The iqama (Arabic: إِقَامَة|iqāma) is the second Islamic call to prayer, recited after the adhan. It summons those already in the mosque to line up for prayer (salah).[1]
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.
| Recital | Arabic Quranic Arabic | Romanization | Translation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunni | Ibadi | Shia | |||||||
| Hanafi | Maliki | Shafi'i | Hanbali | Imami[2] | |||||
| 4x | 2x | 4x | 2x | ٱللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ | allāhu akbar | God is greatest | |||
| 2x | 1x | 2x | أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ | ashhadu an lā ilāha illa llāh | I testify there is nothing worthy of worship except God | ||||
| 2x | 1x | 2x | أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ | ashhadu anna muḥammadan rasūlu llāh | I testify Muhammad is the messenger of God | ||||
| None | 2x | أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عَلِيًّا وَلِيُّ ٱللَّٰهِ | ashhadu anna ʿaliyyan waliyyu llāh | I testify Ali is the vicegerent of God | |||||
| 2x | 1x | 2x | حَيَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلصَّلَاةِ حَيَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ | ḥayya ʿala ṣ-ṣalāh | Come to prayer | ||||
| 2x | 1x | 2x | حَيَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلْفَلَاحِ حَيَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلْفَلَٰحِ | ḥayya ʿala l-falāḥ | Come to success | ||||
| None | 2x | حَيَّ عَلَىٰ خَيْرِ ٱلْعَمَلِ | ḥayya ʿalā khayri l-ʿamal | Come to the best of deeds | |||||
| 2x | 1x | 2x | قَدْ قَامَتِ ٱلصَّلَاةُ قَدْ قَامَتِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةُ | qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāh | The prayer has been established | ||||
| 2x | ٱللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ | allāhu akbar | God is greater | ||||||
| 1x | لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ | lā ilāha illa llāh | There is nothing worthy of worship except God | ||||||
The one unique line in the iqama, but not adhan, is qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāh, the announcement "the prayer has been established", i.e., is about to commence. It is stated just before the opening allāhu akbar, the formal start of prayer.[3]
The Hanafi and Shia schools both use the same number of repetitions in both the adhan and iqama, contrary to all the other schools.[4]
Unlike the other schools, the Maliki school recommends qad qāmati ṣ-ṣalāh to be said only once. This is based on the practice of the people of Medina during Malik ibn Anas's time.[5]
Iqāma is the maṣdar form of the fourth (causative) stem (stem 'af`ala) from the triliteral root Q-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.