Sama' (hearing) and its rulings

In the lexicon sama' means perceiving by the sense of hearing, and it carries the senses of answering, understanding and accepting; the technical sense does not depart from them. ¹

Istima' is listening that is intended in order to understand or benefit; sama' may happen with or without intention, and it can also name what is heard, as singing is called sama'. Inssat is silence kept in order to hear. Isgha' is good hearing joined to listening, for emphasis on silence. Ghina' is raising the voice with verse or similar, in a particular manner, and so is a kind of sama'. ^{1 2}

The jurists differ on one who hears the call to the five daily prayers other than Friday: some hold that attending the congregation is obligatory, some that it is a communal duty (fard kifaya), and others that it is an emphasised sunna. Attending the Friday prayer is an individual obligation for those who meet its conditions. ^{2 4}

It is recommended for one who hears the call to say what the muezzin says, except at "hasten to prayer" and "hasten to success", where he says "there is no power and no strength except in God". ⁴ After the call ends he asks God for the wasila and the fadila for the Prophet ﷺ, citing a report from Jabir ibn Abdullah (may God be pleased with him). ⁴

Most jurists hold that the least required in silent recitation is a recitation the reciter would hear if he had hearing. The Malikis allow moving the tongue with the Qur'an to suffice; Ibn al-Qasim held that moving the tongue is the minimum condition for a valid recitation. ⁵ In audible recitation the least required is that the worshipper hears himself and those next to him, and the imam raises his voice enough for the followers to hear. A woman need only hear herself. ⁶

The Hanafis, Malikis, Hanbalis and al-Awza'i hold that listening to the sermon is obligatory for those for whom Friday prayer is validly held. The Shafi'is, Urwa ibn al-Zubayr and others hold it a sunna, which is also one of two reports from Ahmad. ^{5 6}

The prostration of recitation follows on hearing one of the verses of prostration, and the imams differ on its ruling. Its details are in the entry on the prostration of recitation. ⁶

In the jurists' usage hearing a claim belongs only to the judge or one who stands in his place, such as the chief of police or the market inspector. It means two things in sequence: giving full attention to the claim until its substance is grasped, which must be complete and yield the correct understanding that Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) enjoined on Abu Musa al-Ash'ari in the letter on judging; and then accepting the claim from the claimant. ⁶ A judge who does not follow one party must ask for a repetition, and must avoid what distracts the hearer, such as anger, extreme hunger or thirst, and drowsiness. ⁷ A claim is heard only when it is sound and meets its conditions, or when it is supported by valid evidence. Hearing a sound claim obliges the judge to require a reply from the defendant, with the oath if he denies it; hearing a claim supported by evidence obliges judgment for the claimant on the proof he has brought. ⁷

Testimony is not valid except on what the witness knows. Knowledge comes by sight, as in seizure, destruction, adultery, drinking wine and theft, or in visible defects of goods and rented property; or by hearing. Hearing is of two kinds: hearing the voice of the party in words, as in contracts where the parties' speech must be heard, provided the hearer knows the speaker and is sure that the words come from him. ⁸ Testimony by common report is testimony whose route is hearing, to a sufficient degree. ⁸

The ruling on listening to singing and music is set out in the entries on listening, singing and instruments. ⁸ A man who hears a woman's voice must refrain if he takes pleasure in it or fears temptation for himself; otherwise not. ⁹ Listening to the Qur'an when it is recited is commanded, and its manners and rulings are set out under listening, recitation and Qur'an. ⁹

Hearing, seeking, mastering, memorising and understanding the Prophet's hadith is a communal obligation, because the law is received from the Prophet, and the task of gathering it has been laid on the community; it is achieved by hearing, recording, memorising and writing. ^{9 10} Scholars require discernment for hearing hadith: a child who understands the address and returns an answer has valid hearing, and most scholars hold so. Qadi Iyad reports that the practitioners set five years as the earliest age at which hearing is valid, and practice has settled on that. ¹⁰ Transmitters recognise eight ways of receiving hadith. The first, hearing from the shaykh's own words, is the highest according to most scholars; the lowest is wijada (finding a written text). ¹⁰ It is recommended that the student begin in his thirties, or in his twenties by another report, and that he adopt the manners of the people of hadith: gravity, patience and humility. ¹⁰

Idle talk is speech that has no worth: either uttered impulsively without thought, or put in the wrong place, as when a man tells his companion "be silent" while the imam is preaching. ¹¹ Listening to every foul and false speech is forbidden, such as engaging in sin, abuse, insult or obscenity, and believers are required to turn away from it and not listen. ^{11 3}