The Ruling on the Adhan

The Shaykh : Even if we were to assume, for the sake of argument, that the adhan is merely a recommended practice, the correct view is that the adhan is obligatory, not merely a recommended practice. By this, I mean that a person is not given the choice to perform it and be rewarded, or to leave it off and not be punished. That is not the case. Rather, the adhan is like the iqamah; each of them is an obligatory matter that it is not permissible to leave off. This is especially true in the mosques, for the adhan was a distinguishing mark of the Muslims. The adhan was a distinguishing mark of the Muslims to the extent that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he went out on a military expedition calling people to Allah and passed by a village in the morning, would order his companions to stop and listen. If they heard the adhan, he would proceed on his way. If he did not hear the adhan, he would attack the village, considering it a non-Muslim village. This is a great practical proof, the greatest proof that the adhan is among the symbols of Islam, and that it is not permissible to be lax in observing it. So, if we assume that this adhan is a recommended practice, we have agreed with the opposing view that there is no difference between something being a recommended practice and it being an obligation or a duty, in that it is not permissible to add to it or subtract from it. So how did you permit adding to the adhan before it and after it? And perhaps other things mentioned in the question, such as reciting three times, and what is called in the language of jurists the "ruqiyah" before the preacher, when he ascends the pulpit on Friday. All of this and that has no basis in the Sunnah.