Chapter on the Adhān and the Iqāmah

This chapter heading covers two issues which are inseparably connected: the first is the adhān, and the second is the iqāmah.

Linguistically, adhān means announcement, as in Allah’s statement: “Then be informed of a war from Allah and His Messenger” [al-Baqarah 2:279], and His statement: “And an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to the people on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage” [al-Tawbah 9:3].

In Islamic law, it is a particular announcement, which will be explained. This is generally the case with legal definitions: they are more specific than the linguistic meanings, though the reverse may sometimes be true. Thus, īmān linguistically means affirmation, whereas in Islamic law it is broader than that. Yet the former is more commonly the case.

The legal definition of the adhān is: worshipping Allah by means of a prescribed remembrance, after the time for prayer has begun, in order to announce it.

This is preferable to defining it as “announcing the beginning of the prayer time,” because the adhān is an act of worship, which should therefore be noted in its definition; and because the adhān is not restricted to the beginning of the time. Thus, when delaying the Zuhr prayer until the heat subsides is prescribed, delaying the adhān is prescribed as well, as stated in an authentic hadith (1).

The adhān is an obligatory act of worship, because the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded it, and because Allah referred to it in the Quran when He said: “When you call to prayer, they take it in mockery and play.”