Is It Necessary for Someone Alone in a Mosque to Give the Call to Prayer?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: As salam alaykum,

Is it necessary for someone alone in a mosque to give the call to prayer?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that this message finds you well, insha’Allah.

It is an emphasised sunna (sunna mu’akkada) for men to perform the call to prayer (adhan) before each of the obligatory prayers. [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah]

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “When it is time for prayer, one of you should give the adhan and the oldest of you should be the Imam.” [Bukhari]

If the adhan is given in a particular locality, the sunna is fulfilled on behalf of everybody, and repeating the adhan would simply be recommended.

As such, the proper thing to do in your situation would have been to perform the adhan before the prayer, intending by it to fulfil the sunna for the entire locality.

Please see: Fiqh of Adhan and Iqama when Praying Alone

And Allah alone knows best.

wassalam,

Tabraze Azam

Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani