between the two adhāns, but only for a short interval, for the sunnah is to begin the sermon the moment the noon-time (zawāl) enters after the adhān. This is indicated by the wording of the previously cited ḥadīth: “The adhān was first called when the imam sat on the pulpit, and when the prayer was established,” that is, its time had arrived with the sun’s zenith. There are even clearer ḥadīths on the matter, which will be mentioned when we address the fourth point, God willing.
I should add that everything we have said applies only when the adhān is not being broadcast at the mosque gate by radio or loudspeaker. If it is broadcast in that way, we deem it permissible, for in that case it is merely a redundant announcement, as has already been explained.
(1) A similar account appears in al-Fakihi’s History of Mecca, where he says: “In earlier times the people of Mecca did not give the adhan from the mountain-tops; the call to prayer was made only inside the Sacred Mosque. Consequently, those who were scattered in Mecca’s valleys and away from the mosque often missed the prayer. This remained so until the reign of the Commander of the Faithful Harun. When Abd Allah ibn Malik and some of his peers arrived in Mecca, he missed the prayer because he had not heard the adhan. He therefore ordered that minarets be erected on the hill-tops overlooking Mecca’s valleys and ravines, so that the adhan could be called from them. He also allocated regular stipends to the muadhdhins for this purpose … but these payments were later discontinued, and the practice was subsequently abandoned.”