The Shaykh’s remarks on the rulings of the adhan and iqamah in light of the use of loudspeakers

The Shaykh : In all the mosques, if this can be adhered to: the loudspeaker should be exclusively for the adhan, and the iqamah should not be broadcast through it, nor the recitation of the Qur'an during the prayer. They spoke to me about wanting to do such and such, so I said: These are among the sunnahs that are, of course, understood in the Sunnah, but they are not implemented because of these modern means, which distract people from thinking and distinguishing between what helps in realizing the Sunnah and what helps in contradicting the Sunnah. I mean: you all know that it is recommended (mustahabb) for the mu'adhdhin to have a loud voice, a high voice, and that he should make an effort to raise his voice to gain from that the testimony of whoever hears him from a stone or a brick, as came in the authentic hadiths. And to realize something of this purpose and this goal, whose benefit returns to the mu'adhdhin, it was prescribed (mashru') for him to stand out on the roof of the mosque, on a high place of the mosque to its end. And from here, the construction of minarets was preferred in the old days. By the way, the expense of building these minarets out of stone was not preferred; if they were short, meaning, one could do without them, meaning, with a statue of a minaret made of tin or iron, meaning, at a lower cost. The point, the point—peace be upon you—regarding the adhan: it is prescribed (mashru') to make an effort to convey the voice. To that and as a reference to that: the Sunnah was that the mu'adhdhin in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would call the adhan on the roof of the mosque, but the iqamah was inside the mosque. The origin of this distinction, which was applied practically, its origin is in the story of the legislation of the adhan. Do you remember that one of them saw a dream that a person stood on a broken wall, put his two fingers in his ears, and called the adhan known today without the additions that are also disliked today. After he called the adhan, he descended from this broken part, from this remaining part of the base of the wall, descended to the ground and established the prayer. This is the origin of the distinction between the mu'adhdhin standing out, and the wisdom here is clear, and not standing out but rather calling the adhan in the mosque, because the purpose is to make those in the mosque hear it. Now, because of the loudspeaker, there is no difference between the adhan and the iqamah. This is one thing. Then the imam's recitation in the loud prayers and in the Friday prayer is announced to those around the mosque, and this is, of course, not prescribed (mashru'): that a person be in a state where it is not fitting for him to not listen to the recitation of the Qur'an. So we would have put people in difficulty and in a psychological problem, and although today most people do not care, there is still good in the Ummah, meaning, those who are scrupulous about violating the Shari'ah rulings. Therefore, I see that in these mosques where it is possible to open the button to hear the imam's recitation outside the mosque, this should not be opened, and the iqamah likewise. But from the perspective of blocking the means to harm (sadd al-dhara'i'), we do not open this topic in the mosque; we close it completely, so that it is not easy for a person to hear the recitation of the Qur'an for the neighbors, or to hear the iqamah to those who are outside the mosque. This is if it is possible, because I did not consult on this, so I do not know from the practical side if this can be realized?

The questioner : By Allah, I imagine if the mosque is studied from the perspective of sound reflections in a correct way, why not possible!!

The Shaykh : Yes, you may.

The questioner : Meaning, it is possible for the imam that if he studies the capture of the imam's voice.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : For the worshippers by the reflections on the walls and so on, certainly these are not vast distances, meaning, it reaches.

Another questioner : The one who is speaking is the Shaykh, that the speakers above, do not go outside!!

The questioner : My Shaykh, all the speakers.

Another questioner : You can cancel the external ones and keep the internal ones.

The questioner : No, no, the Shaykh, from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, all that is called a speaker.

Another questioner : The internal one too?

The Shaykh : The internal one?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : If the internal one is not heard by those outside.

The questioner : It is not heard by those outside, but the Shaykh's view.

Another questioner : What I understood from the Shaykh is that from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, we do without this button entirely, neither inside nor outside.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, except for the adhan.

The questioner : Except for the adhan.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Can the khutbah be heard outside too?

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : The khutbah.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes, because the khutbah contains Qur'an and it contains, and this also has something else if you allow me: announcing the iqamah—also—from the perspective of blocking the means to harm, not announcing it to other than the people of the mosque encourages people to be lazy in responding to the adhan. It will tell you, "It's early now, and early now, let's hear the iqamah, and by Allah," especially those who are close to the mosque.