The Azan and Iqaamah

The Adhan is the call to announce that it is time for one of the obligatory prayers. The words of the Adhān comprise of the creed of faith. In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) demonstrated what is prescribed upon hearing the Adhān, namely, the hearer of Adhān should say as the Muezzin says. When the Muezzin says, "Allahu akbar", he should say: "Allahu akbar", and likewise with all phrases except when the Muezzin says, "Hayy' ala as-salāh" and "Hayy 'ala al-falāh", upon which the hearer should say: "Lā hawla wala quwwata illa billāh". The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that whoever repeats after the Muezzin sincerely from his heart will enter Paradise. The meanings of the phrases of the Adhān: "Allahu akbar": He, Exalted be He, is the most Majestic, the most Sublime, and greater than everything. "Ash'hadu an lā ilāh illa Allah": No one is truly worthy of worship except Allah. "Ash'hadu anna Muhammadan rasūl Allah": I acknowledge and testify with my tongue and heart that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; Allah Almighty sent him, and it is obligatory to obey him. "Hayy ‘ala as-salāh": Come to prayer. The listener says "Lā hawla wala quwwata illa billāh" means: There is no way to avoid the things that prevent one from worship, no strength to perform it, and no ability to do anything except with the help of Allah Almighty. "Hayy ‘ala al-falāh": Come to the cause of success, namely the attainment of Paradise and salvation from Hellfire.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is urging us here to respond to the Muezzin on hearing him by repeating what he says word for word. So, when he says: "Allāhu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest), we should say: "Allāhu Akbar" after him; and when he pronounces the two testimonies of faith, we should pronounce them after him. The only exception is when he says: "Hayy ‘ala as-salāh, hayy ‘ala al-falāh" (Come to prayer, come to success), we should say: "La hawla wala quwwata illa billāh" (There is no might or power except through Allah).

If the Iqamāh for prayer is proclaimed, and food or drink are served, one should start with food and drink; in order to satisfy his appetite, and his mind should not be busy with the food.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that whoever says upon hearing the muezzin: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without any partner," i.e., I acknowledge, confess, and say that there is no deity truly worthy of worship except Allah, and all other deities are false. "And that Muhammad is His slave and messenger," i.e., he is a slave who should not be worshipped and a messenger who does not lie. "I am pleased with Allah as a Lord," i.e., with his Lordship, divinity, names, and attributes. "With Muhammad as a messenger," i.e., with everything he was sent with and conveyed to us. "And with Islam," i.e., with all the rulings of Islam including the commands and prohibitions, "as a religion," i.e., by way of belief and submission. "His sins will be forgiven," i.e., the minor sins.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarifies that whoever says the following upon hearing the muezzin completing the Adhān (call to prayer): (O Allah, Lord of this perfect call), these are the words of the Adhān that are used to call people to worship Allah and to perform the prayer; (perfect) complete, i.e., the call of Tawhīd (monotheism) and the divine message. (And the prayer that is to be established) constantly and that is about to be offered. (Grant) and give (Muhammad Al-Wasīlah) and the highest position in Paradise that is not to be granted to anyone other than him (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), (and Al-Fadīlah), i.e., the degree of superiority over others' degrees, (and resurrect him to) and give him (the Praiseworthy Station) that brings praise to the one standing therein, which is a reference to the Grand Intercession on the Day of Judgment (that You have promised him) by saying: {So your Lord may raise you to a praised status} to be yours. Whoever says this supplication becomes worthy of the Prophet's intercession that will be definitely granted to him.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) instructed those who hear the Muezzin making the call to prayer to repeat after him and say as he says, except for "hayy' ala as-salāh" (come to prayer) and "hayy 'ala al-falāh" (come to success), after which they should say: "lā hawla wa la quwwata illa billāh" (there is no power nor strength except through Allah). Then, after the end of the Adhān, they should invoke Allah's blessings upon the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), for whoever invokes Allah's blessings upon him once, Allah will bestow His blessings upon him ten times on account of it. The meaning of Allah's bestowal of blessings upon a servant is that He praises him before the angels. Then, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded that we ask Allah to grant him the Wasīlah, the highest rank in Paradise. It does not befit and will not be given except to one person from among Allah Almighty's servants, and I hope it will be me. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that out of modesty, for if this rank can only be given to one person, that one person could only be him (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), for he is the best among all mankind. Then, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that whoever supplicates Allah to give the Wasīlah to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) will gain the Prophet's intercession.

