“…the iqāmah is enough for you, so you pronounce it.”
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The Prophet ﷺ put the public interest ahead of the private. ʿAbd Allāh b. Zayd had a personal right to call the adhān, and doing so would have benefited him alone, whereas having Bilāl call it served the community, for Bilāl’s voice was clearer and more resonant. Accordingly, the Prophet ﷺ told him: “Stand with Bilāl and teach him what you saw, and let him call the adhān, for his voice carries farther than yours.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī, 189). This is a sound example of wise Islamic governance, where the general benefit is preferred over the individual one.
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It is permissible for one person to give the adhān and another to give the iqāmah; this is the position of the majority, as mentioned earlier.
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The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to perform good deeds and to compete in them. They are the foremost addressees of the verse: “It is these who hasten to good deeds and are foremost in performing them” (al-Muʾminūn, 23:61).
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The merit of the adhān and the Companions’ eagerness to attain it is shown in the ḥadith recorded by al-Bukhārī (615) and Muslim (437): “If people knew the reward in the call to prayer and in the first row, and could find no way to obtain them except by drawing lots, they would draw lots.”
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Private interests are observed so long as they do not undermine the public good. The Prophet ﷺ allowed ʿAbd Allāh to pronounce the iqāmah in deference to his personal right, and leading the iqāmah does not require a powerful voice, for it simply informs those present that the prayer is about to begin.