Undesirability of offering optional Prayer after the announcement of Iqamah

Once the call to stand for the obligatory prayer is given, the moment belongs to that prayer and nothing should compete with it. This chapter teaches the worshipper to set aside any voluntary Salat the instant the Iqamah is announced, so that attention and the congregation are not divided.

The lesson is about priority and presence: there is a time for extra devotion and a time to fall straight into the ranks of the obligatory. When the Iqamah sounds, readiness for the fard prayer takes precedence over any optional act, however good that act is in itself.