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
Isha (Night Prayer)
The fifth and final daily prayer, performed when darkness has fallen.
Salat al-Tasbih (The Prayer of Glorification)
A special voluntary prayer with 300 tasbih recitations, recommended for forgiveness of sins.
Ruku (Bowing)
Bowing from the waist during prayer as a sign of humility.
Husayniyyah (Shia Assembly Hall)
A Shia Muslim assembly hall, named after Imam Husayn.
Tahajjud (Night Prayer)
The voluntary night prayer performed in the last third of the night.
Maghrib (Sunset Prayer)
The fourth daily prayer, performed just after sunset.