْجُمُعَةِ فَٱسْعَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلْبَيْعَ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

“O YOU who have attained to faith! When the call to prayer is sounded on the day of congregation, hasten to the remembrance of God, and leave all worldly commerce: this is for your own good, if you but knew it.”

In this world man is pulled in two different directions, firstly, by the force of economic considerations, and secondly, by the demands of religion. Each of these two considerations is ineluctable. But the divide between the two should be such that economic activities should be subordinate to the call of religion. A man is permitted to strive for economic betterment within legitimate limits. But it is essential that whatever economic success he achieves should be considered as a gift from God. Furthermore, in the course of earning his livelihood he should constantly go on remembering God. Similarly, whenever he is called upon to carry out some religious task, he should be ready to respond immediately, leaving aside all other work. Once in Madinah, during the sermon of the Friday prayers, some people left the mosque and went to the market. These verses were revealed in that connection. These injunctions are directly in connection with the Friday prayers but, indirectly, they apply to every religious task. Whenever people have been called upon and are assembled for some special religious purpose, it will be highly inappropriate to leave the place without the permission of the Imam (leader of the gathering).