When to Stand During the Iqamah

When to Stand During the Iqamah

Question and answer details
Kamran
2015/04/22
As-salamu `alaykum.I am from India. Please, help me to solve my query. In India, many Muslims stand for Prayer when the Iqamah (second call to Prayer) starts and many sit and say we should stand at hay `ala as-salah. This difference is creating a problem and often leads to heated arguments and fights. Can you, please, quote from the Qur’an or Hadith and provide us with some means to solve it? If any verse from the Gracious Qur’an or a Hadith of the Prophet can be provided, that will be of great help and source to clear the misunderstandings. Please, guide us.
Ahmad Kutty
Answer
Wa `alaykum as-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother, thank you for your concern about your community’s affairs.
Regarding your question, there is no authentic source stating a certain time for standing up for Prayer.
So, you should not make a big fuss on such simple issues. Rather, you have to give more interest to more important issues that concern the community.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and an Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states,
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There is no hard and fast rule on this issue. According to the majority of scholars, people are free to stand up for Prayer either as soon as the Iqamah has started or during the middle or at the end of it. So, one may choose to do so as long as they do so before the imam (prayer leader) starts the Prayer with takbirat al-ihram (opening takbir). We must leave such matters as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has left it.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has clearly warned us against rigidity in such matters. He said, “Leave the matters I have left (without restrictions) as people before you perished only because of their excessive questioning and leaving the path (of latitude) as left by their prophets.” (Al-Bukhari) He also said, “Woe to those who are rigid.” (Muslim)
In conclusion, there is no need to argue over this issue. We should leave it to the discretion of people.
Let me, therefore, advise you not to become obsessed over such minor differences. You might as well focus on far more important matters. It was narrated that Imam Al-Awza`i (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “If Allah wants to take away His mercy from people, they become entangled in wrangling (over minor issues).” (Ibn `Asakir in Tarikh Dimashq)
So, pay heed to the warning of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and simply ignore such differences.
Allah Almighty knows best.
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