❖ Authored by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
Subject: Legal Ruling on Performing Adhān Without Wudu
❖ No Authentic Evidence Requiring Wudu for Adhān
There is no authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) evidence known to us that requires the Mu’adhdhin to be free from minor (ḥadath aṣghar) or major impurity (ḥadath akbar) while giving the Adhān. Although such reports exist, all marfūʿ (Prophetic) narrations on this topic are weak, and mauqūf (Companion) reports are not strong enough to serve as legal proof.
❖ The Preferred Practice: Calling Adhān in a State of Purity
Despite the lack of obligation, it is recommended (awlā wa aḥsan) to call the Adhān in a state of wudu, because Adhān is dhikr of Allah, and the Prophet ﷺ preferred to remember Allah only in a state of purity.
Evidence:
Narrated from al-Muhājir ibn Qunfudh (RA):
"I came to the Prophet ﷺ while he was urinating. I greeted him with salām, but he did not respond until he performed wudu. Then he said: 'I disliked mentioning Allah except in a state of purity.'"
(Ṣaḥīḥ: al-Ṣaḥīḥah 834, Abū Dāwūd 17, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, al-Nasāʾī 38, Ibn Mājah 350, al-Dārimī 2/287. Declared authentic by al-Nawawī in al-Adhkār p. 77 and by Ibn Ḥajar; also authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Ḥibbān.)
Similarly, another narration states that the Prophet ﷺ responded to salām after performing tayammum.
(Ḥasan: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd 12, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah)
❖ Weak Hadith Regarding Wudu for Adhān
Narrated by Abū Hurayrah (RA):
"Only a person in wudu should call the Adhān."
(Weak: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 1/240, al-Tirmidhī 201, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh: Chapter on Disliking Adhān Without Wudu, al-Bayhaqī 1/397)
❖ Scholarly Opinion
Ibn Ḥazm (RA):
"Adhān and iqāmah are valid in every condition—even if the caller is sitting, riding, without wudu, in a state of janābah, or not facing the qiblah. However, the preferred way is to call the Adhān in wudu, standing, and facing the qiblah."
(al-Muḥallā 3/90)
❖ Adhān and Iqāmah for an Individual
If a person is alone, he should still call the Adhān and Iqāmah before prayer.
Prophetic Hadith:
"Your Lord is pleased with a shepherd who, on a mountaintop, calls the Adhān and prays. Allah says: 'Look at My servant; he gives the Adhān and iqāmah out of fear of Me. I have forgiven him and granted him Paradise.'"
(Ṣaḥīḥ: Abū Dāwūd 1062, Kitāb Ṣalāt al-Safar; also in Aḥmad 4/145, al-Nasāʾī 2/20, Ibn Ḥibbān 1660, al-Bayhaqī 1/405)
❖ The Mu’adhdhin Should Raise His Voice
Narrated from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (RA):
"No human, jinn, or object hears the voice of the Mu’adhdhin except that it will testify in his favor on the Day of Resurrection."
(Aḥmad 3/35, Bukhārī 409, 3296, Kitāb al-Adhān: Chapter on Raising the Voice for the Call, al-Nasāʾī 2/12, al-Bayhaqī 1/397, al-Muwaṭṭāʾ 1/69, ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1865, Ibn Khuzaymah 389)
❖ Prefer Selecting a Mu’adhdhin With a Good Voice
Imām al-Ṣanʿānī (RA):
"When appointing a Mu’adhdhin, preference should be given to those with beautiful voices."
(Subul al-Salām 1/255)
Narrated from Abū Maḥdhūrah (RA):
"The Prophet ﷺ admired his voice and thus personally taught him the Adhān."
(Ṣaḥīḥ: Ibn Khuzaymah 1/385)
❖ Sunnah Acts During Adhān
✔ Placing index fingers in the ears
✔ Turning the head right and left during ḥayya ʿala al-ṣalāh and ḥayya ʿala al-falāḥ without fully turning around
Narrated from Abū Juḥayfah (RA):
"I saw Bilāl (RA) giving the Adhān, turning his face this way and that, with his fingers in his ears."
(Bukhārī 634, Aḥmad 4/307, al-Tirmidhī 197, al-Nasāʾī 1/87, Ibn Mājah 711)
"When he reached 'ḥayya ʿala al-ṣalāh' and 'ḥayya ʿala al-falāḥ', he turned his neck right and left without fully turning around."
(Ṣaḥīḥ: Abū Dāwūd 488, Ibn Khuzaymah 388, Ibn Ḥibbān 1268, ʿAbd al-Razzāq 1806)
Al-Albānī (RA):
"Turning the chest (rather than just the head) during Adhān has no basis in Sunnah."
(Tamām al-Minnah, p. 150)
❖ Drawing Lots for the Adhān
Narrated from Abū Hurayrah (RA):
"If people knew the reward of Adhān and the first row, and found no other way to attain them except by drawing lots, they would surely draw lots."
(Bukhārī 615, Kitāb al-Adhān: Chapter on Drawing Lots for Adhān)
❖ Voluntary Prayer Between Adhān and Iqāmah
Narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Mughaffal (RA):
"Between every Adhān and Iqāmah, there is (optional) prayer. For whoever wishes to perform it."
(Bukhārī 627, Kitāb al-Adhān: Chapter on Voluntary Prayer Between Adhān and Iqāmah)
❖ Duʿā’ Between Adhān and Iqāmah is Not Rejected
Narrated from Anas (RA):
"Supplication made between Adhān and Iqāmah is not rejected."
(Ṣaḥīḥ: al-Tirmidhī 175, al-Mishkāt 671, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 244, Abū Dāwūd 534, Aḥmad 3/119, al-Bayhaqī 1/410, Ibn Khuzaymah 425)
❖ Intention (Niyyah) is Obligatory for Adhān and Iqāmah
Since these are acts of worship and nearness to Allah, intention is required.
➊ Qur’ān:
"Mukhlisīn lahu al-dīn" – "Being sincere to Him in religion."
(Sūrah al-Aʿrāf: 29, Yūnus: 22, al-ʿAnkabūt: 65, Luqmān: 32, Ghāfir: 14, al-Bayyinah: 5)
➋ Hadith:
"Actions are judged by intentions."
(Bukhārī 1, Kitāb Badʾ al-Waḥy)
Shawkānī (RA):
"The word 'actions' in this ḥadīth includes both verbal and physical acts."
(al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/206)
❖ Sitting or Facing Other Than Qiblah While Giving Adhān
Imām Shawkānī (RA):
"Calling the Adhān in such a manner is contrary to the prescribed Sunnah form of Adhān."
(al-Sayl al-Jarrār 1/201)
⨁ Summary
➊ Wudu is not a condition for giving the Adhān.➋ However, performing it in a state of purity is preferred, based on the Prophet’s ﷺ practice.
➌ Raising one’s voice, facing the qiblah, using a good voice, and observing Sunnah manners during Adhān are all commendable.
➍ No authentic evidence prohibits Adhān without wudu, thus doing so is valid but less virtuous.