A man from the Companions said: I wish I had prayed and got comfort. Those around him seemed to disapprove of his statement. So, he said: I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: O Bilāl, make the call to prayer and proclaim its commencement so that we will get comfort by it. This is because it includes private communication with Allah Almighty and provides relief for the soul and the heart.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had two Muezzins: Bilāl ibn Rabāh and ‘Abdullāh ibn Umm Maktūm, who was blind. Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) used to make the Adhān for the Fajr prayer before the break of dawn, because this prayer occurs at the time of sleep and people need to get ready for it before its time. Hence, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) notified his Companions that Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) would call the Adhān during the night, and ordered them to eat and drink until the break of dawn, when the second Muezzin, ‘Abdullāh ibn Umm Maktūm (may Allah be pleased with him), would call the second Adhān. This was addressed to whoever intended to fast. So, at that point a person should stop eating and drinking, since the time for prayer would start. This is specific to the Fajr prayer, as it is not permissible in any other prayer to call the Adhān before its due time starts. There is a difference in scholarly opinion concerning the first Adhān for the Fajr prayer: Is it sufficient, or is the second Adhān, which indicates the beginning of the prayer time, necessary? The majority of scholars are of the opinion that the first Adhān is permissible, but not sufficient.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded his Muezzin, Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him), to pronounce the Adhān in pairs, because it is meant to draw the attention of those who are absent from the mosque, so its phrases are to be said twice. This excludes the Takbīr in the beginning, as it was authentically reported as being said four times, and the word of Tawḥīd (lā ilāha illā Allah) at the end, as it is authentically reported as being said once. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) also commanded Bilāl to pronounce the Iqāmah in singles, because it is meant to draw the attention of those in attendance. He was commanded to say each sentence once, except for the Takbīr and "qad qāmat aṣ-ṣalāh" (the prayer has started), as it was authentically reported as being doubled.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was in Al-Abtah in upper Makkah. Bilāl came out with the water that was left over from the ablution of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and people were seeking blessing from that water. Then Bilāl called the Adhān. Abu Juhayfah said that he kept watching Bilāl's mouth as he was turning to the right and left saying: “Come to prayer, come to success”, so the people could hear him, as these two sentences are intended to encourage them to come to the prayer. Then a short spear was fixed in the ground for the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to act as a Sutrah for him during his prayer. He performed two Rak‘ahs for the Zhuhr prayer and he continued to shorten the four-Rak‘ah prayers until he returned to Madīnah, because he was a traveler.

Abu Ash-Sha‘thā' relates in this Hadīth that they were sitting with Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque, and the Muezzin proclaimed the Adhān. Then, a man stood up and walked. Meanwhile, Abu Hurayrah kept looking at him to know whether he would leave the mosque or what. Then, when it became clear that the man was actually leaving, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that this act runs counter to the Prophet’s guidance.

‘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 that be a human being, a Jinn, or any other creature, they will testify in his favor (the Muezzin) on the Day of Judgment." It is said that "any creature" applies to whoever's testimony can be accepted. It is also said that it may generally apply to anything that can hear, even from among the animals, excluding inanimate objects. They will testify that he was one of those who called the Adhān, indicating his merit and highlighting his reward thereby.

When the Muezzin (person who makes the call to prayer) announces the Adhān, the devil runs away from the place where the call to prayer is being made so as not to hear it. "And breaks wind with noise": The apparent meaning is that the devil intentionally lets out this noise, which is passing gas, to avoid listening to the sound of the Muezzin, or as a way of belittling the Adhān as foolish people do. It is also possible that he experiences extreme fear when he hears the call to prayer and, because of his fear, he makes that sound. Another possibility is that he intentionally does this to do the opposite of what is appropriate for prayer, which is the state of purification, by causing "Hadath" (a state of ritual impurity). When the Adhān is finished, he returns. When the Iqāmah is announced, he turns his back, and after it is finished, he returns to distract the attention of the worshiper. The devil first ran away when he heard the call to prayer to avoid listening to the declaration of Oneness of Allah and the other statements of the Adhān which are part of declaring creed and establishing the rituals of Islam. He dislikes to hear Dhikr. This is what is meant by the verse: {from the evil of Al-Waswās al-Khannās (the whisperer who withdraws)} [Sūrat An-Nās: 4]. Al-Khannās means the one who withdraws and disappears when Allah's name is mentioned. Then he comes back to distract the worshiper from focusing on his prayer by saying to him: "Remember this, remember that," which are things that were not on his mind before he started praying. He continues to do that throughout the prayer, until the person loses his concentration on prayer and becomes confused regarding how much of the prayer he has already performed. The devil comes during the prayer, though there is recitation of the Qur'an in it, because the majority of recitation in prayer is done silently, so the devil tries to find his way to corrupt it and destroy the worshiper's focus and humility in it. One opinion held that the reason the devil flees when the call to prayer is announced is to avoid the obligation of bearing witness in favor of the son of Adam on the Day of Judgment, as stated in the Hadīth reported by Abu Sa‘īd.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that the muezzins, who call to prayer, will have the longest necks on the Day of Judgment due to the honor of their work, their abundant goodness, and the greatness of their reward.

