Chapter Three: The Call to Prayer
باب الاذان
بابُ الاذان — The Chapter on the Adhān
This chapter is about the adhān [the call to prayer].
Allah Most High said:
يٰاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا اِذَا نُوْدِيَ لِلصَّلٰوةِ مِنْ يَّوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاسْعَوْا اِلٰى ذِكْرِ اللّٰهِ وَذَرُوا الْبَيْعَ ؕ ذٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُوْنَ
(al-Jumuʿa 62:9 — printed "Āyat 9, Sūrat al-Jumuʿa")
Translation: Allah Most High said: O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer on the day of Jumuʿa (when the adhān is given), then set off towards the remembrance of Allah (i.e., the khuṭba [sermon] and the prayer) and leave off (buying and) selling. That is better for you, if you have knowledge (then you will know it).
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ كَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَدْ هَمَّ بِالْبُوْقِ وَاَمَرَ بِالنَّاقُوْسِ فَنُحِتَ فَاُرِيَ عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ بْنُ زَيْدٍ فِي الْمَنَامِ قَالَ رَاَيْتُ رَجُلًا عَلَيْهِ ثَوْبَانِ اَخْضَرَانِ يَحْمِلُ نَاقُوْسًا فَقُلْتُ لَهٗ يَا عَبْدَ اللّٰهِ ! اَتَبِيْعُ النَّاقُوْسَ ؟ قَالَ وَمَا تَصْنَعُ بِهٖ ؟ فَقُلْتُ "اُنَادِيْ بِهٖ اِلَى الصَّلٰوةِ" قَالَ اَفَلَا اَدُلُّكَ عَلٰى خَيْرٍ مِّنْ ذٰلِكَ ؟ قُلْتُ وَمَا هُوَ ؟ قَالَ تَقُوْلُ ، اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ
اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ۔ اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ۔ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ۔ حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلٰوةِ حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلٰوةِ ۔ حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ ۔ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ۔ لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ۔ فَخَرَجَ عَبْدُ اللّٰهِ بْنُ زَيْدٍ حَتّٰى اَتٰى رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَاَخْبَرَ بِمَا رَاٰى ۔ قَالَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ ! "رَاَيْتُ رَجُلًا عَلَيْهِ ثَوْبَانِ اَخْضَرَانِ يَحْمِلُ نَاقُوْسًا" فَقَصَّ عَلَيْهِ الْخَبَرَ فَقَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "اِنَّ صَاحِبَكُمْ قَدْ رَاٰى رُؤْيَا ۔ فَاخْرُجْ مَعَ بِلَالٍ اِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ وَاَلْقِهَا عَلَيْهِ وَلْيُنَادِ بِلَالٌ ، فَاِنَّهٗ اَنْدٰى صَوْتًا مِّنْكَ" قَالَ فَخَرَجْتُ مَعَ بِلَالٍ اِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَجَعَلْتُ اُلْقِيْهَا عَلَيْهِ وَهُوَ يُنَادِيْ بِهَا ۔ قَالَ فَسَمِعَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ بِالصَّوْتِ فَخَرَجَ فَقَالَ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ لَقَدْ رَاَيْتُ مِثْلَ الَّذِيْ رَاٰى ۔
(Reported by Ibn Mājah, Abū Dāwūd and Aḥmad; al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Khuzayma declared it ṣaḥīḥ [sound], as did al-Bukhārī according to what al-Tirmidhī relates from him in al-ʿIlal.)
Vocabulary: qad — certainly, surely; hamma — he intended; būq — horn, trumpet; nāqūs — a large piece of wood or iron which is sounded by striking it with a small piece, a gong; naḥata yanḥitu naḥtan — to shave down, to carve; thawb — garment; thawbān — two garments; akhḍar — green; bāʿa yabīʿu bayʿan — to sell; a-tabīʿu — will you sell?; mā taṣnaʿu bihi — then what will you do with it?; unādī — I shall call out, I shall summon, I shall give the adhān; adulluka — shall I tell you, shall I guide you; ruʾyā — dream; fa-alqihā — so teach it to him.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had intended (for announcing the prayer) a horn, and had given the order for a nāqūs [wooden gong] (to be prepared), and it had been carved. Then ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd was shown in a dream (by Allah Most High). He said: I saw a man in a dream wearing two green garments and carrying a nāqūs. I said to him, "O servant of God, will you sell this nāqūs?" He said, "What will you do with it?" I said, "With it I will give notice (for people to attend) the prayer." He said, "Shall I not tell you a better way than this?" I said, "What is it?" He said, "(Say it like this:) Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar; ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh, ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh; ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu-llāh, ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu-llāh; ḥayya ʿala-ṣ-ṣalāh, ḥayya ʿala-ṣ-ṣalāh; ḥayya ʿala-l-falāḥ, ḥayya ʿala-l-falāḥ; Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar; lā ilāha illa-llāh." (The narrator said that) ʿAbd Allāh
ibn Zayd went out until he came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and informed him of what he had seen. He said: "O Messenger of Allah! I saw a man (in a dream) wearing two green garments and carrying a nāqūs." Then he related the whole account to him. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said (to the Companions): "Your friend has seen a dream." (Then the Prophet ﷺ said to Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd:) "Go with Bilāl to the mosque and teach him these (words), and he (Bilāl) should call them out, for he has a louder voice than you." (ʿAbd Allāh) said: I went with Bilāl to the mosque. Then I kept teaching him those (words) and he kept calling them out in a loud voice. (Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh) said that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this voice and came out and said: "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I too saw just the same as he saw."
(This hadith was reported by Ibn Mājah, Abū Dāwūd and Imām Aḥmad; al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Khuzayma and al-Bukhārī declared it ṣaḥīḥ — [al-Bukhārī's verdict] as al-Tirmidhī has transmitted from him in al-ʿIlal.)
عَنِ الْاَسْوَدِ بْنِ يَزِيْدَ اَنَّ بِلَالًا يُثَنِّي الْاَذَانَ وَيُثَنِّي الْاِقَامَةَ وَكَانَ يَبْدَاُ بِالتَّكْبِيْرِ وَيَخْتِمُ بِالتَّكْبِيْرِ
[reading uncertain]
(Reported by ʿAbd al-Razzāq, al-Ṭaḥāwī and al-Dāraquṭnī, and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Aswad ibn Yazīd (may Allah be pleased with him) that Ḥaḍrat Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say (the words of) the adhān and the iqāma [the call at the start of congregational prayer] twice each, and used to begin with "Allāhu akbar" and end with "Allāhu akbar." (Reported by ʿAbd al-Razzāq, al-Ṭaḥāwī and al-Dāraquṭnī, and its chain of transmission is ṣaḥīḥ.) [reading uncertain]
عَنْ اَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ "مِنَ السُّنَّةِ اِذَا قَالَ الْمُؤَذِّنُ فِيْ اَذَانِ الْفَجْرِ حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلٰوةِ حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ قَالَ اَلصَّلٰوةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ"
(Reported by Ibn Khuzayma, al-Dāraquṭnī and al-Bayhaqī; he said its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)
Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: It is sunna that in the adhān of the morning [Fajr], when the muʾadhdhin [caller to prayer] says "ḥayya ʿala-ṣ-ṣalāh, ḥayya ʿala-l-falāḥ," (after that) he should say "aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina-n-nawm" (prayer is better than sleep). (Reported by Ibn Khuzayma, al-Dāraquṭnī and al-Bayhaqī, and he said that its chain is "ṣaḥīḥ.")
عَنْ اَبِيْ سَعِيْدِ الْخُدْرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ اَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ "اِذَا سَمِعْتُمُ النِّدَاءَ فَقُوْلُوْا مِثْلَ مَا يَقُوْلُ الْمُؤَذِّنُ"
(Reported by the Jamāʿa [the main compilers].)
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When you hear the adhān, then say just as the muʾadhdhin keeps saying. (Reported by a group [of compilers].)
عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اِذَا قَالَ الْمُؤَذِّنُ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ فَقَالَ اَحَدُكُمْ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ۔ فَاِذَا قَالَ اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ۔ قَالَ اَشْهَدُ اَنْ لَّا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ ۔ فَاِذَا قَالَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ قَالَ اَشْهَدُ اَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ۔ ثُمَّ قَالَ حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلٰوةِ قَالَ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ ۔ ثُمَّ قَالَ حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ قَالَ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ ۔ ثُمَّ قَالَ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ قَالَ اَللّٰهُ اَكْبَرُ ۔ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ قَالَ لَا اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ مِنْ قَلْبِهٖ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ۔
(Reported by Muslim and Abū Dāwūd.)
Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When the muʾadhdhin said "Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar" and one of you (too) said "Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar"; then he [the muʾadhdhin] said "ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh" and he too said "ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh"; then he said "ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu-llāh" and he too said "ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu-llāh"; then he said "ḥayya ʿala-ṣ-ṣalāh" and he said "lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh" [there is no power and no strength except through Allah]; then he said "ḥayya ʿala-l-falāḥ" and he said "lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh"; then he said "Allāhu akbar" and he (too) said "Allāhu akbar"; then he said "lā ilāha illa-llāh" and he too said "lā ilāha illa-llāh" from his heart — then he will enter Paradise. (Reported by Muslim and Abū Dāwūd.)
عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ اَنَّ رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ "مَنْ قَالَ حِيْنَ يَسْمَعُ النِّدَاءَ اَللّٰهُمَّ رَبَّ هٰذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ التَّامَّةِ وَالصَّلٰوةِ الْقَائِمَةِ اٰتِ مُحَمَّدَا الْوَسِيْلَةَ وَالْفَضِيْلَةَ وَابْعَثْهُ مَقَامًا مَّحْمُوْدَا الَّذِيْ وَعَدْتَّهٗ" ۔ حَلَّتْ لَهٗ شَفَاعَتِيْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۔
(Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Vocabulary: ḥīna — time, during; samiʿa yasmaʿu samʿan wa-samāʿatan — to hear; nidāʾ — call, voice; baʿatha yabʿathu baʿthan — to send, to make manifest, to make; ibʿath — raise up; āti — give; qāma yaqūmu qiyāman — "qāʾim" comes in Arabic for many meanings, so in the translation we have kept the very word "qāʾim": qāma — he stood, was set up, stayed; qāma al-māʾu — the water stood still [froze]; qāma al-amru — the matter became balanced, came right; qāmat al-sūqu — the market slumped [reading uncertain]; qāma al-ḥaqqu — the truth was established, became manifest; qāma ʿalā
al-amri — to persevere in a matter, to stand firm at it; qāma bi-l-amri — to take charge of a matter, to manage it; qāma ʿalā gharīmihi — to demand [payment] from one's debtor; qāma fīhi — to begin it; qāma yafʿalu — he began to do; and so on. Besides these there are many other meanings too, but here we have stated only those meanings each of which has some connection or other with prayer. ḥallat — became lawful, became binding, became permissible.
Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Whoever, at the time of hearing the adhān (i.e., not along with it but immediately afterwards), said "Allāhumma rabba hādhihi-d-daʿwati-t-tāmmati … waʿadtahu," then on the Day of Resurrection my shafāʿa (intercession, recommendation) will become lawful for him. (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Translation of the supplication: O Allah, Lord of this complete call and of the qāʾim (about to be established) prayer! Grant Muḥammad ﷺ the wasīla and the faḍīla [excellence], and raise him to the Maqām Maḥmūd [the Praised Station] which You have promised him.
Friends! In this hadith, in connection with the supplication after the adhān, the word "wasīla" has come. Some explanation regarding it is necessary. The word "wasīla" has come in two places in the Qurʾān Majīd:
يٰاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ وَابْتَغُوْا اِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيْلَةَ
(al-Māʾida 5:35 — printed "Āyat 35, al-Māʾida")
Mawlānā Shāh Rafīʿ al-Dīn Ṣāḥib (may Allah have mercy on him) translated this verse: "O people who have believed, fear Allah and seek towards Him a wasīla." Mawlānā Shāh ʿAbd al-Qādir Ṣāḥib (may Allah have mercy on him) translated: "O believers! Keep fearing Allah and seek a wasīla [means] up to Him," and in "Mūḍiḥ al-Qurʾān" he explained it further thus: "That is, whatever good you do in obedience to the Messenger is accepted, and whatever you do by your own reasoning without it is not accepted." Some scholars have given the meaning thus: "O believers! Fear Allah Most High and seek the nearness of Allah Most High."
