Adhan broadcasted by microphones

[Hamdi]

Nowadays everywhere, even in small villages, the adhan is broadcasted by microphones. A group of people /Turkish scholars/ say this is bidah and forbidden. They say that when the new technologies came, such as microphones, the scholars in many places went against using microphones. Such people say that it's said in Fatawa hindiyya that even if the muazzin calls and then someone hears the echo /if this is in the mountain/ then the echo is not considered to be adhan. Please discuss this.

[Saad]

The concept and classification of Bid'a in Islam.

http://www.daruliftaa.com/question.a...nID=q-22355054

From the above definition of Bid’a, it becomes clear that new practices that are not considered to be part of Deen, rather they concern our worldly affairs, such as modern technology, cars, planes, etc… can not be considered as Bid’a, for the fact that they are not introduced with the intention of worship and gaining more reward. Innovations with regards to worldly matters do not fall into the category of reprehensible and sinful innovation, thus they are totally permissible as long as they don’t contradict any other ruling of Shariah.

[MoGame]

That's just funny. This one turkish brother told me when he was in turkey, the people in his masjid would workiwth jinn (flying around) dance around while making dhikr and many other acts of bid3a..but they wouldn't use the microphone b/c they said ti was bid3a lol

[Waqas 411]

,

1. Isn't there a sign of that Day of Judgement talking about how voices in the masjid will be raised?

2. I forgot who, but one sahabah talked about how people would one day speak through metal. I forgot who, though

3. I don't know about azhan, but with lectures, it's really hard to hear sometimes! It obviously helps spread faith when everybody can hear the lecture or khutbah.

[kamals]

Wa salam,

We shouldn't laugh at this, it is a serious issue that was examined by the Ulema.

There was a problem with the Saudi wahabis as well, many of the bedouin revolted over the issue of broadcasting the quran over radio, several decades ago. It sounds quaint and mideval but such objections should not be dismissed. There is a disintermediartion between the voice of the muadhin, the sounds of the adhan as articulated by his mouth, and the re-cast sounds recreated by the mechanics of the microphone and speakers; this entails some loss of fidelity and is, in a sense, a discontinuity introduced.

So there is an interesting philosophical issue here; is the sound really the sound of the adhan itself after it goes through these transformations? We take microphones and speakers for granted in today's world but this was not always the case.

[Hamdi]

Why doesn't any scholar comment this?

The ahadith mentioned above are known...as people will rise their voices in the mosques in the period before the Qiyamah...

Brother Abuhajira... Comment this please!

[Hamood]

Wa salam,

We shouldn't laugh at this, it is a serious issue that was examined by the Ulema.

There was a problem with the Saudi wahabis as well, many of the bedouin revolted over the issue of broadcasting the quran over radio, several decades ago. It sounds quaint and mideval but such objections should not be dismissed. There is a disintermediartion between the voice of the muadhin, the sounds of the adhan as articulated by his mouth, and the re-cast sounds recreated by the mechanics of the microphone and speakers; this entails some loss of fidelity and is, in a sense, a discontinuity introduced.

So there is an interesting philosophical issue here; is the sound really the sound of the adhan itself after it goes through these transformations? We take microphones and speakers for granted in today's world but this was not always the case.

assalamu 'alaykum,

I agree, this isn't a laughing matter. With the advent of the microphone, speaker systems and radios, this was an issue studied deeply by the 'ulama of the past. The father of Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mufti Rafi' Usmani, the Mufti of Pakistan, Mawlana Muhammad Shafi' Usmani (along with his ustadh Mawlana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani) studied and analyzed this issue in great detail. He has explained this issue very nicely in his book alate jadida kay shari'i ahkam (urdu). I'm pressed for time now. I'll try to see if I can post some of his explanations here.

wassalam

[Owen]

I think people take it for granted because the whole point of Adhaan is announcing prayer times. It's quite logical to use a microphone to amplify the voice for wider coverage.

For example, many of the medieval mosques were built and designed with the purpose of amplifying the voice of the Imaam and Muazzin. That was the "speakers" during that time when Muslims were top architects and technologists.