The Beautiful Islamic Ritual of Adhan and Iqamah - Our Prophet 6 - Foundations Of Islamic State

Now, the Adhan[Islamic ritual call to prayer] is truly a wonderful ritual. First of all, when you examine the content of the Adhan, it summarizes all the beautiful core teachings of Islam.

Allah is greater. Many people mis-translate this phrase. Allahu Akbar does not mean 'God is greatest'. The Hadith [narration] elaborates, Allahu Akbar means God is greater. Greater than what? It has been omitted. Allahu Akbar from what? In Arabic and in many languages, when you make a statement like that and then you delete the object, what meaning does it give? It gives you the most general meaning. When you say God is greater, and you do not say than what that means He is greater than anything you can even imagine. That is the power of this beautiful statement. God is greater than anything imaginable, anything conceivable, nothing is to be compared to Him.

So, we see that the phrase, the Adhan starts with the reinforcement of this beautiful core value that we have. Then you bear witness that there is no God but Allah. Then you make a reference to the Holy Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi, then the representative after the Prophet, then the call to prayer, which is the pillar of our faith. It is a beautiful ritual that we have.

And even the sound of it is soothing, Subhana Allah. It is so beautiful, many non-Muslims attest to it. Go and research online. Many non-Muslims. Even those who have not converted to the religion of Islam, they love the sound of the Adhan. They say it interacts with their soul. There is something special about this call to prayer.

And by the way, I know a number of non-Muslims who converted to Islam because of the Adhan. The Adhan was so captivating to them, they became so interested in Islam, that they embraced the religion of Islam. A number of them. Some of them are even famous individuals.

[My friend, she was in Turkey I think]. She was a non Muslim? Yeah. [She is American. First time she was visiting, vacation with her family. And the Adhan came, she said to her family, you know, everybody just keep quiet, I wanna listen to that]. Subhana Allah. [The first timeshe heard it, she said, wow, what is this? And she converted. She came back to America. Researched about Islam and then Googled, there is only one Shi'ah Mosque in all of Wisconsin and that came up first rather than there is so many Sunni Mosque in Milwaukee al-hamdu li-Llah]. Subhana Allah.

That is amazing. [There was a video clip over there too] about this specific person? Interesting, Mashallah. See, Allah guided her through the simple Adhan. So, we see that the Adhan is a daily invitation to stop. Stop your distractions, stop your worldly matters, and go and focus on your Creator, the One who made you, the One whom you are going to return to. And so, the Adhan is miraculous in every aspect. In its content, in its form, and even in the way that it is pronounced. And it also brings Barakah to our homes. How many of you make the Adan in your house? Not just the Iqamah, but the Adhan itself.

We have a hadith from the Imams of Ahl ul-Bayt, peace be upon them, that first of all reciting the Adhan in your house protects you from demons, from demons and the devils that protects you from that. We also have a hadith that say those who have difficulty having children, if they say the Adhan in their homes, Allah will grant them a progeny. Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, will grant them children.

And the Ahadith also mention that the Adhan in your house will improve your mood. So anyone who has an issue with their attitude or their mood, their Akhlaq, the Adhan actually improves one's Akhlaq and mood. So, it has a lot of benefits.

By the way, the Adhan is not mandatory, it is Mustahab [recommended] highly Mustahab, it is not mandatory. So, if someone prays without the Adhan, their prayer is valid. The Iqamah is even more recommended than the Adhan. So it is a highly Mustahab ritual but it is not Wajib [obligatory].

[So, you can say Iqamah when you are doing the Furada or no?] No, you say the Iqamah when you are praying Furada as well. Before each Salah. See, the Adhan is for both if you are praying Zuhr and 'Asr together, you say one Adhan but the Iqamah is for each Salah. And even if you praying individually, you do say the Iqamah.

The Iqamah is so important, some previous Maraj'i [scholars] believed it was Wajib [obligatory] but Maraj'i today say no, it is highly recommended. The Iqamah is the shorter version of the Adhan, where you do not repeat some of the phrases twice. So, in the Adhan, for example, you say Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar,Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar four times, in the Iqamah you just say it twice for instance.

[So, you say the Adhan then Iqamah?] Yes. First the Adhan is recited. Then right before you pray, you say the Iqamah and after you say the Iqamah, do not speak, do not do anything, directly start your Salat, because it is as if you have entered your Salah, so it is highly recommended.

And when a newborn is born, it is highly recommended to say the Adhan in their right ear and say the Iqamah in the left ear. That has lifelong blessings for this baby, for this child. Yes?

[So, 'Qad qamat as-salat' is in?] 'Qad qamat as-salat' is in the Iqamah, not the Adhan. Because 'Qad qamat as-salah' means the prayer is now going to be observed, it is being established. Whereas in the Adhan, it is a call to prayer to get the people ready. So yeah, that is a part of the Iqamah, not part of the Adhan.

[So, they were revealed separately?] No, they were revealed together. So, Iqamah is basically an extension of the Adhan, it is a type of Adhan. We can call it a type of the Adhan.

The Prophet, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa alihi, would observe the Iqamah, it is highly, highly Mustahab [recommended]. And by the way, not just the Shi'ah believe in the Iqamah, the Sunnis have the Iqamah. They have a shorter version. Shorter shorter version.

But even Jibra'il, by the way, the hadith that says that he made the call to prayer he did it 'Mathna Mathna.' He said it twice. So even Jibra'il, when he called the angels and the prophets to pray with the Prophet, he said it twice.