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
Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter)
The opening chapter of the Quran, recited in every single rak'ah.
Tawaf (Circumambulation of the Kaaba)
The ritual of walking seven times around the Kaaba counterclockwise as part of Hajj and Umrah.
Eid al-Fitr (Festival of Breaking the Fast)
The Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan's fasting.
Tawhid (God's Oneness)
Islamic monotheism — belief in Allah's absolute oneness, the core of prayer.
Qiyas (Analogical Reasoning)
Legal analogy used to derive Islamic rules for new situations based on established rules.
Salawat (Blessings Upon the Prophet)
Blessings and peace upon the Prophet Muhammad and his family.