Adhan (Call to Prayer)
The Islamic call to prayer, recited by a muezzin.
Adhan (Arabic: أذان) is the Islamic call to prayer, which announces that the time for an obligatory prayer has arrived. The adhan is recited by a muezzin and can be heard from the mosque's minaret. The word "adhan" comes from the Arabic root meaning "to listen" or "to be informed".
The adhan was introduced in the second year after the hijra (migration to Medina). According to tradition, one of the Prophet's companions, Bilal ibn Rabah, had a dream about the call to prayer, and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) approved this form. Bilal became the first muezzin in Islam.
The adhan consists of the following phrases: "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Greatest), "Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah" (I bear witness that there is no god except Allah), "Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah" (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah), "Hayya 'alas-salah" (Come to prayer), "Hayya 'alal-falah" (Come to success), and concludes with "Allahu Akbar" and "La ilaha illallah".
It is sunnah to repeat the words after the muezzin and to say a specific du'a (supplication) after the adhan.
Related terms
Masjid al-Nabawi (The Prophet's Mosque)
The Prophet Muhammad's mosque in Medina, the second holiest mosque in Islam.
Imam (Prayer Leader)
The person who leads the congregational prayer at the mosque.
Niyyah (Intention)
The conscious intention in the heart to perform a specific prayer.
Salat al-Hajat (Prayer of Need)
A voluntary prayer performed when one has a specific need or wish.
Bid'ah (Innovation in Religion)
An innovation or addition to religion that has no basis in the Quran or Sunnah.
Asr (Afternoon Prayer)
The third daily prayer, performed in the afternoon.