This noble Hadīth relates the story of the Adhān, which goes as follows: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) wished to use a bell – like the Christians – to gather the people for prayer with its sound. He refrained from doing this, however, because it is something that belongs to and distinguishes the Christians. Then, one of the Companions, ‘Abdullāh ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) saw in a dream that someone was selling a bell, and he wished to buy it and use it to gather the people for prayer. However, the man said to him: “Shall I direct you to what is better than it?” He then taught him the words of the Adhān. Thereafter, he went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning and related the dream to him, and he stated that this was a true dream and asked ‘Abdullāh to recite those words to Bilāl, who had a more melodious voice, so that he could pronounce the Adhān therewith. When ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Adhān, he went to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him that he had also seen the same dream.

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that among what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) established in his Sunnah is that the muezzin should say during the call to the Fajr prayer, specifically after saying "Come to success", the phrase: "Prayer is better than sleep".

This Hadīth shows that it is permissible for the one who thinks that he is qualified for leading the prayers to request from the authorities to appoint him as an Imām. This is different from asking for political leadership, which is discouraged. The prayer leader, however, should be considerate to the people with weaknesses or disabilities. He should not prolong the prayer for them. It is preferred that the Muezzin do this job for Allah's sake, so that he does not charge a remuneration for it. If there is no volunteer to do this job, it is fine to hire someone and pay him from the public treasury.

The Hadīth indicates that the Imām is the one who has the right to decide the timing of the Iqāmah, since the Muezzin used to delay it until the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would come out.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed out that there is a supererogatory prayer between every Adhān and Iqāmah, repeating this three times. He informed in the third time that this is recommended for whoever wants to offer this prayer.

Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "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.” That was in the Year of Delegations, 9 A.H. They were young men and they stayed with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for twenty nights. They came to him to learn the religion of Allah. Mālik said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was merciful and compassionate. 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 people and stay with them. Teach them (religion) and command them (to adhere to it), pray so-and-so prayer at so-and-so time, and when prayer becomes due, let one of you pronounce the Adhān and let the eldest among you lead you in prayer." Another version by Al-Bukhāri adds: “Pray as you saw me pray.” This indicates that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was famous for his mercy and compassion. He was the most merciful and the most compassionate among people towards people. When he perceived their longing for their families and asked them about their people whom they had left behind and they informed him about them, he ordered them to return home. "And let the eldest among you lead you in prayer" points out that older one should take precedence when it comes to leading prayer. And by the way, this does not contradict the Prophet’s statement: "Let the best reciter of the Book of Allah among the people lead them in prayer.” This is because these young men came to the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) at the same time and apparently there was no significant difference between them in terms of the Qur’an’s recitation. Hence, he said: "And let the eldest among you lead you in prayer", because they were equal, or almost equal, in reciting the Qur’an. If they were the same in terms of reciting the Qur’an, knowledge of the Sunnah, and making the Hijrah, then the eldest among them should take precedence and lead the prayer. His statement "Pray as you saw me pray" confirms the fact that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) used to teach people their religion by words and deeds. For example, he taught the man who offered prayer hastily, saying: "When you get up to pray, perform ablution perfectly, stand facing the Qiblah, make Takbīr, recite some of what you memorize of the Qur’an, and then bow down." In the case of those young men, he chose to teach by deeds.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was staying at Al-Abtah in Makkah. Bilāl came out with the water remaining from the ablution of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and the people came to seek blessings from it. Then, Bilāl made the Adhān. Abu Juhayfah said: I was looking at Bilāl's mouth as he turned right and left upon saying "Come to success," so that the people would hear it. These two phrases are to urge people to come to prayer. Then, a short stick was stuck in the ground for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to act as a screen for him during his prayer. He then offered two Rak‘ahs for Zhuhr prayer and continued to offer two Rak‘ahs for all the four unit prayers until he returned to Madīnah. The prayers were shortened in that way because he was traveling.

The noble Hadīth explains that the Muezzin is more entitled to determine the time of calling the Adhān, and that the Imām is more entitled to determine the time of calling the Iqāmah.

This Hadīth clarifies that if the Muezzin mistimed calling the Adhān, he is to declare that he was mistaken. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Bilāl, when he mistimed calling the Adhān, to call out to the people: "Lo! The slave of Allah slept."