The Ruling on Praying Without the Iqamah and Advice to the Preachers

Question:
He says: What is the ruling on praying without the iqamah? And we want advice for the preachers who lengthen the khutbah, and that is at the expense of shortening the prayer?

Answer:
The iqamah is a recommended practice (sunnah), so if they pray without the iqamah, the prayer is valid, except if the people of the town all conspire and leave off the iqamah, in which case they have abandoned one of the symbols of Islam, so it is obligatory to fight them. It is obligatory for the one in authority to fight them if they agree and reach scholarly consensus (ijma') to leave off the iqamah for the prayer, or to leave off the adhan for the prayer, because the iqamah is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). If a sufficient number of people in the town perform it, the sin falls off the rest, and it remains a recommended practice (sunnah) for them. But if they all leave it off, they have abandoned the obligatory, so it is obligatory to fight them until they perform it. As for the issue of those who lengthen the khutbah and shorten the prayer, this is contrary to the Sunnah which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged. He said (peace and blessings be upon him): "The shortness of a man's khutbah and the length of his prayer is ." So the one who lengthens the khutbah and shortens the prayer is contrary to this hadith, contrary to the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).