3.1.4 The Call To Prayer (Adhan)

The word adhan is derived from idhn which means originally anything that is heard (udhun meaning the ear), and hence it comes to mean knowledge or giving knowledge that a thing is permitted (R.), and adhan or ta’dhin means an announcement, or an announcement of prayer and of the time thereof— the call to prayer (LL.). Regarding the origin of adhan, Bukhari tells us that when the Muslims came to Madinah, they used, at first, to have a time appointed for prayer, at which they all gathered together, but this arrangement being unsatisfactory, a consultation was held at which suggestions for ringing a bell or blowing a horn having been rejected, ‘Umar proposed that a man should be appointed who should call out for prayer, at which the Holy Prophet ordered Bilal to call out for prayers in the words of adhan as we now have it (Bu. 10:1, 2). The need for the call to prayer was felt after the emigration of the Muslims to Madinah, because at Makkah the unbelievers did not allow the Muslims to say their prayers openly.

The adhan is delivered in every mosque, or wherever there is a gathering for congregational prayer, five times a day. The call is given out from a minaret or some raised platform, in as loud a voice as possible, so that it may reach the ears of the greatest possible number of men. The man giving the call stands with his face to the Qiblah, i.e., towards Makkah, with both hands raised to the ears, chanting the following sentences in the order given:

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest (repeated four times).

Ashhadu al la ilaha ill-Allah, Ashhadu al la Ilaha ill-Allah.

I bear witness that nothing deserves to be worshipped except Allah (repeated twice).

Ashhadu anna Muhammad- al-Rasulu-llah, Ashhadu anna Muhammad-al Rasulu-llah.

I bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah (repeated twice).

Hayya ‘ala-s-salah,

Hayya ‘ala-s-salah.

Hayya ‘ala-l-falah,

Hayya ‘ala-l-falah,

Come to prayer (repeated twice, turning the face to the right).

Come to success (repeated twice, turning the face to the left).

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.

Allah is the Greatest (repeated twice).

La ilaha ill-Allah.

Nothing deserves to be Worshipped except Allah.

The following sentence is added in the call to morning prayer after Hayya ‘ala-l-falah:

As-salatu khair-un minan-naum, As-salatu khair-un minan-naum.

Prayer is better than sleep (repeated twice).

When the call to prayer is finished, the crier as well as the hearers may pray briefly in the following words:

Allah umma Rabba hadhi-hi-da ‘wati-t-tam-ati was- salati-l-qa’imati ati Muhamada-ni-l-wasilata wa-l-fadzilata wa-b‘ath-hu maqam-an mahmuda-nilladhi wa‘adta-hu.

O Allah! the Lord of this perfect call and ever-living prayer, grant to Muhammad nearness and excellence and raise him to the position of glory which Thou hast promised him.

The adhan is not only an announcement of the time of prayer, but also of the great principles of the faith of Islam and of the significance underlying them. It is an announcement, made five times daily, from hundreds of thousands of minarets, of the unity of God and of the prophethood of Muhammad, which are the two fundamental principles of Islam. But this announcement goes further and carries also the real significance of the Unity of God which is contained in the words Allahu Akbar or Allah is the Greatest, so that man must bow only before Him, and before none else. And the real message of religion, the realization of the Divine in man, is declared with equal force — “Come to prayer,” and, immediately thereafter — “Come to success”; coming to prayer is the attainment of success in life, because it is only through the realization of the Divine in man that complete self-development (falah) is attained. What a noble idea! The meaningless ringing of the bell or the blowing of the trumpet is replaced by an announcement of the principles of Islam and their significance, by a declaration made five times daily, that anyone may attain to success in life through the door of the mosque. No more effective propaganda can be thought of. No one need remain in doubt as to what Islam is and what its message is. No one need read books to get at the principles of Islam; no one need listen to a philosophical dissertation as to the significance of those principles; no one need have a doubt as to the end in view in accepting these principles. To everyone’s door, nay, to his very ears, is carried the message every morning, noon, afternoon, evening and at the time of going to bed, that the Unity of God and the apostleship of Muhammad are the fundamental principles of Islam, that man must not bow before anything but God, that anyone can attain to complete self-development, which is success in life, through the realization of the Divine in him, which is brought about by prayer to God.