Advice to the Mu'adhhdhins Regarding Timing

Question:
Thank you, Honorable Shaykh. Abu Ahmad says: Shaykh Salih (may Allah preserve him), what do you advise the mu'adhhdhins? There is a slight difference, or less. Does that have an effect?

Answer:
The mu'adhhdhins are trusted, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the mu'adhdhin is trusted with the time, meaning that part of his trustworthiness is maintaining the time. People act according to the adhan; they pray based on it and fast based on it. It is obligatory for him to adhere to the time. If he knows the time and sees it, he acts according to his sight and knowledge. But if he does not know these matters, and does not see the sun, nor the stars, nor anything else, he acts according to the timing in the calendar. The ministry distributes approved and reliable calendars to the mosques. So he must adhere to the calendar. He calls the adhan for Maghrib based on it, and calls the adhan for Fajr based on it, for the sake of fasting and for the sake of breaking the fast. The calendars are detailed according to locations. There is no doubt that the time for fasting and breaking the fast in Riyadh is different from the time for breaking the fast and fasting in Makkah, for example. This is detailed in the calendar. Every region or every distant area has its own specific timing. So the people of every region and every area must adhere to their timing and look at it. The imam and the mu'adhdhin bear a great responsibility, because they undertake the task. The imam undertakes establishing the prayer, and the mu'adhdhin undertakes determining the time for worship. People act according to the imam's action and act according to the mu'adhdhin's action. So they bear a great responsibility before Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, and the people are in their care. If they pray before the time based on their adhan, and they do not know, they are in the care of the mu'adhdhin. If they break their fast before the time because they do not know, but they relied on the adhan, they are in the care of the mu'adhdhin. The mu'adhdhin bears this. Some mu'adhhdhins are observed, may Allah guide them, to not adhere to the timing. If one stands up or arrives, he calls the adhan, even if it is half an hour, a quarter of an hour, or ten minutes after the other mu'adhhdhins. This is a problem. Or some of them advance before the time, and this is also a disruption. Yes.