Date Archive
The call to the prayer
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April 18, 2024
- Posted by: admin
A historical background:
Prayer is the backbone and central pillar of a Muslim’s faith. Prayer was prescribed obligatory for Muslims before the prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah. However, Muslims didn’t have the chance to do the congregational prayers while they were in Makkah. Nevertheless, as soon as Muslims settled down in Madinah, they could practice the congregational prayers freely. The first thing prophet Mohammad did in Madinah was to build a mosque. In the mosque, prophet Mohammad met his companions and taught them Islam and the Holy Quran. Also, Muslims performed their congregational prayers every day. Each prayer has its set time.
How to call Muslims to prayers:
In Madinah, Muslims had their routine and daily work. They didn’t spend their days hanging over inside the mosque. So, when it was time for prayer, prophet Mohammad would send someone to call people from their homes. This was not an easy task. They needed an alternative to this. Many companions made and offered different suggestions on how to summon people to the mosque. Some companions suggested blowing a horn, like the jews do when they call for prayers. Other companions suggested ringing a bell; like the Christians do when they call to their prayers. Prophet Mohammad didn’t like any of these suggestions.
A lesson to learn :
Prophet Mohammad could easily have dictated the wording of Adhan to his companions. In that case, the companions would have accepted whatever prophet Mohammad did and said happily. However, prophet Mohammad was primarily a teacher, as he once said about himself: “I was sent but as a teacher.” He wanted to teach his companions a great lesson; to make up their minds and to care for the affairs of their religion and faith. In short, prophet Mohammad taught his followers, and consequently all Muslims to come later after him, how to be positive and take the initiative.
How did the present Adhan come into being ?
One day a companion of the prophet came to him and said that he had dreamt of the wording of the Adhan, a matter which was asserted by another companion who had the same dream. Having heard that dream, prophet Mohammad approved of this, recommended the Adhan and asked Bilal to climb up onto a high place and call the Adhan. Hearing Bilal’s voice, the companions who were in Madinah at that time were happy, understood the message and directly headed for the mosque to attend the prayer with prophet Mohammad.
The exact words of the Adhan:
The Adhan in its present and original form has solved the problem of how Muslims could avoid imitating the Jews and the Christians. The call to prayer is a genuine Islamic idea which none before Muslims had innovated. The Adhan starts with glorifying Allah. The Muadhin calls “Allah Akbar” four times. The Takbeer means that Allah is greater than everything else. The Muadhin asserts that there is no god but Allah.
Asserting monotheism in al-Adhan:
The Modadhin repeats the first part of the testimony twice. Then, the Muadhin testifies that Mohammad is the prophet of Allah twice. This renews a Muslim’s faith whenever they say or hear the Adhan. Then, the Muadhin invites Muslims to come to the mosque to pray when he says: “Come to salah” twice. Then, the Muadhin asserts that salah is success when he says: “Come to success” also twice. Finally, the Muadhin repeats the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Mohammad is the messenger of Allah. The Muadhin concludes the Adhan with repeating the testimony twice to declare the faith of Muslims all the time and everywhere.
The Adhan and the Islamic civilization :
The Adhan is a simple invitation to Muslims to come to the mosque, the house of Allah. So the caller, Muadhin should enjoy a sweet voice. Also, the performance of the Muadhin should be melodiously done. There is a kind of musical performance in the Adhan. Before the invention of loudspeakers, the Muadhin needed to make all the residents of the mosque’s district hear him. So, the Muadhin climbed up onto a high place. Here emerged the idea of a mosque minaret. So, most mosques have minarets. We can easily say that the Adhan has affected the architecture and construction of mosques all over the Islamic world.