Adhan: The call to prayer in Islam

The Call To Prayer:

The adhan is the call to the prayers in Islam, recited by the muezzin usually from the minarets of a mosque. The main purpose behind the loud pronouncement of adhan five times a day is to remind the believers to discard all worldly activities at prayer time and assemble for the mandatory (fard) prayers.

The History:
In 622 AD, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told the newly converted Muslims of Mecca to migrate to the city of Medina to avoid persecution by pagan Makkans and their powerful tribal chiefs, In Medina, a large group of supporters eagerly awaited their arrival. After reaching Medina, the first thing that the Muslims (the immigrants and the hosts) did was to build a simple mosque so that they could gather together to pray and learn the teachings of Islam. This mosque was called the Quba Mosque.

 

When the construction of Quba Mosque was complete, the Muslims discussed ways of calling everyone to the mosque at the time of the prayers. Some people suggested hoisting a flag at each time of the prayer. Other suggestions included setting up a smoke signal, using a horn or tolling a bell. Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not agree with these suggestions because some imitated the ways of other religions while others were too impractical. He was keen on having something different to signify the call to prayers.

The First Adhan

After two days of deliberation, a companion named Abdullah bin Zaid (May Allah be pleased with him) came to Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and related to him a dream. In this dream, he was told to call the believers for prayers by announcing the adhan. Prophet Muhammad (May peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked a freed slave and a trusted companion, Bilal ibn Rabah (May Allah be pleased with him), to climb up on the top of the mosque and call the Muslims to prayer.

Bilal did as he was told and hence the first adhan in the history of mankind was announced in his clear, beautiful and melodious voice. It reverberated through the entire city bringing it to a stand still. Then people realized that this was a call to assemble for prayers and started congregating towards the mosque.

The Words:

Before every prayer, the muezzin stands facing the Kabaah and raising his hands to his ears calls out the adhan in a loud, clear voice.

~Allah is the Greatest. Allah is the Greatest.

~Allah is the Greatest. Allah is the Greatest.

~I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. (Twice)

~I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger. (Twice)

~Come to prayer. (Twice)

~Come to eternal success. (Twice)

~Allah is the Greatest. (Twice)

~None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. (Once)

The words of the adhan for each prayer are the same but for the Fajr prayers, the following words are added after the "come to eternal success" line:

 

~Prayer is better than sleep. (Twice)

After The Adhan:

While the adhan is being announced, it should be listened to carefully with due attention. When the muezzin proclaims the words, "come to prayer, come to eternal success," one should say:

"We are helpless to do good or abstain from evil without Allah's help, Most High and Great."

The adhan is usually followed by supplication to Allah and "Iqamah" which signals the start of the prayer.

The Significance:

It is an amazing fact that the words of the adhan have remained unchanged since 622AD, when the Prophet Muhammad asked his trusted companion, Bilal ibn Rabah to give the first adhan. The immortal and eternal call to prayer is still being announced in every mosque of the world five times a day irrespective of its geographical or regional location.

Even more miraculous is the fact that there is not even a single moment in time when hundreds of thousands of muezzins around the world are not reciting the adhan on the surface of this earth.