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
Mafatih al-Jinan (Keys to Paradise)
The most widely used Shia prayer book, compiled by Shaykh Abbas al-Qummi.
Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning)
Legal analogy used to derive Islamic rules for new situations based on established rules.
Isnad (Chain of Narration)
The chain of narrators connecting a hadith back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Sajdah (Prostration)
Prostration with the forehead on the ground — the most humble position in prayer.
Rak'ah (Prayer Cycle)
A single cycle of movements and recitations in the Islamic prayer.
Muharram (The Sacred Month)
The first and one of the four sacred months in the Islamic calendar.