Islamic Manual

The sunnahs and preferred acts of adhan and iqamah

How the muadhin should stand, move and speak while calling, the purity he should be in, and the mistakes to avoid in pronunciation.

How the muadhin should call the adhan and iqamah

  1. Call the adhan from a high place, outside the mosque. Call the iqamah inside the mosque.
  2. Stand up to call it; don't sit.
  3. Call it loudly.
  4. Put your fingers in your ears while calling the adhan.
  5. Say the words of the adhan clearly and slowly. Say the words of the iqamah quickly.
  6. When you say 'Come to prayer', turn your face to the right. When you say 'Come to success', turn your face to the left. Keep your feet and chest facing the qiblah the whole time.
  7. Face the qiblah while calling both the adhan and the iqamah.
  8. Say the words in the right order; don't jump around.
  9. Don't talk about anything else while calling the adhan or iqamah, not even to answer someone's 'as-salamu alaykum'.

What makes a good muadhin

  1. He should be of sound mind.
  2. He should have a loud, carrying voice.
  3. He should know the basics needed, like which way the qiblah is, and the prayer times.
  4. He should know the sunnah way of doing things, and be a good, practising Muslim.
  5. People should respect him, so that his call actually brings them to pray.

The following points are the sunnahs and mustahabbat (recommended acts) of adhan and iqamah, as a single set of good practice; the source does not itself mark out which items are the confirmed sunnahs and which are the lighter recommendations.

Sunnahs and mustahabbat of adhan and iqamah

  1. The adhan is called from a high place, outside the mosque; the iqamah is called inside it.
  2. The adhan is called standing.
  3. The adhan is called loudly.
  4. The fingers are placed in the ears while calling the adhan.
  5. The words of the adhan are pronounced clearly and slowly; the words of the iqamah are said quickly.
  6. On saying 'hayya ala's-salah', the mu'adhin turns to the right; on saying 'hayya ala'l-falah', he turns to the left, without turning his chest or feet away from the qiblah.
  7. Both adhan and iqamah are said facing the qiblah.
  8. The words of adhan and iqamah are said in their proper order.
  9. No other speech is made during adhan or iqamah, not even to return a greeting of salaam.
Ḥarāmmust not do

Inserting an extra alif between the ba and ra of 'Akbar', so that it is said 'Akbaar', invalidates the adhan.

Qualities of the mu'adhin

  1. Sound mind.
  2. A loud voice.
  3. Knowledge of the essential matters, such as the direction of the qiblah and the prayer times.
  4. Knowledge of the sunnah, and personal piety.
  5. Standing and respect, so that people are actually moved to join the congregation on his call.

The following nine points are transmitted together under the heading of the sunnahs and mustahabbat of adhan and iqamah. The source does not itself divide the list into which items carry the stronger status of sunnah and which are the lighter mustahabb; they are given here as one connected set of adab rather than individually levelled, to avoid asserting a division the text does not make.

Sunnahs and mustahabbat of adhan and iqamah

  1. Adhan from an elevated place outside the mosque; iqamah inside it.
  2. Standing (qiyaman) for the adhan.
  3. Raising the voice (jahr).
  4. Placing the index fingers in the ears during the adhan.
  5. Tarsil: pronouncing the adhan's words clearly and with measured pauses; iqamah is instead said quickly (hadr).
  6. Turning the face right on hayya ʿala's-salah and left on hayya ʿala'l-falah, without displacing the chest or feet from the qiblah, a movement called tahwil al-wajh.
  7. Facing the qiblah (istiqbal al-qiblah) throughout adhan and iqamah.
  8. Tartib: preserving the words' fixed order.
  9. Refraining from any other speech during either call, even to return a salaam greeting.
Ḥarāmmust not do

Interposing an alif between the bāʾ and rāʾ of akbar, pronouncing it akbār, invalidates the adhan outright and it must be repeated.

Qualities sought in the mu'adhin

  1. Soundness of ʿaql.
  2. A carrying voice (jahwariyyat aṣ-ṣawt).
  3. Competence in the essentials needed: the qiblah's direction and the prayer times.
  4. Knowledge of the sunnah, joined to personal wara' (piety).
  5. Communal standing and respect (wajahah), such that his call actually mobilises the congregation.

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