Ruling 902. It is recommended for both men and women to say adhān and then iqāmah before the daily obligatory prayers; however, they have not been sanctioned in Islamic law (they are not mashrūʿ) for other obligatory prayers or for recommended prayers. If Eid al-Fiṭr[1] and Eid al-Aḍḥā[2] prayers are performed in congregation, it is recommended to say ‘aṣṣalāh’ three times before commencing them.

Ruling 903. It is recommended that on the day a child is born, or before his umbilical cord falls off, adhān should be said in his right ear and iqāmah in his left.

Ruling 904. Adhān consists of the following eighteen sentences:

Iqāmah consists of the following seventeen sentences:

Ruling 905. The sentence:

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عَلِيًّا وَلِيُّ اللهِ

ashhadu anna ʿaliyyan waliyyul lāh

...is not a part of adhān and iqāmah, but it is good to say it after the sentence ‘ashhadu anna muḥammadar rasūlul lāh’ with the intention of attaining proximity to Allah.

Translation of the sentences of adhān and iqāmah:

Ruling 906. There must not be a long interval between the sentences of adhān and iqāmah. If there is an interval between them that is longer than usual, they must be repeated from the beginning.

Ruling 907. If adhān and iqāmah are said in a manner that amounts to singing, i.e. in a manner that is in common with gatherings of entertainment and amusement, it is unlawful. If it does not amount to singing [but is somewhat similar to singing], it is disapproved.

Ruling 908. Whenever a person performs two prayers that share a common time one after the other, if he says adhān for the first prayer, then saying it for the second prayer is excepted. This is irrespective of whether or not it is better to join the two prayers together, such as joining ẓuhr and ʿaṣr prayers on the Day of ʿArafah – which is the ninth day of the month of Dhū al-Ḥijjah – [when it is better to join the two prayers together] if one performs them within the prime time (waqt al‑faḍīlah) of the ẓuhr prayer even if he is not in ʿArafāt. [Another example is] joining maghrib and ʿishāʾ prayers on the eve of Eid al-Aḍḥā for one who is in Mashʿar al-Ḥarām and he joins them within the prime time of the ʿishāʾ prayer.

Adhān being excepted in these cases is conditional upon there not being a long interval between the two prayers. There is no problem if an interval occurs on account of performing nāfilah prayers or reciting duʿāʾs after prayers (taʿqībāt). In these cases, the obligatory precaution is that adhān must not be said with the intention of it being an act that has been sanctioned in Islamic law; in fact, saying adhān in the two cases mentioned above on the Day of ʿArafah and in Mashʿar while observing the conditions mentioned above is contrary to obligatory precaution [and therefore, adhān must not be said], even without the intention of it being an act that has been sanctioned in Islamic law.

Ruling 909. If adhān and iqāmah have been said for a congregational prayer, a person joining that congregation must not say adhān and iqāmah for his own prayers.

Ruling 910. If a person goes to the mosque to perform prayers and finds that congregational prayers are over, he does not have to say adhān and iqāmah for his own prayers as long as the rows have not broken up and the people have not dispersed; in other words, saying them in such a situation is not an emphasised recommended act. In fact, if he wants to say adhān, it is better that he does so in a very low voice. If he wants to establish another congregational prayer, he must not say adhān and iqāmah.

Ruling 911. Apart from the case mentioned in the previous ruling, adhān and iqāmah become excepted if six conditions are fulfilled:

1. congregational prayers are performed in a mosque; if they are not performed in a mosque, then adhān and iqāmah are not excepted;

2. adhān and iqāmah have already been said for that prayer;

3. the congregational prayer is not invalid;

4. his prayer and the congregational prayer take place in one place; therefore, if the congregational prayer is performed inside a mosque and he wants to perform prayers on the mosque’s rooftop, it is recommended that he say adhān and iqāmah;

5. the congregational prayer is performed within its prescribed time; but it is not a condition that his prayer also be one that is performed within its prescribed time if he is performing it on his own;

6. his prayer and the congregational prayer are performed in a time that is common to both; for example, both perform ẓuhr prayers or both perform ʿaṣr prayers, or the prayer that is performed in congregation is ẓuhr and he performs ʿaṣr prayers, or he performs ẓuhr prayers and the congregational prayer is ʿaṣr. However, if the congregational prayer is ʿaṣr and it is being performed at the end of its prescribed time [and the rows have not yet broken up] and he wants to perform maghrib within its prescribed time, then adhān and iqāmah are not excepted.

