What is the ruling on responding to the mu'adhdhin?

The questioner : The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So when the adhan for the 'Isha' prayer was being called, we did not hear from your eminence that you responded. This is not the question here, but the question is: Is it obligatory or not obligatory?

The Shaykh : Yes, you corrected it. Are you Moroccan? Because the earth is inhabited. Based on your premise, which you corrected with your conclusion, I wanted to ask you, "Have you heard anything but good?" but you spared me this statement, even if I had said it. And the answer to your conclusion is: The statement of him (peace and blessings be upon him), or his command in the hadith you mentioned, is: If it was for obligation, then we are all sinful. And if it was not for obligation, which is the correct view, then we are not sinful, praise be to Allah, in the first place. Rather, we are in obedience to Allah, in the second place. And this obedience in which we are here, in the third place, justifies for us leaving an obligatory act, not just a recommended one. That is, if there were a mosque near us where we could hear its adhan with our adhan without a loudspeaker, then when the situation is such, it is obligatory for everyone who hears the call to go to the prayer with the congregation. If there were a mosque here nearby where we could hear its adhan with our adhan, would it be permissible for us to remain in our place here? Because we are in obedience to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. May Allah be pleased with Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), for it is authentically reported from him that he prayed the Fajr prayer one day and lengthened the recitation in it in a way that seemed unusual for him. So when he finished the prayer, they said, "You have lengthened the prayer with us until the sun was about to rise." He said a wonderful word, which was: "If it rises, it will not find us heedless." Meaning: He was in the recitation of the words of the Lord of the Worlds, and in completing this prayer, the Fajr prayer, after that. So it is true what you said that we did not respond to the mu'adhdhin, and this is for those who were aware of the adhan. And I cannot judge your ruling on all the attendees. As for your ruling on me, it is acceptable, because Allah has not placed two hearts in the chest of a man. So I ask and I answer, so naturally I cannot respond to the mu'adhdhin. As for the others, Allah is their accountant; whether they were able to respond or not, that is between them and their Lord. Yes.