Adhan

Adhan ([ʔaðān]) is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin. The root of the word is ʼḏn "to permit", and another derivative of this word is uḏun, meaning "ear".

Adhan is called out from a minaret of a mosque five times a day (Sunni Islam) or three times a day (Shi'a Islam) summoning Muslims for Fard (mandatory) Salah (prayers). There is a second call known as iqama that summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers.

Text

Recital	Arabic	Transliteration	Translation	Sect
4x	الله اكبر	Allāhu Akbar	God is the greatest	Sunni & Shia
2x	اشهد ان لا اله الا الله	Ash-hadu an lā ilāha illallāh	I bear witness that there is no god except ALLAH	Sunni & Shia
2x	اشهد ان محمد الرسول الله	Ash-hadu anna Muhammadur rasūlullāh	I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God	Sunni & Shia
2x	اشهد ان عليا ولي الله	Ash-hadu anna 'Alīyan walīullāh	I bear witness that Ali is the vicegerent of God*	Shia only (optional)
2x	حي على الصلاة	Hayya 'alas-salāt	Make haste towards prayer	Sunni & Shia
2x	حي على الفلاح	Hayya 'alal-falāh	Make haste towards welfare	Sunni & Shia
2x	الصلاة خير من النوم	Aṣ-ṣalātu khayru min an-naūm	Prayer is better than sleep**	Sunni only
2x	حي على خير العملا\|	Hayya 'alā khayril-'amal	Make haste towards the best deed	Shia only
2x	الله اكبر	Allāhu akbar	God is the greatest	Sunni & Shia
2x	لا اله الا الله	Lā ilāha illallāh	There is no god except ALLAH	Sunni & Shia

* The line "I bear witness that Ali is the vicegerent of God" is preferable and, although not mandatory, most Shi'as recite it. Phrases like "Amīr al-Mu'minīn" (Commander of the faithful) and "wa abna'unhu al-ma'sūmīn hujjaju Allāh" (and his infallible sons are the proofs of God), may be added to the end of that line.

** The line "Prayer is better than sleep" is used only for the first prayers of the day at dawn (fajr salat).

Sunni view

Sunnis state that the adhan was not written or said by Muhammad, but by one of his Sahabah (his companions), a freed Ethiopian slave by the name of Bilal ibn Ribah. However, Muhammad did choose adhan as the Islamic call to prayer in place of the bell or conch used by Christians, or the shofar (ram's horn), used by Jews [1].

During the Friday prayer (Salat Al Jummah), there are two adhans; the first is to call the people to the mosque, the second is said before the Imam begins the khutbah (sermon). Just before the prayers start, someone recites the iqama as in all prayers.

Shi'a/Shiite view

Shi'a sources state that it is Muhammad who, according to God's command, ordered the adhan as a means of calling Muslims to prayer. Shi'a Islam teaches that no one else contributed, or had any authority to contribute, towards the composition of the adhan.

Shi'a Islam teaches that God appoints a vicegerent on Earth for every generation. It teaches that although Muhammad is God's final Prophet and Messenger, God appointed Ali as the first of God's twelve vicegerents to succeed Muhammad in order to lead humankind. See also: wali

Form of the adhan

File:Mullah in bukhara.jpg

A call to prayer in Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

Each phrase is followed by a longer pause and is repeated one or more times according to fixed rules. During the first statement each phrase is limited in tonal range, less melismatic, and shorter. Upon repetition the phrase is longer, ornamented with melismas, and may possess a tonal range of over an octave. The adhan's musical form is characterized by contrast and contains twelve melodic passages which move from one to another tonal center of one maqam a fourth or fifth apart. The tempo is mostly slow; it may be faster and with fewer melismas for the sunset prayer. During festivals, it may be performed antiphonally as a duet. (Touma, p.157-158) Salafists, such as the Wahhabis of Saudi Arabia, prefer to issue the adhan in a monotone, considering any verbal elaborations to be makrouh (permissible but discouraged)—or haraam (forbidden) if the meaning of the words is altered. [2]

Text of Azaan

Fajr Prayer:

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar) الله أكبر, الله أكبر

I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah (Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah) أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله

I bear witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is Allah's Messenger (Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah) أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله

Come to the prayer, Come to the prayer (Hayya 'alas salaah, Hayya 'alas salaah) حي على الصلاة, حي على الصلاة

Come to your good, Come to your good (Hayya 'alal falaah, Hayya 'alal falaah) حي على الفلاح, حي على الفلاح

Prayer is better than sleep, Prayer is better than sleep (Assalaatu khairum min an naum, Assalaatu khairum min an naum) الصلاة خير من النوم, الصلاة خير من النوم

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar) الله أكبر, الله أكبر

There is no deity but Allah (La ilaha illallah) لا إله إلا الله

Dua After Fajr Athan(Azan)

O Allah! Lord of this complete call and prayers of ours, by the blessing of it (Allahumma rabba hadhi-hid dawa-tit-tamma wa-salatil qae-ma) اللهم رب هذه الدعوة التامة والصلاة القائمة

Give to Muhammad his eternal rights of intercession (Ati muhammadanil wasilata wal fadeela) آت محمداً الوسيلة و الفضيلة

And raise him to the promised rank you have promised him (Wab ath-hu maqamam-mahmuda-nil ladhi wa at-ta) وابعثه مقاماً محموداً الذي وعدته

Azaan (Azan) for Dhuhr(Zuhar), Asr, Maghrib and Isha Prayer:

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar) الله أكبر, الله أكبر

I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah (Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah) أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله

I bear witness that Muhammad (pbuh) is Allah's Messenger (Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah) أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله

Come to the prayer, Come to the prayer (Hayya 'alas salaah, Hayya 'alas salaah) حي على الصلاة, حي على الصلاة

Come to your good, Come to your good (Hayya 'alal falaah, Hayya 'alal falaah) حي على الفلاح, حي على الفلاح

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest (Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar) الله أكبر, الله أكبر

There is no deity but Allah (La ilaha illallah) لا إله إلا الله

Dua After Athan(Azan)

O Allah! Lord of this complete call and prayers of ours, by the blessing of it (Allahumma rabba hadhi-hid dawa-tit-tamma wa-salatil qae-ma) اللهم رب هذه الدعوة التامة والصلاة القائمة

Give to Muhammad his eternal rights of intercession (Ati muhammadanil wasilata wal fadeela) آت محمداً الوسيلة و الفضيلة

And raise him to the promised rank you have promised him (Wab ath-hu maqamam-mahmuda-nil ladhi wa at-ta) وابعثه مقاماً محموداً الذي وعدته

The Adhan in the Republic of Turkey

During the 1920s and 1930s, the government of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk imposed a Turkish-language adhan in place of the traditional Arabic. The prohibition of the Arabic adhan was repealed on June 6, 1950, after an opposition election victory. This prohibition was also in direct confrontation with a hadith that relatively said: Arabic verses not kept in Arabic do not retain their meaning, as it can change the translation easily.

Sources

Habib Hassan Touma (1996). The Music of the Arabs, trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340888.
http://www.iad.org/Pillars/athan.html

External links