The ruling on facing the qiblah in the adhan and iqamah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
The Shaykh’s question: Is it a condition in the adhan and iqamah to face the qiblah? And is the adhan permissible if not facing the qiblah?
The Shaykh:
Yes, for every act of worship, it is better to face the qiblah. For every act of worship, it is better to face the qiblah.
So, when reciting the Qur’an, in gatherings of dhikr, and in all acts of worship, if it is possible, one should face the qiblah. Facing the qiblah is a recommended practice (sunnah) for all acts of worship, including the slaughter of an animal, and when a deceased person is placed in his grave; all of these are done facing the qiblah. The adhan is an act of worship, so one faces the qiblah for it. If one calls the adhan while not facing the qiblah, his adhan is valid; it is not invalidated. His adhan is valid. For this reason, it is stated in the madhhab, in a narration from Ahmad, that if one is on a minaret, he should turn around. There is no doubt that if he turns around, he will be facing away from the qiblah in some of his positions, but this does not invalidate his adhan. He is merely leaving a recommended practice (sunnah).
The questioner:
Look.
The Shaykh:
Brothers.
The questioner:
And is the agreement in other matters always?
The Shaykh:
We mentioned this and said: It does not invalidate the adhan, but it is contrary to the recommended practice (sunnah). Because turning around is only prescribed in two cases. So, if one turns around in any other case, he has contradicted the recommended practice (sunnah). Otherwise, the adhan is not invalidated by this, because this is among the recommended practices (sunnah) of the adhan, not among its conditions.
The Shaykh’s question: Is it a condition in the adhan and iqamah to face the qiblah? And is the adhan permissible if not facing the qiblah?
The Shaykh:
Yes, for every act of worship, it is better to face the qiblah. For every act of worship, it is better to face the qiblah.
So, when reciting the Qur’an, in gatherings of dhikr, and in all acts of worship, if it is possible, one should face the qiblah. Facing the qiblah is a recommended practice (sunnah) for all acts of worship, including the slaughter of an animal, and when a deceased person is placed in his grave; all of these are done facing the qiblah. The adhan is an act of worship, so one faces the qiblah for it. If one calls the adhan while not facing the qiblah, his adhan is valid; it is not invalidated. His adhan is valid. For this reason, it is stated in the madhhab, in a narration from Ahmad, that if one is on a minaret, he should turn around. There is no doubt that if he turns around, he will be facing away from the qiblah in some of his positions, but this does not invalidate his adhan. He is merely leaving a recommended practice (sunnah).
The questioner:
Look.
The Shaykh:
Brothers.
The questioner:
And is the agreement in other matters always?
The Shaykh:
We mentioned this and said: It does not invalidate the adhan, but it is contrary to the recommended practice (sunnah). Because turning around is only prescribed in two cases. So, if one turns around in any other case, he has contradicted the recommended practice (sunnah). Otherwise, the adhan is not invalidated by this, because this is among the recommended practices (sunnah) of the adhan, not among its conditions.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تابع باب الأذان - 1 — islamhouse.com (46:54)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.