What is said upon hearing the mu'adhdhin: "Prayer is better than sleep"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The questioner asks: What is said upon hearing the mu'adhdhin say, "Prayer is better than sleep," in the adhan for the night prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes. What does the responder say when the mu'adhdhin says, "Prayer is better than sleep"?
We say: He responds with what is said, so he says, "Prayer is better than sleep." Because when the mu'adhdhin says, "Allah is the Greatest," you say, "Allah is the Greatest." And when he says, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah," you say, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah." And when he says, "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," you say, "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Then, after the two testimonies, you say, "I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as my Messenger, and with Islam as my religion." When he says, "Hasten to prayer," you say, "There is no power and no strength except with Allah." And likewise for "Hasten to success." When he says, "Allah is the Greatest," you say the same, and "There is no god but Allah" likewise. When he says, "Prayer is better than sleep," you say, "Prayer is better than sleep."
The presenter : Yes, yes.
The questioner : What
The Shaykh : is the evidence? The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan an-Nasa'i 678Sahih (Darussalam) "Respond with what the mu'adhdhin says." And in the Sunnah, nothing has been excluded from this except for "Hasten to prayer" and "Hasten to success," for which you say, "There is no power and no strength except with Allah." So the generality remains for everything other than these two phrases. If I ask you: Is saying "Prayer is better than sleep" not the truth?
The answer is: Yes. And is his saying "Allah is the Greatest" the truth or not? And is his saying "There is no god but Allah" the truth? If he says "Allah is the Greatest," do you say, "You have spoken the truth and it has cooled you"? What do you say? Well, if he says "Prayer is better than sleep," do not say "The prayer of humility"; say what he says. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded.
The Shaykh : Yes. What does the responder say when the mu'adhdhin says, "Prayer is better than sleep"?
We say: He responds with what is said, so he says, "Prayer is better than sleep." Because when the mu'adhdhin says, "Allah is the Greatest," you say, "Allah is the Greatest." And when he says, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah," you say, "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah." And when he says, "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," you say, "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." Then, after the two testimonies, you say, "I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as my Messenger, and with Islam as my religion." When he says, "Hasten to prayer," you say, "There is no power and no strength except with Allah." And likewise for "Hasten to success." When he says, "Allah is the Greatest," you say the same, and "There is no god but Allah" likewise. When he says, "Prayer is better than sleep," you say, "Prayer is better than sleep."
The presenter : Yes, yes.
The questioner : What
The Shaykh : is the evidence? The saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
When you hear the Mu'adhdhin then say what he says
إذا سمعتم المؤذن فقولوا مثل ما يقولThe answer is: Yes. And is his saying "Allah is the Greatest" the truth or not? And is his saying "There is no god but Allah" the truth? If he says "Allah is the Greatest," do you say, "You have spoken the truth and it has cooled you"? What do you say? Well, if he says "Prayer is better than sleep," do not say "The prayer of humility"; say what he says. This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[11 من 46] ماذا يقال عند سماع المؤذن يقول الصلاة خير من النوم؟!! ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.