Question: Can the Muathin (caller of the adhaan) make the Salawaat (sending of the blessings upon the Prophet ‘alayhi ssalam) before the Athaan?
Country: South Africa
Answer:
Wa alaykum salam wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuHu,
In a well-authenticated hadith, the Prophet Muhammad said,
إذا سمعتم المؤذن فقولوا مثل ما يقول ثم صلوا علي
“When you hear the mu’adhdhin (caller to prayer), repeat what he says. Thereafter, send prayers and salutations upon me [i.e. the Prophet]…” (Sahih Muslim v. 4, p. 643-44)
And in the Sunan of Imam At-Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others:
أنه سمع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول إذا سمعتم المؤذن فقولوا مثل ما يقول ثم صلوا علي فإنه من صلى علي صلاة صلى الله عليه بها عشرا ثم سلوا لي الوسيلة فإنها منزلة في الجنة لا تنبغي إلا لعبد من عباد الله وأرجو أن أكون أنا هو ومن سأل لي الوسيلة حلت عليه الشفاعة
“That Abdullah ibn ‘Amru said that he heard the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saying, ‘When you hear the Mu’adhdhin then say the likes as what he has said, then send blessings upon me, for verily whoever sends blessings upon me, Allah will send 10 blessings upon him. […]” [Kitab Al-Manaqib, Chapter on the Virtues of the Prophet (‘alayhi wa aalihi as Salam), Sunan Abu Dawud 523, Musnad Ahmad 6532]
The As-hab likened the mu’adhdhin to the one who heard the adhan in this regard, in that he should recite prayers on the Prophet Muhammad after the adhan. Based on the evidence, in Sharh al-Muhadhdhab v. 3, p. 116, Sharh Sahih Muslim v. 4, p. 645, Minhaj al-Talibin v. 1, p. 329, and Rawdat al-Talibin v. 1, . 372, Imam Nawawi stated that the mu’adhdhin is to send prayers on the Prophet after the adhan has been made.
Zayn al-Din al-Malibari ascribes a view to Imam Nawawi’s Sharh al-Wasit; stating that prayers on the Prophet Muhammad should be made before the iqamah. (See: Hashiyat Ianat al-Talibin v. 1, p. 527) Perhaps, others deduced from there that it may likewise apply to the adhan too. Yet, al-Sayyid al-Samhudi considered the blessings on the Prophet here, before iqamah rather than after, as a slip of the pen. Shabramallisi related it from him. Samhudi’s reasoning is that the hadith evidence establishes it to be after the iqamah.
Additionally, in his Fatawa v. 1, p. 129, Ibn Hajar was asked about sending prayers on the Prophet at the beginning of the iqamah. He responded with that he had not seen the As-hab stating a view on the issue. Furthermore, he stated that prayers on the Prophet are recommended after it; being analogous to the adhan.
The well-authenticated hadith material found here, like what Imam Muslim related, is our guidance on the issue. There, the evidence is with the practice being after the adhan.
We ask Allah to send His abundant salawat upon the Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions, and his followers!
And Allah ta’laa (exalted) knows best.
Shafiifiqh.com Fatwa Dept.