Is it permissible for individuals to call the adhan at the correct time?

The questioner : I mean... calling the adhan at the appointed time...?

The Shaykh : The problem today is: who is in charge of the adhan, Professor? Who is in charge of the adhan? The Ministry of Awqaf is in charge, so individuals have no say in this, especially here in Jordan...

The questioner : Some mosques today are called private mosques?

The Shaykh : Very good, these people are told to call the adhan at the time, as long as...

The questioner : It causes confusion...

The Shaykh : No, there is no confusion here because the land varies by the span of a hand, meaning, for example, do you see this mountain is higher than that one?

The questioner : Relatively, theoretically.

The Shaykh : That is the case, but those who are over there, does the sun not set from here before it sets for those people?

The questioner : It is possible.

The Shaykh : No, rather it is certain, not just possible. If the mountain starts to descend until it becomes a plain, does the sun set for those behind the mountain at the same time as for those in the plain, or does the time differ? The time differs. This is a very obvious matter, visible to the eye. You are travelers.

The questioner : ... Alexandria is a region...

The Shaykh : I did not understand the first word.

The questioner : Alexandria is the Ramla region. There are many mosques next to each other, meaning there is almost a mosque every ten meters. Some will call the adhan according to the calendar, and others will call it according to the time, and this is what I am talking about...
Al-Halabi : Now, the mu'adhdhins who rely on the calendars are all delayed among themselves, even though they are using the calendars, so how can it be done by observation?

The Shaykh : So, what is the solution in your opinion? What is the solution? In my opinion...?

The questioner : Do we apply the rule of fasting...

The Shaykh : It is necessary, and it is absolutely necessary, but the problem, my brother, is that I am explaining it to you from another angle. The mu'adhdhins today, rather the imams, are not imams or mu'adhdhins in the true sense; they are employees, right?

The questioner : Correct.

The Shaykh : So the problem starts from here. If we had mu'adhdhins in the true sense who observe the times and know, for example, that we are travelers and do not know when the time for Zuhr enters or when the time for 'Asr enters, but the one who is well-versed in the rulings of the Shari'ah finds it very easy to know—and peace be upon you—and it is supposed that the mu'adhdhins and imams of mosques be well-versed in the Shari'ah. So when you gave the previous example of the distance between one mosque and another being so many meters, first of all, is this permissible in Islam?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is the first violation. Well, secondly: Do those who call the adhan in these mosques know the rulings of the Shari'ah, especially regarding the adhan and regarding leading the prayer? No, they are employees like the other employees in the state. The problem has multiple aspects. So if we present one aspect of it and mention the Shari'ah ruling corresponding to it, the matter will not be problematic from another angle; because that other angle has other problems, and this is the current reality in the Muslim world. We have in Jordan an adhan that the Jordanians alone have innovated, distinguishing themselves from the entire Muslim world, and it is the adhan they call the unified adhan. Do you have a unified adhan in Egypt? No, and this is a favor from Allah, that there is no unified adhan except in Jordan. A person calls the adhan, or perhaps he does not, but it is broadcast by a recorder and broadcast to all the mosques. So the one in the middle of the city in Amman is in one situation, and the one on a mountain? It differs greatly, while they pray at the same time. And I saw with my own eyes, we went to a village called Na'ur, on the road leaving Amman toward Jerusalem, and we entered the mosque, and this mosque receives the adhan from Amman. The adhan for Maghrib is called and the sun has not yet set; these people are praying before the time, while in Amman they call the adhan after a time of ten minutes, and so things differ. Therefore, this unified adhan is a very grave error. And if the Shari'ah dictates that every mosque has its own mu'adhdhin and its own imam, that is the Shari'ah. But the imam must be knowledgeable and a jurist, and the mu'adhdhin also, at least, must know the rulings of the times of the five prayers. Well, what time is the clock set to? Egypt, or Syria, or Amman, or Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia itself has different times; Dammam, for example, and the Eastern Region are different from the Western Region, and so on. So we ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to teach the Muslims their religion and inspire them to act upon it.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : The calendar

The questioner:...

The Shaykh : What is built upon a defective foundation is defective, and can the shadow be straight while the stick is crooked? The calendars must not be used; the rulings of the Shari'ah must be used. The time for Fajr is known, Do they call the adhan in Egypt based on the sighting of the true dawn? No, but based on the calendar. In Amman and in Syria also based on the calendar, and likewise in Kuwait and Morocco, and so on, all of which is contrary to the Shari'ah. And therefore the problem is fiqh and acting upon it .