Nor have I come across anyone who upholds the literal sense of the reports transmitted from Ibn ʿUmar and Anas—reports that, on their face, would make the iqāma consist of nine utterances, each phrase recited once, except for the word “iqāma” itself. Were it established that any of the early generations adopted that view, we would embrace it; otherwise we are compelled—albeit with some strain—to interpret the two reports, as noted earlier. Allah knows best.

4 – Whoever hears the iqāma is required to do exactly what is required of the one who hears the adhān: he repeats the words, invokes blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, and asks that he be granted the Wasilah. This was explained earlier under issue (14) in the chapter on the adhān. The basis for it is the general wording of the Prophet’s ﷺ instruction, “When you hear the muʾadhdhin, say what he says…,” and because, both linguistically and in the Law, the iqāma is also called an adhān. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Between every two adhāns there is a prayer,” meaning between an adhān and an iqāma.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ, in his commentary on this ḥadīth, wrote: “That is, an adhān and an iqāma.” He then said: “The commentators are agreed that this is an instance of taghlīb, just as ‘the two luminaries’ refers to the sun and the moon. It is also possible that the iqāma is called an adhān because it announces the imminent performance of the prayer, whereas the adhān announces the entry of its time. Nothing, however, prevents us from retaining the phrase ‘two adhāns’ in its apparent, literal sense.”

Imām Ibn Ḥazm proceeded on this very understanding. From the Prophet’s ﷺ words, “When the time for prayer comes, let one of you call the adhān…,” already cited, he deduced—supported by the ḥadīth presently under discussion—that the iqāma falls under the same command. After quoting the aforementioned report, he said: “Thus it is established that the adhān is categorically obligatory, and the iqāma is included in that command as well….”