from among them and called the Imām, which means leader, leads the prayer and stands in front of all. If, however, there are women in the congregation, they form a row by themselves at the back, and after the congregational prayer is over the men are not allowed to leave their places until the women have gone out. The distance between the Imām and the first row, or between the different rows, is such that the persons in each row may be able to prostrate themselves, so that their heads may be almost at the feet of the front row. This distance would generally be four feet. The smallest number of people that can form a congregation is two, one leading the prayer and the other following, and these two stand together, the Imām a little ahead, say about six inches, and standing to the left while the follower stands on the right. If a third person joins while the prayer is thus being led, either the Imām moves forward or the person following moves backward, so that the two who follow form a row. The people who stand behind are called muqtadūn or followers, and the discipline is so perfect that the followers are bound to obey the Imām, even though he may make a mistake, though they have the right to point out the mistake, by pronouncing the words subḥan-Allāh (glory be to Allāh). This amounts to a hint that God alone is free from all defects, such being the meaning of the word subḥāna. It is however the judgment of the Imām which is the decisive factor, and the followers, after giving the hint, must still obey him.
To announce that the congregational prayer is ready, the iqāmah (which means causing to stand) is pronounced in a loud voice, though not so loud as the call to prayer (adhān). The sentences of the adhān are also the sentences which form the iqāmah, but with the difference that they may be uttered only once and not repeated, and the following sentence is uttered twice after ḥayya ‘ala-l-falāḥ :
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Qad qāmati-ṣ-ṣalāh |
Prayer is ready. |