Weekly holiday and Friday
After a week of hard work, people certainly do need a two-day holiday to completely rejuvenate and become productive again. That's why western nations enjoy two days, Saturday and Sunday, as their weekly holidays. These days have been selected considering the religious needs of the majority of their citizens.
Interestingly, nowadays our business class is actively lobbying to maintain the one day weekly holiday, but they want to change this day from Friday to Sunday. They are writing letters to DS (e.g. March 5 and 8, 2005) to influence the government's decision on this holiday issue.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. We don't know what would have been the verdict of Allah if this kind of dilemma of choosing the weekly holiday took place during our Prophet's time. But we know about Allah's displeasure when some of the new Muslims left the Juma sermon when a Syrian trading caravan arrived in Medina, from the following verses of sura Al-Jumuah, "O you who believe, when the call is proclaimed for prayer on the day of Jumuah (Friday), hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew."
Therefore, there is little doubt that Friday has more right to be the weekly holiday than any other day.