Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Are we allowed to start our prayers between the azan ( call of prayer) is going on or should we wait for the azan to finish.?? Is starting the prayer during the azan is forbidden??

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Start prayer during adhaan

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The ‘adhaan’ in Islam is but a signal or a public announcement made as a proclamation to all those who hear it that the time to offer the prescribed obligatory prayer of the day or night is now due. If one has not heard the ‘adhaan’, but knows from the movement of the sun or through the mechanism of determining time (watch, clock, etc.) that a prayer time is due, there is absolutely no harm in offering their prescribed prayers.

If one starts their prayer when the ‘adhaan’ is still in process of being declared, there is no harm and their prayer offered will be valid. But the best practice and etiquette when one hears the ‘adhaan’ is to follow the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and respond to the declaration of the ‘adhaan’ by repeating every phrase, and when the ‘adhaan’ is completed one offers their desired prayers….that would be closest to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Al-Muwatta Hadith Hadith 3.2

Yahya related from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ata ibn Yazid al-Laythi from Abu Said al-Khudri that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "When you hear the adhan, repeat what the muadhdhin says."

In light of the above guidance of the Messenger of Allah (saws) it is preferred that whoever listens to the ‘adhan’ being decalred should repeat it after the caller, except for the two ‘hayya 'alas-salah, hayya 'alal-falah’ phrases, after which one should say La haula wa la quwatah illa billah (there is no power or might save Allah).

But if for any reason one has started their prayer when the ‘adhaan’ is being declared, there is no harm, and their prayer would be considered valid in the Sight of Shariah.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan