Al-Adhan — Rawzat

The History of the Adhan

How the Adhan Was Instituted

The adhan was instituted in Medina after the Hijra, when the growing Muslim community needed a means to gather for prayer. The hadith tradition records the discussion:

Some companions suggested a bell (like the Christians used); others suggested a horn (like the Jews used); others suggested a fire (like the Zoroastrians). None of these were adopted.

Then ‘Abd Allah ibn Zayd al-Ansari had a dream in which he was taught the words of the adhan by an angelic figure. He reported the dream to the Prophet (SAW), who confirmed it — and recognized the same words had been revealed to him. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab also reported a similar dream.

The Prophet instructed Bilal ibn Rabah — the freed Abyssinian slave, known for his powerful and melodious voice — to be the first mu’adhdhin (one who calls the adhan). Bilal’s deep, resonant voice carried the first adhan across Medina.

Why Bilal? The choice of Bilal — a former slave, an African, a man who had been tortured by his former master for his Islam — was a declaration: in Islam, no race or social status determines honor. The most honored position (calling the community to prayer) was given to a man the Arabian social order had ranked lowest.

The Standard Islamic Adhan

The adhan as practiced across most of the Sunni world:

Arabic:

Allahu Akbar × 4 (or × 2 in some traditions, × 4 in the Shafi’i school)
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah × 2
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah × 2
Hayya ‘ala al-salat × 2
Hayya ‘ala al-falah × 2
(Hayya ‘ala khayr al-‘amal × 2 — omitted in Sunni adhan but present in Shi’i/Ismaili)
Allahu Akbar × 2
La ilaha illallah × 1

For Fajr (dawn prayer), Sunni tradition adds al-salatu khayrun min al-nawm (prayer is better than sleep) after step 5.

The Bohra/Ismaili Adhan

The Ismaili-Bohra adhan differs from the standard Sunni adhan in two key ways:

1. The Third Testimony: Ashhadu anna ‘Aliyyan waliyyullah

After the second testimony (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah), the Bohra adhan includes:

Ashhadu anna ‘Aliyyan waliyyullah “I bear witness that ‘Ali is the waliy (guardian/friend) of Allah”

This testimony reflects the Ismaili theology of walayah: that the designation of Imam ‘Ali at Ghadir Khumm is an essential part of the divine’s message — of the same order as the shahada — and should be proclaimed in every adhan.

See also: Shahada Testimony, Eid Al Ghadir, Imamah

2. Hayya ‘ala khayr al-‘amal is Retained

“Come to the best of deeds” — this phrase was present in the original adhan at the Prophet’s time. Classical Sunni fiqh eventually removed or ruled against it in most schools. The Shi’i and Ismaili tradition preserves it, based on hadith evidence of its original inclusion.

The significance: “Come to the prayer” (hayya ‘ala al-salat) and “Come to success” (hayya ‘ala al-falah) call the believer outward — to the act and its worldly benefit. “Come to the best of deeds” (hayya ‘ala khayr al-‘amal) calls the believer to the inner quality — the khayr (best/goodness) that the prayer produces in the soul.

The Complete Bohra Adhan

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar (× 2)
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah (× 2)
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah (× 2)
Ashhadu anna ‘Aliyyan waliyyullah (× 2) — [Ismaili addition]
Hayya ‘ala al-salat (× 2)
Hayya ‘ala al-falah (× 2)
Hayya ‘ala khayr al-‘amal (× 2) — [preserved from original adhan]
Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar
La ilaha illallah

Word-by-Word Analysis

Allahu Akbar — Allah is Greater

The word Akbar (greater) is a comparative: Allah is greater than whatever you are currently doing, whatever preoccupies your mind. It is not merely “Allah is great” (which would be Kabir) but “Allah is greater” — the adhan interrupts whatever you were doing and places it in perspective: this is less important than prayer.

Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah — I Bear Witness

The adhan begins with the shahada — the core testimony of Islamic faith. The mu’adhdhin is not commanding (“You must pray!”) but testifying — expressing their own personal conviction as a public act. The call to prayer is a call to witness, not merely to comply.

Hayya ‘ala al-salat — Come to Prayer

Hayya — an Arabic call meaning “Come, hasten!” Like a person calling another to something urgent and good. The mu’adhdhin faces different directions as they say this, symbolically calling in all directions — the prayer draws people from wherever they are.

Hayya ‘ala al-falah — Come to Success

Falah — success, flourishing, prosperity. The adhan invites to prayer as an invitation to success — the deepest kind of success, not worldly achievement but spiritual flourishing. The Muslim who prays is, in the Quran’s terms, the one who “has succeeded” (qad aflaha — 23:1).

La ilaha illallah — The Final Seal

The adhan ends as it began — with the fundamental declaration of tawhid. The entire structure of the adhan is bracketed by the attestation of the divine’s unity: the prayer is an act of tawhid.

Responding to the Adhan

The Sunnah is to repeat the adhan’s phrases after the mu’adhdhin (with modifications for Hayya ‘ala al-salat and Hayya ‘ala al-falah, for which one says la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah — “there is no power and no strength except with Allah”).

After the adhan is complete, the Du’a’ al-Adhan is recited:

“Allahumma rabba hadhihi al-da’wat al-tamma wa al-salat al-qa’ima, ati Muhammadan al-wasila wa al-fadila wa al-darajata al-rafi’a, wa ab’athhu maqaman mahmudан alladhi wa’adtahu.”

Translation: “O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and established prayer, grant Muhammad the wasila and the virtue, and the exalted rank, and raise him to the praiseworthy station that You have promised him.”

The Adhan’s Spiritual Significance

The adhan is heard five times a day, every day. It is not background noise — it is a rhythmic structure of meaning that punctuates waking life:

The adhan at birth: The tradition of reciting the adhan in a newborn’s right ear is a beautiful and significant act — the first sound a Muslim child hears in the world is Allahu Akbar and the invitation to prayer. The soul enters the world with the testimony of tawhid already ringing in its ear.

The adhan at death: As the soul approaches leaving the body, the community may recite the adhan. The last earthly sound echoes the first: the circle of life is bracketed by the same testimony.

The inner adhan: The Ismaili ta’wil: the adhan’s call “Hayya ‘ala al-salat” resonates not only in the physical world but in the soul’s interior. The da’wa’s call to knowledge and walayah is the spiritual adhan — inviting the soul to the inner prayer, the prayer of recognition (ma’rifa) that is the true salat.

Al-Adhan — The Islamic Call to Prayer