Q. Is it obligatory to stop work, or whatever we are doing, when the athan is called, until it is finished, and to repeat the phrases when they are said?
M.M. Khan
A. What is recommended, but not obligatory, is to repeat the phrases which constitute the athan when they are called. Thus, when the caller says Allah-u-Akbar, i.e. God is supreme, or, La ilaha illa Allah, i.e. there is no deity other than God, we say the same. However, when the caller says Hayyi ala al-salat and Hayyi ala al-falah, i.e. come now to prayer and come to what is profitable, we say, La hawla wala qowwata illa billah, i.e. All ability and power come from God. In the call to Fajr, or dawn prayer, the caller adds al-salat khayrun min al-nawm, i.e. prayer is better than sleep. To this we respond by saying: sadaqta wa waadta wa barrat, i.e. you have spoken the truth, made a promise and fulfilled it.
There is no obligation to do anything when we hear the athan, but we are recommended to say what I have indicated. This constitutes a good response to the caller, but it should be confirmed by our attending to our prayer, which he has called, as soon as possible. Needless to say, the best we can do is to offer the prayer with the congregation in a nearby mosque, but if one is unable to do so, one should attend to one’s duty of praying as soon as possible.
