Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Adhaan in Arabic means proclaiming or announcing. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And proclaim [adhdhin] to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage)”
[al-Hajj 22:27]
In sharee’ah terminology it means: worshipping Allaah by
announcing the time of the obligatory prayer, using phrases that have been
narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
in a specific manner.
Secondly:
The fuqaha’ are agreed that the adhaan is one of the unique
features and manifest symbols of Islam, but they differ as to the rulings on
it. Some say that it is fard kifaayah (a communal obligation); this is the
view of Imam Ahmad and was the view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah;
among contemporary scholars it is the view of Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him).
And some said that it is Sunnah mu’akkadah.
The correct view is that it is fard kifaayah; if someone who
is competent does it, the rest are absolved of sin.
The evidence for that comes from the Sunnah.
It was narrated that Maalik ibn al-Huwayrith said: we came to
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
when we were young men close in age, and we stayed with him for twenty days.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
merciful and kind; he thought that we were missing our families so he asked
us about our families whom we had left behind, then he said, “Go back to
your families, and stay with them; teach them and instruct them. When the
time for prayer comes, let one of you give the call to prayer and let the
oldest of you lead you in prayer.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 602; Muslim, 674).
According to a report narrated by al-Bukhaari, 604: “When you
both go out, give the call to prayer (adhaan), then the call immediately
before the prayer (iqaamah), then let the older of you lead you in prayer.”
According to a report narrated by al-Tirmidhi (205) and al-Nasaa’i
(634): It was narrated that Maalik ibn al-Huwayrith said: I came to the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with a
cousin of mine, and he said, “When you travel, give the call to prayer (adhaan),
then the call immediately before the prayer (iqaamah), then let the older of
you lead you in prayer.”
(Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel,
1/230).
This hadeeth indicates that the adhaan is a communal
obligation, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) enjoined that only one person should give the call to prayer for a
group; he did not tell the whole group to give the call to prayer. See
Tawdeeh al-Ahkaam, 1/424.
Al-Nawawi said:
This indicates that giving the call to prayer and praying in
congregation are prescribed for travelers. It also shows that it is
encouraged always to give the call to prayer, whether one is travelling or
not.
Sharh Muslim, 5/175.
The scholars of the Standing Committee said:
The adhaan is fard kifaayah (a communal obligation) in a
town, and the same applies to the iqaamah. If a person starts to pray
without the adhaan or iqaamah, whether out of forgetfulness or ignorance, or
for some other reason, the prayer is still valid.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
6/54
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
The evidence for them – i.e., the adhaan and iqaamah – being
obligatory is the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) in a number of ahaadeeth, and the fact that he always did that
whether he was travelling or not, and because the time of prayer cannot
usually be known without it, and because it serves a purpose and because it
is one of the manifest symbols of Islam.
Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 2/38
Based on the fact that the adhaan is fard kifaayah, if the
adhaan is given in a town and the people can hear it, then the communal
obligation has been discharged and there is no need to give the adhaan for
every congregation. But it is better and preferable to give the adhaan even
if a person is praying alone.
The Standing Committee was asked:
Is it obligatory to give the adhaan over loudspeakers in
every mosque in every neighbourhood, knowing that the adhaan from one mosque
can be heard by all the Muslims? Or is the adhaan from one mosque sufficient
for all the mosques of the neighbourhood?
The answer was: The adhaan is fard kifaayah, so if a muezzin
gives the adhaan in one neighbourhood and all the residents can hear it,
that is sufficient. But it is prescribed for the people of each mosque to
give the adhaan because of the general meaning of the evidence.
Based on this, it is preferable for you to give the adhaan, although that is not obligatory for you.
And Allaah knows best.