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Should one repeat the Azaan upon hearing it on the television or radio?

Question

I may listen to the Azaan on television before its due time in our town. Should I repeat the Azaan upon listening to it on television? Should I also recite the supplication after the Azaan? Will I receive the reward for repeating the Azaan in such a case?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

If the Azaan (call to prayer) was called in the due time of prayer and the listener did not perform this prayer, he is asked to repeat the words of the Azaan after the Muezzin (one calling the Azaan) and recite the due supplication after it as an act of the Sunnah and a recommended act of worship. This is due to the generality of the words of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with regards to repeating the words of the Azaan. Muhammad ibn Salih Al-‘Uthaymeen  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him was once asked about repeating the Azaan upon hearing it on the television or radio. He said:

There are only two possibilities in such a case; the first is that the Azaan is being called in its due time, indicating the time of the current prayer. In this case, the listener should repeat it due to the generality of the words of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who said: "When you hear the Azaan, repeat after the muezzin what he says."

However, Muslim jurists believed that, if the listener has already performed the prayer whose Azaan is being called, he is not obliged to repeat it. Nevertheless, if the listener chose to abide by the general words of the Hadeeth and considered it a Thikr (remembrance of Allaah), and since the Hadeeth is general, there is no harm in repeating the words of the Azaan upon listening to in on the radio or television.

The second possibility is that the Azaan may be recorded and not live. In such a case, the listener is not obliged to repeat it since it is not an actual Azaan, yet a recorded one. [Excerpted with slight modifications]

Allaah Knows best.

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