Which is the first day of the week: Friday or Saturday?

Scholars have differed regarding the determination of the first day of the week and the day on which creation began, and they have gone into this matter with three schools of thought:

1. The First School: That the first day of the week and the beginning of creation is Sunday, basing their argument on the hadith of Ibn Abbas that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Allah Almighty created the earth on Sunday," and also: "Allah created one day and named it: Ahad (Sunday)." 2. The Second School: That the first day of the week and the beginning of creation is Saturday, and they argued with the hadith of Abu Hurairah: "Allah created the dust on Saturday." 3. The Third School: That the first day of the week is Sunday, while the beginning of creation was on Saturday. This is what An-Nahhas and As-Suyuti found preferable, and it was chosen by some Shafi'i jurists.

Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah explained Muslim's hadith: "Allah created the dust on Saturday," by saying that the last of the creations was on Friday, so if creation was six days, its first day would be Sunday.

As for the saying that Friday is the first day of the week, no scholar has stated this definitively. Rather, some scholars, such as Ibn Hajar, were of the opinion that it is the first day of the week "legally" (shar'an) not "existentially" (wujudan), and this is indicated by naming the entire week "Jum'ah" (Friday).