Chapter on the Adhan

The adhan is a Sunnah for the five daily prayers and for Jumu‘ah, but not for any other prayer.

The manner of the adhan is to proclaim: “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar …” to the end, without tarjiʿ (the double, low-then-loud repetition of the Shahada). In the Fajr adhan he adds, after “hayya ʿala al-falah,” the phrase “al-salatu khayrun min al-nawm” (prayer is better than sleep) twice.

The iqama is the same as the adhan, except that after “hayya ʿala al-falah” he adds “qad qamati al-salat” (the prayer has commenced) twice.

He should deliver the adhan at a measured pace, but recite the iqama briskly, facing the qibla for both. When he reaches “hayya ʿala al-salat” and “hayya ʿala al-falah,” he turns his face to the right and then to the left.

If a prayer has been missed, the adhan and iqama are given for it. Should several prayers have been missed, he gives the adhan and iqama for the first one, and for the rest he may choose: either give both adhan and iqama, or suffice with the iqama alone.

It is recommended that both adhan and iqama be made while in a state of ritual purity. If he gives the adhan without wudu, it is still valid, but it is disliked to give the iqama without wudu, or to give the adhan while in a state of janaba. The adhan must not be proclaimed before the time of the prayer has begun.