It is traditionally given a more rapid and less sonorous rendering than the adhan, as it is intended merely to draw the attention of those already in the mosque, rather than to remind those outside to come in. Most phrases of the iqama and adhan are the same, though there are variations among the schools (madhahib) of jurisprudence (fiqh) in the preferred number of repetitions of the phrases.
^According to UsuliTwelver Shia scholars, this phrase is not an obligatory part of the adhan nor iqama, but is recommended. Akhbari Twelver Shia scholars, however, consider it an obligatory part of them both.[3]Fatimid, Isma'ili, Alavi Bohras, and Dawoodi Bohra recite this phrase twice at the same place in the adhan, but not iqama. They also recite muḥammadun wa-ʿaliyyun khayru l-basar wa-itaratu huma khayru l-itar (Muhammad and Ali are the best of mankind, and their progeny is the best of progenies) twice after ḥayya ʿalā khayri l-ʿamal. This tradition is continued from their first Da'i al-MutlaqZoeb bin Moosa (d. 1132 CE) after their 21st imamal-Tayyib Abi l-Qasim, and they claim this is the true Fatimid tradition.[4][5][6]
The one unique line in the iqama, but not adhan, is qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāhtu, the announcement "the prayer has been established", i.e., is about to commence. It is stated just before the opening allāhu akbaru, the formal start of prayer.[7]
The Hanafi and Shia schools both use the same number of repetitions in both the adhan and iqama, contrary to all the other schools.[1][8]
Unlike the other schools, the Maliki school recommends qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāhtu to be said only once. This is based on the practice of the people of Medina during Malik ibn Anas's time.[9]
Other uses of the term iqama
Iqāma is the maṣdar form of the fourth (causative) stem (stem 'af`ala) from the triliteral rootQ-W-M, which relates to setting things up, carrying things out, existence, and assorted other meanings. The word iqāma itself is multivalent, but its most common meaning outside the inauguration of prayer is in the context of immigration law, referring to a long-term visa for a foreign national. In some cases, as in Egypt, it is a stamp on the foreigner's passport; in others (as in Morocco and Saudi Arabia) it is a separate identity document in the form of a plastic card.
^Salim, Abdol-Amir (2011). "Adhān and Iqāma". Encyclopaedia Islamica. Leiden and Boston: Brill.
^Howard, IKA (1981). "The development of the adhan and iqama of the salat in early Islam". Journal of Semitic Studies (26). Manchester University Press: 227.
^Ibn Taymiyya. Majmu' al-Fatawa. Vol. 22. p. 68. As for the iqama, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad said the phrases should be said once, but Ahmad said saying them twice is also legislated. All three of them—Abu Hanifa, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad—preferred to say qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāhtu twice, but Malik did not. And God knows best.
