The Book of the Adhan (The Call to Prayer)

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Bilāl to pronounce the Adhān in pairs and the Iqāmah in singles.

Abu Sulaymān, Mālik ibn al-Huwayrith, (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: We came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when we were young and of about the same age. We stayed with him for twenty nights. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was merciful and compassionate; so, he realized our longing for our families. He asked us about our families whom we had left behind and we told him about them. Thereupon, he said: "Go back to your families and stay with them. Teach them (religion) and command them (to adhere to it), perform so-and-so prayer at so-and-so time, and when prayer becomes due, let one of you call the Adhān and let the oldest among you lead you in prayer." Another version by Al-Bukhāri has this addition: "Pray as you saw me pray.”

Ayyūb reported from Abu Qilābah from ‘Amr ibn Salamah: Abu Qilābah said to me: "Will you not meet and ask him (‘Amr ibn Salamah)" I said: "I met him and asked him, so he said: ‘We were at a water place that was a thoroughfare for people. Riders would pass by us, and we would ask them: 'What are people up to? What are people up to? Who is that man?' They would say: 'He claims that Allah has sent him and revealed to him. Or Allah has revealed such and such.'' So I used to memorize that speech, as if it was instilled in my heart. Meanwhile, the Arabs (Bedouin tribes) delayed their conversion to Islam until the Conquest. So they would say: 'Leave him and his people, for indeed if he prevails over them, he is a true Prophet.' When the incident of the people of Conquest took place, every tribe rushed to embrace Islam, and my father hurried to embrace Islam before (the rest of) my tribe. When he came back, he said: 'By Allah, I have come to you from the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for sure! He said: 'Offer this prayer at this time and that prayer at that time. When the time for a prayer is due, let one of you call the Adhān, and let the one who knows the Qur’an most lead the prayer.'' They checked and found none with more Qur’an than me, for I used to meet the riders. Therefore, they made me to lead them, when I was only six or seven years old. I had on me a garment, which would recede when I would prostrate. A lady from the tribe thus said: 'Will you not cover the bottom of your reader from us?' So they bought (a piece of cloth) and cut me an apparel. I had never been so happy with anything as I was with that apparel."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn Abi Sa‘sa‘ah reported: Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: "I see that you like sheep and wilderness. So whenever you are with your sheep - or in the wilderness - and you want to call the Adhān, raise your voice, for whoever hears the voice of the Muezzin, whether it be a human being, a Jinn, or any other creature, they will testify in his favor on the Day of Judgment." Abu Sa‘īd added: "I heard this from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him)."

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) combined the Maghrib and Ishā' prayers. He prayed three Rak‘ahs for Maghrib then two Rak‘ahs for Ishā' with one Iqāmah.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When the call to prayer is announced, the devil takes to his heels and breaks wind with noise so as not to hear the call. When the call to prayer is over, he returns. When the Iqāmah is announced, he takes to his heels, and after it is over, he returns again to distract the attention of the worshiper and make him remember things which were not on his mind before the prayer, saying: 'Remember such-and-such, and remember such-and-such,' until the worshiper forgets how many units of prayer he performed.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Were people to know what is in the call and the first row and then they could do nothing but to draw lots for it, they would draw lots. Were they to know what is in performing the prayer early, they would race to it. Were they to know what is in the darkness and the morning, they would come to them even if they had to crawl."

‘Uthmān ibn Abu al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he said: "O Messenger of Allah, make me the leader of my people!" He said: "You are their leader; be considerate to their weak ones, and choose a Muezzin who does not take wages for his Adhān.”

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you hear the Adhan (call to prayer), repeat what the Muezzin says."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When you hear the Muezzin, say what he says and then invoke Allah's blessings upon me, for whoever invokes Allah's blessings upon me once, Allah will bestow His blessings upon him ten times. Then, ask Allah to grant me the Wasīlah, a high rank in Paradise that befits only one of Allah's servants, and I hope that I will be him. If anyone asks for Wasīlah for me , intercession will be permitted for him.”

Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says upon hearing the muezzin: 'Ash-hadu alla ilāha illallāh wahdahu la sharīka lah wa anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasūluh, radītu billāhi rabban, wa bi Muhammadin rasūlan wa bil Islāmi dīna (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without any partner and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. I am pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Muhammad as a messenger, and with Islam as a religion), his sins will be forgiven)."

Jābir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever says upon hearing the call: O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the prayer that is to be established, grant Muhammad Al-Wasīlah and Al-Fadīlah and resurrect him to the Praiseworthy Station that You have promised him, he will be granted my intercession on the Day of Judgment."

‘Abdullāh ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There is a prayer between every two Adhāns; there is a prayer between every two Adhāns." The third time, he said: "for whoever wills."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray two light Rak‘ahs before the Fajr prayer, after the Muezzin would finish calling the Adhān and after the break of dawn. Then, he used to lie on his right side until the Muezzin would come to him for the Iqāmah.