Fiqh of Adhan and Iqama When Praying Alone

Answered by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam

Question : If I am praying an obligatory prayer alone at home, do I need to say the Adhan and Iqama?

  Answer:  Sayyiduna Uqba ibn Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) say: “Your Lord, the Exalted, is pleased with a shepherd of goats at the peak of a mountain, who makes the call to prayer (gives the Adhan) and offers a prayer. Allah, the Exalted, says, “Look at this servant of mine; he gives the Adhan and Iqama for prayer out of fear for me. I have forgiven my slave and entered him into Paradise.” (Sunan Abi Dawud no: 1196, Sunan Nasa’i no: 665 and Musnad Ahmad 4/157)

Sayyiduna Malik ibn al-Huwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him) says that two men came to the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace), wanting to travel. So the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “When you set out, give the Adhan and then Iqama and then the oldest of you should be the Imam.” (Sahih al-Bukhari no: 604)

Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “If a man is in a deserted land and the time of prayer arrives, thus he performs ablution (wudhu); and if he does not find water he performs the dry ablution (tayammum). If he gives the Iqama [and offers prayer], his two angels offer prayer with him, and if he gives the Adhan and Iqama, an army of Allah pray behind him – the two sides of which is not visible [due to its sheer number].” (Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq no: 1955 and Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir of Tabarani 6/249)

The follower (tabi’i), Tawus (Allah be pleased with him) says: “When a man [who is alone] offers prayer with Iqama, his two angels pray with him. And when he gives the Adhan and Iqama, many angels offer prayer with him.” (Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq no: 1952. Similar statements have been recorded in the same chapter of the Al-Musannaf from Abdullah ibn Umar, Mak’hul and Sa’id ibn al-Masayyab, may Allah be pleased with them all).

It is stated in the renowned Hanafi Fiqh primer, Nur al-Idah:

It is an emphasized (mu’akkada) Sunna to give both the Adhan and Iqama for obligatory prayers (fara’idh), even when praying alone, whether for current prayers or make-up prayers, whether on a journey or at home, for men. It is [prohibitively] disliked for women to give both the Adhan and Iqama. (See: Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah Sharh Nur al-Idha, P: 194-195)

It is stated in another Hanafi Fiqh primer, Kanz al-Daqa’iq:

It is [prohibitively] disliked for a traveler to omit both the Adhan and Iqama, but not for the one praying alone at home within a town [where Adhan and Iqama have been given in the local Mosque]… (Kashf al-Haqa’iq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq, 1/39)

Based on the above Hadiths and based on the above and other similar texts found in classical Hanafi works, there are few scenarios to the situation at hand:

1) For a non-traveler; when praying alone at home or elsewhere, if he is not in the vicinity of a Mosque where the Adhan and Iqama have been given, then it is an emphasized Sunna to give both. As such, it is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahrim) to omit both the Adhan and Iqama. However, if he were to merely omit the Adhan and not the Iqama, then it is not disliked. On the contrary, if he were to omit the Iqama but give the Adhan, then it is disliked.

The reason for this, as explained by Imam Ibn Abidin in light of the Hadiths quoted above, is that the objective of Adhan is not restricted to calling others for prayer; but rather, the objective includes proclaiming the name of Allah and his religion in the lands, and reminding the slaves of Allah consisting of human and Jinn of this.

2) For a non-traveler; when praying alone at home or elsewhere, if he is in the vicinity of a Mosque where the Adhan and Iqama have been given, then it is recommended (not emphasized Sunna) to give both the Adhan and Iqama. As such, it is not disliked to omit both. Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said: “The Adhan of the vicinity is enough for us (adhan al-hay yakfina).” One should, however, try and at least give the Iqama.

3) For a traveler, it is an emphasized Sunna to give both the Adhan and Iqama. As such, it is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahrim) to omit both. However, if he were to merely omit the Adhan and not the Iqama, then it is not disliked. On the contrary, if he were to omit the Iqama but give the Adhan, then it is disliked.

Finally, two points are worth considering:

Firstly, both Adhan and Iqama are Sunnas for men only, and not women, rather it is disliked for women to give Adhan and Iqama, as reported from Ibn Umar, Anas and others (Allah be pleased with them). The reason for this is that Adhan and Iqama are from the Sunnas of the congregation, and the basis of men’s prayer is that it is performed in the congregation; thus, when they pray alone, they perform it as the congregational prayer. The basis of women’s prayer, however, is that it is performed alone, and as such, Adhan and Iqama are not Sunna for them.

Secondly, where it is prohibitively disliked (makruh tahrim) for a man to omit the Adhan and Iqama, if he were to pray without giving the Adhan and Iqama, his prayer is still valid and he is not required to repeat it. (The above details are gathered from Radd al-Muhtar ala ‘l-Durr al-Mukhtar 1/394-395, Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya 1/54, Maraqi al-Falah Sharh Nur al-Idah with the Hashiya of Tahtawi P: 194-195, Imdad al-Fattah Sharh Nur al-Idah P: 192-193, Kashf al-Haqa’iq Sharh Kanz al-Daqa’iq with Sharh al-Wiqaya on the margins 1/39, and Umdat al-Fiqh 1/38)

And Allah knows best

 Muhammad ibn Adam

Darul Iftaa

Leicester , UK