Is the prayer valid without the adhan and iqamah?
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The questioner : Is the prayer valid without the adhan and iqamah? I ask the honorable Shaykh to answer, and we thank you in advance.
The Shaykh : The adhan and iqamah are obligatory for the congregation. If no one performs them, but someone else does, such as if they are in a town where they can hear the adhan, then the adhan in the town is sufficient. However, the iqamah is obligatory for the congregation at the time of performing the prayer. Both are obligatory for the prayer, not obligatory within the prayer. Therefore, if these people in the congregation leave them off, meaning they do not call the adhan or the iqamah, they are sinful, but their prayer is valid. This is because this obligation is one that is for the prayer, not within it. There is a difference between what is obligatory for the prayer and what is obligatory within the prayer. Therefore, the stronger position regarding the congregational prayer is that it is obligatory for the prayer. If a person leaves the congregation without an excuse and prays alone, he is sinful, but his prayer is valid. Some scholars have held that one who leaves the congregational prayer without an excuse is sinful and his prayer is not valid.
The Shaykh : The adhan and iqamah are obligatory for the congregation. If no one performs them, but someone else does, such as if they are in a town where they can hear the adhan, then the adhan in the town is sufficient. However, the iqamah is obligatory for the congregation at the time of performing the prayer. Both are obligatory for the prayer, not obligatory within the prayer. Therefore, if these people in the congregation leave them off, meaning they do not call the adhan or the iqamah, they are sinful, but their prayer is valid. This is because this obligation is one that is for the prayer, not within it. There is a difference between what is obligatory for the prayer and what is obligatory within the prayer. Therefore, the stronger position regarding the congregational prayer is that it is obligatory for the prayer. If a person leaves the congregation without an excuse and prays alone, he is sinful, but his prayer is valid. Some scholars have held that one who leaves the congregational prayer without an excuse is sinful and his prayer is not valid.