Ruling 912. If a person has a doubt about the third condition mentioned above, i.e. he doubts whether or not the congregational prayer is valid, then saying adhān and iqāmah is excepted for him. However, if he has a doubt about one of the five other conditions, it is better that he say adhān and iqāmah; but if his prayer is in congregation, he must say them with the intention of rajāʾ.

Ruling 913. If someone hears another adhān that is said as an announcement or as a call to congregational prayers, it is recommended that he quietly repeat whichever part he hears.

Ruling 914. If someone hears another adhān and iqāmah – irrespective of whether he repeats after them or not – then, in the event that the interval between that adhān and iqāmah and the prayer that he wants to perform is not long, and he had the intention to perform prayers from the time he started hearing them, he can suffice with that adhān and iqāmah. However, if only the imam or only the followers of a congregational prayer hear the adhān, this rule is problematic [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, he cannot suffice with it].

Ruling 915. If a man listens to an adhān said by a woman with the intention of deriving lustful pleasure, then saying adhān is not excepted for him; in fact, adhān being excepted by listening to the adhān of a woman in general is a problem [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, it is not excepted].

Ruling 916. The adhān and iqāmah of congregational prayers must be said by a man. However, in congregational prayers of women, if a woman says adhān and iqāmah, it is sufficient. Sufficing with the adhān and iqāmah said by a woman in a congregational prayer in which the men present are her maḥram is problematic [i.e. based on obligatory precaution, it does not suffice].

Ruling 917. Iqāmah must be said after adhān, and it is a requirement that iqāmah be said while one is standing and in the state of ritual purity, i.e. while one has wuḍūʾ, ghusl, or tayammum.

Ruling 918. If a person says the sentences of adhān and iqāmah in the wrong order – for example, he says ‘ḥayya ʿalal falāḥ’ before ‘ḥayya ʿalaṣ ṣalāh’ – he must repeat them from the place where the order was disturbed.

Ruling 919. There must not be an interval between adhān and iqāmah, and if an interval occurs to the extent that the adhān that was said cannot be regarded as being the adhān of that iqāmah, then the adhān is invalid. Also, if there is an interval between the adhān and iqāmah and the prayer to the extent that the adhān and iqāmah cannot be regarded as being those of that prayer, then the adhān and iqāmah are invalid.

Ruling 920. Adhān and iqāmah must be said in correct Arabic; therefore, if they are said in incorrect Arabic, or instead of one of the letters another letter is said, or, for example, the English translation is said, it is not correct.

Ruling 921. Adhān and iqāmah must be said after the time for prayer has set in. If a person says them before that time – whether intentionally or forgetfully – they are invalid, except in the case when the time of prayer sets in during a prayer and the prayer is ruled to be valid, as explained in Ruling 731.

Ruling 922. If before saying iqāmah one doubts whether he said adhān or not, he must say adhān; but if while saying iqāmah he doubts whether he said adhān or not, then saying adhān is not necessary.

Ruling 923. If a person has started adhān or iqāmah and before saying some [particular] part of it he doubts whether he said the previous part or not, he must say the part about which he doubts; but if while saying some part of adhān and iqāmah he doubts whether he said the previous part or not, then saying it is not necessary.

Ruling 924. It is recommended that while saying adhān, one stands facing qibla, has wuḍūʾ or ghusl, places his hands on his ears, raises and extends his voice, briefly pauses between the sentences, and does not talk in between them.

Ruling 925. It is recommended that at the time of saying iqāmah, one’s body should be still and he should say it quieter than adhān and not join the sentences together. However, the pauses in between the sentences of iqāmah should not be as long as they are in adhān.

Ruling 926. It is recommended that between adhān and iqāmah, one should take a step forward, or sit down briefly, or perform sajdah, or engage in remembering Allah the Exalted (dhikr), or recite a duʿāʾ, or be silent briefly, or talk, or perform a two rakʿah prayer. However, talking between adhān and iqāmah of ṣubḥ prayers is not recommended.

Ruling 927. It is recommended that a person who is appointed to say adhān be dutiful (ʿādil), know the timings, and have a loud voice. And it is recommended that adhān be said from an elevated place.