Question:
Assalamualaikum Sahibus Samahah Mufti. I once heard that calling out the adhan is sunnah in situations other than for calling out to people for the obligatory congregational prayer. Can I know when is it sunnah to call out the adhan other than the usual adhan we hear being called out in mosques and surau?
Hope for an explanation from Mufti. Thank you.
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrt wbt,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the many countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Allah SWT sanctioned the call of adhan to call the Muslim ummah to perform the congregational obligatory prayer together at the mosque. It is sunnah muakkad for Friday prayer and congregational prayer. (Refer al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah fi al-Masail al-Mufidah: 229)
It is sanctioned in the first year of hijrah. This is according to a hadith from Ibn Umar RA where he said: "When the Muslims arrived in Al-Madinah they used to gather and try to figure out the time for prayer, and no one gave the call to prayer. One day they spoke about that; some of them said: 'Let us use a bell like the Christians do;' others said, 'No, a horn like the Jews have.' 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 'Why don't you send a man to announce the time of prayer?' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
يَا بِلَالُ قُمْ فَنَادِ بِالصَّلَاةِ
'O Bilal, get up and give the call to prayer.'"
Sahih al-Bukhari (579) and Sahih Muslim (377)
It is sunnah for the adhan for prayer to be followed by iqamah before the prayer is performed. Among the purpose for the sanctioning of adhan are:
- Broadcast to people that the time for prayer has started.
- A call to perform the obligatory prayer in congregation.
- Informing the place where congregational prayer will be performed.
- Showcase the eminence of Islam in the place.
(Refer al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah fi al-Masail al-Mufidah, 228)
There are several types of prayers where it is sunnah to call out the adhan. Syeikh Hasan al-Kaff divided it according to the divisions of whether it is sunnah to call both the adhan and iqamah, only the iqamah or only the adhan and it is not sunnah to call out both the adhan and iqamah as the following:
- Sunnah for adhan and iqamah: The five obligatory prayers and Friday prayer.
- Only sunnah for iqamah and not the adhan: If a person performs jamak or qadha (replace) obligatory prayer consecutively, then the adhan is called out for the first prayer and iqamah for the second prayer.
- It is sunnah to just call for prayer without calling out the adhan or iqamah: Sunnah prayers which are encouraged to be performed in congregation such as the sunnah Eid prayers, eclipse prayer and the call for sunnah Eid prayer is:
"صلاةُ العَيْدِ رَحِمَكًم الله"
- It is not sunnah to call out the adhan, iqamah and other calls to prayer: for other sunnah prayers where it is not sanctioned to be performed in congregation such as sunnah Dhuha prayer and sunnah Rawatib prayers.
(Refer al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah fi al-Masail al-Mufidah: 228-229)
Furthermore, it is sunnah to call out the adhan and iqamah in several situations other than for prayer. Among them are:
- It is sunnah to call out the adhan: When a person is grieving (sorrow), in an argument, angry, or when there is an uncontrollable person, animal or fire and when there are disturbances of jinn such as jinn possession.
- It is sunnah to call out the adhan and iqamah: near the ears of a new-born baby, when sending off a person going on a travel and when placing a deceased into the grave.
(Refer al-Taqrirat al-Sadidah fi al-Masail al-Mufidah: 229)
Conclusion
To conclude, we would like to state that the types of prayer where it is sunnah to call out the adhan and iqamah is the five obligatory prayers, Friday prayer, jamak prayer and qadha prayer when performed consecutively. As for other prayers performed in congregation such as sunnah Eid prayers, eclipse prayer, then only call to prayer is sunnah.
Whereas calling the adhan that is sunnah outside prayer is when: in a grieving or sorrowful situation, anger, argument and when there is uncontrollable behaviour of a person, animal or fire and if there is an incident of possession of jinn. Furthermore, it is also sunnah to call the adhan and iqamah: near a new-born baby, when sending off someone going on travel and placing a deceased inside a grave. May Allah SWT give us the right understanding of His commandments and bless us with guidance so that we are able to worship Him with sincerity only for His sake. Amin.
Wallahua’lam.