What is the ruling on the second adhan on Friday, how and when it was established, and whether Muslims need it now.

The questioner : Regarding the adhan of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), how was it and when was the second adhan called, and do Muslims need it now, as the shaykhs keep talking about it and imposing it on us as an obligation, thinking that we do not love 'Umar?

The Shaykh : May Allah forgive them and guide them. First, we believe that the 'Uthmani adhan is not this second adhan that exists today. Calling it the 'Uthmani adhan is an injustice to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). When 'Uthman introduced the second adhan, it was actually the first in reality, though it was the second in legislation and history. However, in reality, it was only moments before the other. Today, as you know, there is about a quarter of an hour between the two adhans. Attributing this second adhan that exists today to 'Uthman ibn 'Affan is a false attribution. If 'Uthman ibn 'Affan were alive today, he would not have dared to do this second adhan as was done in his previous second adhan. His true adhan falls under the category of unrestricted public interest (masalih mursalah). As for this adhan unjustly attributed to him, it falls under the category of newly invented matters, and there is a great difference between the two. The fact that 'Uthman's adhan falls under unrestricted public interest is due to the jurisprudence of this Rightly Guided Caliph (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other Caliphs and Companions. This is because there is something in the Sunnah that draws attention to the fact that it is recommended (mustahabb) for the mu'adhdhin to have a loud voice, and that the more he raises his voice, the more his reward increases with his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He). Thus, carrying the voice to the farthest extent is a legitimate religious objective. In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), people's houses were close to the Prophet's Mosque (peace and blessings be upon him), and they did not miss hearing the adhan of Bilal when he called the single adhan on Friday from the roof of the mosque. However, the situation changed after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the first and second Rightly Guided Caliphs, as Medina expanded in buildings and population, and the buildings far from the Prophet's Mosque could not hear the voice of the mu'adhdhin, which was previously heard by those around the Prophet's Mosque. So he saw, and rightly so, the unrestricted public interest in establishing another adhan in a place where people gather on Friday and trade until just before the Friday prayer. This is because it is known from the guidance of Islam that buying and selling is permissible on all days of the week, including Friday, contrary to the custom of many Islamic countries today, which unfortunately make Friday an official holiday, imitating the Jews and Christians. This was not the case in the early period; rather, they used to trade and do business before the Friday prayer in all lands of Islam, including Medina. They would gather in a place far from the Prophet's Mosque called al-Zurra' to trade, buy, and attend to each other's affairs, but they could not hear the adhan from the Prophet's Mosque. So 'Uthman, as we mentioned earlier, and rightly so, saw fit to establish an adhan there at the time of the Friday prayer so that the people of al-Zurra' who were trading there would not miss the Friday prayer. This was how 'Uthman's adhan was (may Allah be pleased with him); that is, there was no wide gap between 'Uthman's adhan and the adhan of the Prophet's Mosque, except for the amount of time it took for these people to reach the Prophet's Mosque so that they could catch the beginning of the khutbah. But unfortunately, although the matter continued this way until the early era of the Umayyad Caliphs, one of them actually innovated a bid'ah, and it became a bad bid'ah for which he bears the burden, as well as the burden of those who practiced it today until the Day of Resurrection. That was Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik, who moved the adhan from its second location, al-Zurra', and brought it into the Prophet's Mosque. This is undoubtedly a bid'ah, because the adhan is intended to inform those who are outside the mosque. As for the adhan inside the mosque, this is not from the Sunnah. Rather, what takes the place of the adhan in the mosque is the iqamah. The iqamah is for informing those present in the mosque that the prayer has been established, so they stand, line up, and straighten their rows without neglecting this. Therefore, the adhan must be outside the mosque to be heard by those around the mosque, while the Sunnah is for the iqamah to be inside the mosque. Here, attention must be drawn to a bid'ah that occurred in this era and began to spread and deceive many people who do not scrutinize the application of Islamic rulings despite changes in time and place. This bid'ah is that they reversed the action of Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik. He brought the 'Uthmani adhan into the mosque, while these people today broadcast the mosque's iqamah outside the mosque using loudspeakers, and this is not permissible (la yajuz), because the iqamah is not intended to inform those outside the mosque, but rather to inform those inside the mosque. In this case, the voice of the imam and the mu'adhdhin is sufficient for them. In the past, before the existence of these loudspeakers, we used to complain about a bid'ah in the blessed month of Ramadan in some Islamic countries, such as Syria and others. It was a strange bid'ah, and the reason for it was blind imitation. The mosque would be small, and I can imagine many mosques there in Damascus. For the sake of the month of Ramadan, a small mosque with a row that might hold twenty people, the mu'adhdhin behind the imam would say: "Allahu Akbar," and he would say: "Allahu Akbar." Who are you speaking to? You have no more than twenty people. "Allahu Akbar," "Sami' Allahu li man hamidah," "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd." There is no need for this announcement. Some scholars, and although there is exaggeration in this statement, it contains a strong warning, said: If the mu'adhdhin announces behind the imam without need, his prayer is invalid. What is the need? Twenty people; the imam's voice is heard by the near as well as the far, the far as well as the near. Now, a second person announcing behind the imam is no longer needed. The reason is the loudspeaker. I am now killing two birds with one stone. I say: The loudspeaker replaces 'Uthman's adhan. I said this to some of the famous people in Syria at that time when he claimed that this second adhan is 'Uthman's adhan. I said: If 'Uthman were in your time, he would have pulled a wire from the loudspeaker in the mosque to the outer door of the mosque, so that these passersby around the mosque would hear the voice, just as those people used to hear the adhan of al-Zurra'. So there is no need for a second adhan, especially with this gap and the existence of what? A loudspeaker. The opposite is now completely the case: the mu'adhdhin who used to announce without need is now replaced by the loudspeaker, where we establish the prayer and also broadcast the prayer outside the mosque. All of this is not from the Sunnah in any way; rather, it is contrary to the Sunnah. This is a reminder on this occasion, and reminders benefit the believers. So 'Uthman does not recognize this adhan that they call today the 'Uthmani adhan, if it is correct to call it the Hishami adhan, because Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik is the one who brought it into the mosque. He did not do well in that; rather, he did wrong, because he introduced something for which there is no unrestricted public interest that necessitates or requires it. Therefore, the mosques today that have loudspeakers, which reach, as Allah wills, many kilometers of distance, suffice us from this newly invented adhan. And we say to them: Bring us 'Uthman's adhan so that we can approve it, but on the condition of abolishing the loudspeaker. Otherwise, there is no benefit from this second adhan, because its purpose is announcement, and the announcement is achieved by the loudspeaker. This is what the time allows us to mention on this occasion.