Can An Imam Start To Perform Prayer Before The Comletion Of The Iqamat?

Can an imam start to perform prayer before the comletion of the iqamat?

Prayer has customs or etiquettes along with its fardhs, wajibs, and sunnahs. According to Imam al-A’zam, it is a custom of the prayer that the imam start prayer just when “qad qamat as-salat”, which means “prayer has started”, is said in the iqamat. Thus, the imam confirms the word of muazzin. However, it is also permissible to start prayer after the completion of iqamat. Furthermore, according to Imam Abu Yusuf and imams of other three schools of jurisprudence, this is the appropriate practice (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, II, 177; Mehmed Zihni, Ni‘met-i İslam, p. 304).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWAS