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Fatwa CenterA Woman Is Not Allowed to Call the Athaan or the Iqaamah
Question
If a husband and wife only or a mother and her son only prays obligatory salat at home in congregation,provided that the man or the son cannot attend the masjid since it is closed by government due to corona virus pandemic then should the husband or the son should give iqamah who are the imams or should the follower of imam in this case the mother or the wife should give the iqamah?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
A woman is not required to call the Iqaamah (the call signaling that the Prayer is about to commence) when she performs the congregational prayer with one of her Mahram men (her husband or any permanently unmarriageable relative). Instead, the man should call the Iqaamah and not her. The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia reads: “The jurists agreed that it is impermissible for a woman to call the Athaan (the announcement made to indicate the beginning of the due time of the Prayer) and Iqaamah for a congregation of men because the Athaan is, in principle, prescribed to inform people of the time of the prayer, and she is not permitted to do that. Also, it is prescribed to raise one’s voice with the Athaan, while she is not permitted to raise her voice. A person who is not permitted to call the Athaan is not permitted to call the Iqaamah either.” [End of quote]
Besides, the Shaafi‘i book Mughni Al-Muhtaaj reads: “There is no difference in the ruling if these men are among her Mahram or non-Mahram men.” [End of quote]
Also, the Maaliki book Minah Al-Jaleel, reads: “If a woman who is praying alone (not in congregation) called the Iqaamah inaudibly, then that is good; meaning that it is recommended. However, if she prays in congregation with a man, then the Iqaamah that he calls is sufficient for her and no other Iqaamah is required from her. It is impermissible for her to call the Iqaamah for him, and if she does, it does not count as a valid act of Sunnah because the same conditions required for the validity of the Athaan apply to the Iqaamah as well.” [End of quote]
Allah Knows best.
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