Adhaan is the call to the obligatory prayers. In the beginning, Muslims would attend to the prayers in the mosque without adhaan. Then the Prophe consulted his companions. Some suggested using the Jewish trumpet, and others suggested the Christian bell, but neither was welcome to him. When the
matter was still under discussion, ‘Abdullaah ibn Zaid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) came along to say that he had been taught the manner of adhaan in a dream. The Prophet (PBUH) then asked him to teach it to Bilal ibn Rabaah, the first
muezzin in Islam. When Omar ibn Al-Khattaab (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) heard Bilal (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) calling to prayer, he went to the Prophet ( en and informed him that he had the same dream that Abdullah ibn Zaid (en) had.
The words of the adhaan are:
ٱللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allaahu Akbar “Allah is the Greatest” (four times)
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ
ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah “I declare that there is no god but Allah” (twice)
أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ
ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasoolullaah “I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah” (twice)
حَيَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلصَّلَاةِ
hayya ‘alas-Salaah “Come to the prayer” (twice)
حَيَّ عَلَىٰ ٱلْفَلَاحِ
hayya ‘alal-falaah “Come to success” (twice)
ٱللَّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allaahu Akbar “Allah is the Greatest” (twice)
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ
laa ilaaha ill-Allaah “There is no god but Allah” (once)
When used for calling to the first prayers of the day at dawn (Fajr), the statement ٱلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ ٱلنَّوْمِ as-salaatu khairun minan-nawm “Prayer is better than sleep” is said twice in the adhaan after hayya ‘alal-falaah “Come to success”.
When the adhaan is announced, Shaitaan runs away to avoid hearing it.
When a Muslim hears the adhaan, he should respond to each call and repeat after the muezzin. When the latter says hayya ‘alas-Salaah ‘Come to the prayer’, and Havya ‘alal-Falaah ‘Come to success’, should, however, say, Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa bilaah ‘There is no power or might except with Allah’ after each of these statements.
Any person, jinn or thing that hears the adhaan will testify for the muezzin on the Day of Judgement.
The person (usually a man) who calls the adhaan is called mu’adhdhin (English muezzin).
After the Adhaan, I say,
Alla a h u m m a R a b b a ha adhihid – da‘watittaa m mati, wa s-Salaatil-ga a’im ati, a ati Muhammadanil-waseelata wal-fadeelata, wab’ath-hu maqaaman-mahmoodan-illadhee wa’adtahu,
Oh Allah, the Lord of this perfect call and the established prayer, give Muhammad Al-Waseelah (a high position in Paradise) and Al-Fadeelah (a rank above the rest of creation), and raise him on the honoured station which You have promised him.
(See Iqaamah and Shaitaan)
