بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Ruling On Talking Between Iqamah and Takbīr Taḥrīmah
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: If a muqtadi wants to speak between the iqamah and takbīr taḥrīmah, for example, he wants to tell the imam to announce that there is space in the rows ahead so they should be filled first, or that the children should remain quiet and not make noise during jamaʿat; is he allowed to speak about such things after the iqāmah has been called?
Answer
Speaking without necessity between iqamah and takbīr taḥrīmah is Makrūh and disliked. However, if one needs to speak for any religious purpose, such as informing the imam: “there is space in the previous rows, so make an announcement that the front rows should be filled”, instructing very young children to move to the back rows, stopping the children from making noise, or to tell the person standing beside them about the etiquette of salāh, then there is no harm in this. Moreover, announcing that the rows should be straightened after iqamah is proven from the aḥādith.
Speaking between the iqamah and takbīr taḥrīmah is proven from the Noble Prophet ﷺ. Thus, Abu ʿAbdillah, Imām Muḥammad Bin Ismāʿīl Bukhārī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 256 AH/870 CE) narrates:
أقيمت الصلاة، و النبي صلى اللہ عليه و سلم يناجي رجلا في جانب المسجد
Translation: The iqamah had been called, and the Holy Prophet ﷺ was whispering to a person in the corner of the masjid. (Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 01, p. 130, Publ. Dar Tawq al-Najāh, Beirut)
Commenting on this ḥadīth, it is stated in Najāḥ al-Qārī Li-Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
قال صاحب التلویح فیه جواز الکلام بعد الإقامة و إن کان إبراهیم و الزهری و تبعهما الحنفیة کرهوا ذلک ۔ ۔ ۔ و أنت خبیر بأنه إنما کره الحنفیة الکلام بین الإقامة و الإحرام لغیر الضرورة وأما إذا کان لأمر من أمور الدین فلا یکره
Translation: The author of talwīḥ stated: This proves the permissibility of speaking after the iqāmah has been called, although Ibrāhīm, Zuhrī, and the aḥnāf who follow them have declared this Makrūh. You know that the aḥnāf only regarded speaking between iqāmah and takbīr taḥrīmah Makrūh when it is without necessity. However, when it is for a matter related to religion, it will not be Makrūh. (Najāḥ al-Qārī Li-Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 05, p. 140, Publ. Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyah, Beirut)
It is permissible (without any dislike) to speak about a religious matter. Thus, ʿAllamah Badr-uddīn ʿAynī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 855 AH/1451 CE) has written:
قلت: إنما كره الحنفية الكلام بين الإقامة و الإحرام إذا كان لغير ضرورة، و أما إذا كان لأمر من أمور الدين فلا يكره
Translation: I say: Aḥnāf has only declared it Makrūh to speak between iqāmah and takbīr taḥrīmah when it is without need. But if it is for any religious purpose, it is not Makrūh. (ʿUmdah al-Qārī, Vol. 05, Book of time of salāh, p. 158, Publ. Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turās al-ʿArabi, Beirut)
Since general speech is permitted, it is also permissible to remind the imām about straightening the rows and for the imām to make this announcement. Thus, it is narrated from Anas
رضي اللہ تعالى عنه: أقيمت الصلاة، فأقبل علينا رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه و سلم بوجهه فقال: أقيموا صفوفكم و تراصوا، فإني أراكم من وراء ظهري
Translation: When the iqamah had been called, the Holy Prophet ﷺ turned towards us and stated: “Straighten your rows and stand close together, for indeed I see you from behind my back.” (Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Vol. 01, Chapter: The Imām facing the congregation p. 145, Publ. Dar Tawq al-Najāh, Beirut)
Imām Nasāʾī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه has narrated this from Anas رضي اللہ تعالى عنه with words denoting continuity, which tells that this wasn’t just a one-time occurrence; instead, the Noble Rasool ﷺ would often make this announcement. Thus, he رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه narrated:
عن انس أن النبي صلى اللہ عليه و سلم كان يقول: «استووا، استووا، استووا، فوالذي نفسي بيده إني لأراكم من خلفي، كما أراكم من بين يدي
Translation: It is narrated from Anas رضي اللہ تعالى عنه that the Noble Prophet ﷺ used to say: Straighten your rows, straighten your rows, straighten your rows. I swear by the one in whose control is my soul, I can see you from behind me just like I can see you in front of me. (Sunan al-Nasāʾī, Vol. 02, p. 91, Publ. Al-Maktabah al-Tijāriyah Al-Kubrā, Cairo)
The commentator on al-Bukhārī, ʿAllāmah Badr-Uddīn ʿAynī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه has stated under the ḥadīth of Saḥiḥ al-Bukhārī:
مما يستفاد منه: جواز الكلام بين الإقامة و بين الصلاة و وجوب تسوية الصفوف
Translation: It is derived from this ḥadīth that it is permissible to speak between iqāmah and salāh, and that it is wājib to straighten the rows. (ʿUmdah al-Qārī, Vol. 05, p. 255, Publ. Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turās al-ʿArabi, Beirut)
The successor of Muftī Aʿzam of India, Shaykh al-Ḥadīth, ʿAllāmah Ghulām Rasūl Razawi رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1422 AH/2001 CE) has written:
اس حدیث سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ اقامت اور تکبیرِ تحریمہ کے درمیان کلام کرنا، جائز ہے، نیز اس حدیث میں آپ ﷺ کا یہ معجزہ ہے کہ اشیاء کو دیکھنے میں آپ ﷺ دیگر انسانوں سے مختلف ہیں۔ آگے پیچھے سے دیکھنا اور روشنی و تاریکی میں دیکھنا آپ کی شانِ امتیازی ہے۔ اِس میں آپ کی نظیر معدوم ہے۔
Translation: From this ḥadīth, we get to know that speaking between iqamah and takbīr taḥrīmah is permissible. It also highlights a miracle of the Prophet ﷺ, that his manner of seeing differs from that of other people. Being able to see from the front and behind, and in both light and darkness, is among his distinctive qualities, in which he has no equal. (Tafhīm al-Bukhārī, Vol. 01, p. 1078, Publ. Tafhīm al-Bukhārī Publications, Faisalabad)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FSD-9575
Date: 28th Rabīʿ al-Sānī 1447 AH/ 22nd October 2025