A Note on Matters and New Developments Concerning the Ritual of the Adhan

The Shaykh : So we say, for example, this loudspeaker, this microphone, has diverted the mu'adhdhins from many of the recommended practices (sunnah) of the adhan, whether due to their ignorance, their negligence, or both. It is a sunnah of the adhan to ascend to a high place and to appear in person. We all read in the biography (sira) that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Makkah, Bilal ascended and called the adhan from the roof of the Ka'bah. Do you know why he did not call the adhan on the ground of the Ka'bah, in the place where the people pray? It is because this elevation, and the proclamation of the oneness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in that pure place which the polytheists had defiled and polluted with their shirk and the idols they used to worship besides Allah, meant that this mu'adhdhin, with his high voice, would declare the oneness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) there. This undoubtedly has a great impact and effect on people, both the righteous and the wicked, each according to his capacity, and far more so than if he had called the adhan on the ground of al-Masjid al-Haram. Likewise, it was a sunnah, absolutely, for the mu'adhdhin to be elevated in his place, appearing in person and with his voice, and then to turn to the right and to the left. Today, the mu'adhdhin is content with one of these sunnahs, which is conveying the voice through this microphone and the device that amplifies it, but the appearing in person is a sunnah they have abandoned.
And I have seen with my own eyes and advised with my own mouth some mu'adhdhins who also call the adhan without facing the qiblah. The reason is that the ignorant electrician, who is perhaps one of those who abandon prayer, placed the loudspeaker in a direction such that the person facing the microphone is not facing the qiblah. So the mu'adhdhin stood as he was told by the situation, and the language of the situation is more eloquent than the language of speech.
We told him: "My brother, the qiblah is from this direction, not from that direction." So he complied temporarily until they fix the placement of this microphone.
The point is that this microphone has a good aspect, which is the conveyance of the voice, because it is a sunnah, as came in the hadith regarding the legislation of the adhan, when 'Abdullah ibn Zayd al-Ansari came and related his dream to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to him: , and there are many hadiths that if the mu'adhdhin calls the adhan, no stone or brick that his voice reaches will testify for him on the Day of Resurrection.
These virtues come from the conveyance of the voice, so there is no harm in making use of this device which Allah created as a proof against His servants in this age, but on the condition that it does not become a cause for abandoning other sunnahs.
And among these sunnahs is appearing in person. And I see that the mu'adhdhin should call the adhan from a high place, but ambitions have weakened now, and this is in reality a punishment from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the people who do not adhere to the rulings of the Shari'ah. These minarets that were built and are still being built today, despite their having no need to ascend to the roof of the mosque, let alone to the top of the highest step of this long minaret, even today they are still building these minarets, these minarets that resemble skyscrapers, are in no way part of Islam at all; rather, they are showing off (riya'), boasting, and seeking reputation, which does not bring their owner any nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). Nevertheless, some mu'adhdhins in the past, and I witnessed in my time the mu'adhdhins of the Banu Umayyah, would actually ascend to the minaret and call the adhan from there. I do not know if it is still the case today. The point is: they used to ascend to the minaret in the past. First, they were more fearful of Allah and more desirous of what is with Allah than people in general, and the mu'adhdhins and imams in particular. As for the situation today, it has become material. There is no longer any reward, and as long as the intention of the mu'adhdhins today in the adhan is to convey the voice to the people around the mosque, then what Allah willed, this conveys to those behind other mosques. Therefore, none of them thinks to appear in person, nor to maintain the sunnah of turning to the right and left, because if he turns, the voice goes away. This loudspeaker was not placed in a way that considered the interests of the Muslims, and this is a great affliction. The planning is always concerned with the apparent material matters, and the general Islamic interests are not considered.