What is the meaning of the hadith: "The mu'adhdhin has the right to the adhan, and the imam has the right to the iqamah"?
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The questioner: ... Bulugh al-Maram 2:64 , so we hope you will clarify this.
The Shaykh: No, there is no such difference between the adhan and the iqamah. In any case, the mu'adhdhin does not call the adhan or the iqamah except with the permission of the imam. In some of the books of Sunan, a hadith is narrated that is well-known among people, but its chain of narration is weak: "Whoever calls the adhan, he is the one who calls the iqamah." They narrate it as: "Whoever calls the adhan, let him call the iqamah." This specific wording has no basis. However, it is narrated in "Sunan Abu Dawud" and others as: "Whoever calls the adhan, he is the one who calls the iqamah." Nevertheless, its chain of narration is weak and cannot serve as proof. Therefore, the imam may order whomever he wishes to call the iqamah for the prayer; if he wishes, he may order the mu'adhdhin himself, and if he wishes, he may order someone else.
The questioner: And if he wishes, let him call the iqamah himself.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: And if he wishes, let him call the iqamah himself.
The Shaykh: And if he wishes, he calls the iqamah himself. There is nothing that absolutely forbids him from doing so. Yes, that is right.
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: In a narration reported from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the books of fiqh—we did not find it in the books of hadith—it says: "If it were not for the caliphate, I would have called the adhan." That is, if it were not for his preoccupation with the caliphate, he would have called the adhan. Because, look, this phrase itself, regardless of whether it is authentic or not, indicates the importance of the adhan... the issue of the adhan, and that there is a responsibility involved in the adhan. One must monitor the times. Because in that era, as we all know, there were no clocks, no science of astronomy, or anything else. Rather, it was by the astronomy that Allah placed in the sky that they knew the times of prayer. The situation has now completely reversed; the mu'adhdhins have become ignorant. If they were in the desert or in the wilderness, they would not know how to call the adhan for the Fajr prayer, the Zuhr prayer, the 'Asr prayer, the Maghrib prayer, or the 'Isha' prayer. They would not know.
Another questioner: We work and listen to the adhan of the one next to us...
Another questioner: Because also... the caliphate.
The Shaykh: Ah, but of course...
The questioner: Ah, ah...
The Shaykh: Without a doubt, it is a responsibility that no other responsibility matches. Yes, that is right. So it is...
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: It is the great imamate.
The Mu'adhdhin has more right to [determine the time to] announce the Adhan and the Imam has more right to [determine when to] pronounce the Iqamah.
المؤذِّن أَمْلَكُ بالأذان ، والإمام أَمْلَكُ بالإقامةThe Shaykh: No, there is no such difference between the adhan and the iqamah. In any case, the mu'adhdhin does not call the adhan or the iqamah except with the permission of the imam. In some of the books of Sunan, a hadith is narrated that is well-known among people, but its chain of narration is weak: "Whoever calls the adhan, he is the one who calls the iqamah." They narrate it as: "Whoever calls the adhan, let him call the iqamah." This specific wording has no basis. However, it is narrated in "Sunan Abu Dawud" and others as: "Whoever calls the adhan, he is the one who calls the iqamah." Nevertheless, its chain of narration is weak and cannot serve as proof. Therefore, the imam may order whomever he wishes to call the iqamah for the prayer; if he wishes, he may order the mu'adhdhin himself, and if he wishes, he may order someone else.
The questioner: And if he wishes, let him call the iqamah himself.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner: And if he wishes, let him call the iqamah himself.
The Shaykh: And if he wishes, he calls the iqamah himself. There is nothing that absolutely forbids him from doing so. Yes, that is right.
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: In a narration reported from 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) in the books of fiqh—we did not find it in the books of hadith—it says: "If it were not for the caliphate, I would have called the adhan." That is, if it were not for his preoccupation with the caliphate, he would have called the adhan. Because, look, this phrase itself, regardless of whether it is authentic or not, indicates the importance of the adhan... the issue of the adhan, and that there is a responsibility involved in the adhan. One must monitor the times. Because in that era, as we all know, there were no clocks, no science of astronomy, or anything else. Rather, it was by the astronomy that Allah placed in the sky that they knew the times of prayer. The situation has now completely reversed; the mu'adhdhins have become ignorant. If they were in the desert or in the wilderness, they would not know how to call the adhan for the Fajr prayer, the Zuhr prayer, the 'Asr prayer, the Maghrib prayer, or the 'Isha' prayer. They would not know.
Another questioner: We work and listen to the adhan of the one next to us...
Another questioner: Because also... the caliphate.
The Shaykh: Ah, but of course...
The questioner: Ah, ah...
The Shaykh: Without a doubt, it is a responsibility that no other responsibility matches. Yes, that is right. So it is...
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: It is the great imamate.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.