3- THE CALL TO PRAYER
THE CALL TO PRAYER (ADHAN) AND CALL TO COMMENCE (IQAMA)
The call to prayer (adhan) and call to commence (iqama) are two sunnahs for the prescribed prayers, even when praying alone or in the second group to pray (in a mosque, for example), such that there is public cognizance (of both the call to prayer and to commence, whether in a large or small town).
To give the call to prayer (adhan) is better than being the imam for a group prayer (though to be imam is superior to giving the call to commence (iqama).
When praying alone in a mosque where a group has already prayed, one does not raise one’s voice in giving the call to prayer, though if no group has yet prayed, one raises it. The same applies to a second group to pray: they do not raise their voice.
It is sunnah for a group of women who are praying together to give the call to commence without giving the call to prayer.
When making up one or more missed’ prescribed prayers, one gives the call to prayer only for the first (in the series), but gives the call to commence for each one.
The words of the call to prayer and call to commence are well known.
(The words of the call to prayer mean: “Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest. Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest. I testify there is no god but Allah. I testify there is no god but Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to the prayer. Come to the prayer. Come. To success. Come to success. [At this point, before the dawn prayer only, one adds: “Prayer is better than sleep. Prayer is better that sleep.”] Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest. There is no god but Allah.”
The words of the call to commence mean: (“Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest. I testify there is no god but Allah. I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to the prayer. Come to success. The prayer is commencing. The prayer is commencing. Allah is greatest, Allah is greatest. There is no god but Allah.”)
Each word (of both of them) must be recited in the order mentioned above.
If one remains silent for long or speaks at length between the words of the call to prayer (or call to commence), it is not valid and must be begun again, though a short remark or silence while calling it does not invalidate it.
When giving the call to prayer or call to commence by oneself, the minimal audibility permissible is that one can hear oneself. The minimum when calling them for a group is that all their contents can be heard by at least one other person.
It is not valid to give the call to prayer before a prayer’s time has come, except for the dawn prayer, when it is permissible to give the call to prayer from the middle of the night onwards (as is done in Mecca and Medina).
When giving the call to prayer and call to commence, it is recommended to have ablution (wudu), stand, face the direction of prayer, and to turn the head (not the chest or feet) to the right when saying, “Come to the prayer,” and to the left when saying, “Come to success.”
It is offensive to give the call to prayer while in a state of minor ritual impurity (hadath), more offensive to do so in a state of major ritual impurity janaba), and even worse to give the call to commence (iqama) while in either of these two states.
It is recommended:
(1) to give the call to prayer from a high place near the mosque;
(2) to put one’s fingertips in one’s ears while calling it
(3) to take one’s time in giving the call to prayer (pausing for an interval after each sentence equal to the sentence’s length) (except for repetitions of “Allah is Greatest,” which are said in pairs)
(4) and to give the call to commence rapidly, without pause,
It is obligatory for the muezzin (or person giving the call to commence):
(a) to be Muslim;
(b) to have reached the age of discrimination
(c) to be sane;
(d) and if calling for a men’s group prayer, to be male, It is recommended that he be upright and have a strong, pleasant voice.
It is offensive for a blind person to give the call to prayer unless a sighted person is with him (to tell him when the time has come).
When one hears the call to prayer (or call to commence), it is recommended to repeat each phrase after the muezzin, even if in a state of major ritual impurity (janaba), during menstruation, or when reciting the Quran (and a fortiori when reading or reciting something else).
One does not repeat the phrases “Come to the prayer” or “Come to success,” but rather says after them, “There is no power or strength except through Allah.” And at the call to prayer at dawn, one does not repeat “Prayer is better than sleep,” but instead says, “You have spoken the truth, and piously.” When the person giving the call to commence says, “The prayer is commencing,” one replies, “‘May Allah establish it and make it endure as long as the heavens and earth, and make me one of the righteous of its folk.” If one hears it while making love, going to the lavatory, or performing the prayer, one says the words when finished.
It is recommended for the muezzin, after he finishes, and those hearing him to bless the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). (It is unobjectionable in the Shafi’i school for the muezzin to do so as loudly as the call to prayer.) Then one adds, “0 Allah, Lord of this comprehensive invitation and enduring prayer, grant our liege lord Muhammad a place near to You, an excellence and exalted degree, and bestow on him the praiseworthy station that You have promised him.”
(Source: The reliance of the traveller, revised edition, Edited and Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller)
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