“Indeed, the worshipper is in intimate discourse with his Lord, so let him reflect on what he is saying to Him, and let none of you raise his voice in recitation over that of another.” In the version related by Abū Dāwūd: “Verily, every one of you is conversing with his Lord; therefore do not harm one another, nor let anyone raise his voice above the voice of his brother in recitation.” The Prophet ﷺ thus classified this as causing harm and expressly forbade it, and reality testifies to the wisdom of his prohibition.

For this reason we maintain that those who transmit the entire prayer through external loudspeakers—if they disturb the people around them—incur sin. When an action leaves a person either sinful or, at best, merely blameless, there is no doubt that abandoning it is the safer course. In fact, there is no real benefit in doing it at all, for the imam is leading only those inside the mosque; those outside are not his responsibility.

The practice also entails another detriment: some people become lax about coming to the mosque as long as they can hear the imam’s recitation from their homes. Each time they intend to rise, Satan discourages them: “Wait until the second rakʿah… wait until the third… sit until only one rakʿah is left,” and thus they miss out on a great deal of good.

Therefore we earnestly advise our brothers—especially the imams—not to employ these external loudspeakers, so that their consciences remain clear and their neighbours are spared any annoyance. Even inside the homes nearby, someone may already have prayed and need to lie down and rest, yet