Which direction should the caller face when saying “Prayer is better than sleep”?
2026-10-14
T222 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete source question and answer
Complete original question and answer, 22/70–71. The two calls beginning ḥayya are ‘Come to prayer’ and ‘Come to success’. This clarification is editorial.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
وسئل عن المؤذن إذا قال: [الصلاة خير من النوم] هل السنة أن يستدير ويلتفت، أم يستقبل القبلة، أم الشرق؟
الجواب
ليس هذا سنة عند أحد من العلماء، بل السنة أن يقولها وهو مستقبل القبلة، كغيرها من كلمات الأذان. وكقوله في الإقامة: قد قامت الصلاة، ولم يستثن من ذلك العلماء إلا الحيعلة، فإنه يلتفت بها يمينا وشمالا، ولا يختص المشرق بالكلمتين، وليس في الأذان والإقامة ما يختص المشرق والمغرب بجنسه. فمن قال: [الصلاة خير من النوم] كلاهما إلى المشرق أو المغرب، فهو مبتدع خارج عن السنة في الأذان، باتفاق العلماء.
وقد تنازع العلماء: هل يدور في المنارة؟ على قولين مشهورين. فمن دار فقد فعل ما يسوغ فيه الاجتهاد، ولكنه مع ذلك إن دار لقوله: [الصلاة خير من النوم] لزمه أن يدور مرتين. ولا قائل به، وإن خص المشرق بهما كان أبعد عن السنة، فتعين أن يقولهما مستقبل القبلة. والله أعلم.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
He was asked about the caller when he says, “Prayer is better than sleep”: is it Sunnah for him to turn around, turn his head, face the qiblah, or face east?
Answer
This is not a Sunnah according to any scholar. Rather, the Sunnah is to say it while facing the qiblah, like the other phrases of the adhān and like “The prayer has begun” in the iqāmah. Scholars make an exception only for the two calls beginning ‘ḥayya’, during which he turns right and left. He does not direct both phrases exclusively eastward. No particular phrase of the adhān or iqāmah is assigned specifically to the east or west. Whoever says both repetitions of “Prayer is better than sleep” towards the east or west is introducing an innovation and departing from the Sunnah in the adhān, by scholarly agreement.
Scholars have disagreed, in two well-known views, about whether he goes around the minaret. Someone who does so has acted in an area where scholarly judgment is permissible. Even so, if he went around for “Prayer is better than sleep,” he would have to go around twice, and no one holds that view. If he directed both repetitions exclusively eastward, this would be further from the Sunnah. He must therefore say them facing the qiblah. Allah knows best.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 22/70–71
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic checked against the cited source and adjacent question boundaries. Diacritics and display marks omitted; honorific glyphs expanded. Titles and scope notes are editorial.