So these scholars took the meaning of "wasīla" to be "qurb" [nearness]. This faqīr has given its meaning thus: "O believers! Adopt taqwā — that is, abstinence and fear of God — and seek the means of meeting Him." That is, erase all the impressions of falsehood that are on the tablet of the heart, and avoid things ḥarām and makrūh. After driving the idols of the lower self's desires out of the temple of the heart, success and salvation are certain. Allah Most High Himself has given this assurance — provided that utmost effort and unceasing striving are made in His path, and this striving should be by the methods taught by Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. Otherwise, satanic roads and byways arise in it from which escape is not easy. Who is to know with certainty which path is right?
كُلُّ حِزْبٍۢ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُوْنَ
[reading uncertain]
— every party is proud of its own path and way. This self-conceit, this egoism, brings proud man down to "asfal al-sāfilīn" [the lowest of the low]. That is why a "hādī" [guide] is needed here. The pīr of the ṭarīqa [spiritual master of the Sufi path] is a traveller (sālik) on the path of guidance. He sets his murīd [disciple] safely on the wholly right path. Denial of the pīr is today spreading like a contagious disease among some young people — whereas experience shows that for acquiring every science and art one needs an expert in that art.
Unless one kneels respectfully before him, mastery of the art is impossible. Is it wisdom to try to learn the craft of the khayyāṭ (i.e., the tailor) from a carpenter?
The same is the state of those who, having been caught in the snare of certain shopkeeper-type pīrs, through their own cleverness end up denying all the mashāʾikh [spiritual masters]. In any case, faith is not completed without love of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, and true love for the Prophet ﷺ depends upon devotion to the noble awliyāʾ [friends of Allah]. The Prophet ﷺ said:
اَلْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ اَحَبَّ وَاَنْتَ مَعَ مَنْ اَحْبَبْتَ
(A person (in the Hereafter) will be with the one whom he loved, and you are with the one whom you loved.) God Most High Himself says:
اُولٰٓئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ اَنْعَمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنَ النَّبِيّٖنَ وَالصِّدِّيْقِيْنَ وَالشُّهَدَآءِ وَالصّٰلِحِيْنَ ۚ وَحَسُنَ اُولٰٓئِكَ رَفِيْقًا
(al-Nisāʾ 4:69 — printed "Āyat 69, Sūrat al-Nisāʾ") [reading uncertain]
(These are the people who are with those upon whom Allah Most High has bestowed His favour — these are the prophets, the ṣiddīqīn [the truthful], the martyrs and the righteous. How excellent these are as companions and comrades!)
The word "wasīla" has come in the second place in Sūrat Banī Isrāʾīl, verse 57:
اُولٰٓئِكَ الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُوْنَ يَبْتَغُوْنَ اِلٰى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيْلَةَ …
(Banī Isrāʾīl [al-Isrāʾ] 17:57)
Mawlānā Shāh Rafīʿ al-Dīn (may Allah have mercy on him) translated this too: "Those whom these people call upon — they seek towards their Lord a wasīla." And Mawlānā Shāh ʿAbd al-Qādir (may Allah have mercy on him) translated: "Those whom they call upon, they themselves seek a wasīla towards their Lord." Some scholars have rendered it thus: "Those whom the mushrikūn [polytheists] are calling upon are themselves seeking a means towards their own Lord." This faqīr (i.e., Ḥaḍrat Baḥr al-ʿUlūm) has rendered it thus: "Those people who call upon others than God and make them a wasīla towards God." Here all of them have taken the meaning of "wasīla" to be wasīla itself. The sense of "dharīʿa" [means] too is just "wasīla."
Here, in the supplication of the hadith, "wasīla" is a proper noun, that is, the name of a particular station. About it the Noble Prophet ﷺ himself said, in the narration of Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with him): "When you hear the muʾadhdhin (giving the adhān), then say just as he says; then send durūd [blessings] upon me, for whoever sends one durūd upon me, Allah sends durūd upon him ten times. Then ask Allah for the 'wasīla' for me, for it is a station in Paradise which befits none but one of the servants of Allah, and I hope that I shall be that one. So whoever asked the wasīla for me, my intercession became lawful for him."
Likewise "Maqām Maḥmūd" too is the name of a rank. When all the prophets (peace be upon them) will be crying out "nafsī, nafsī" [myself, myself], at that time Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, will step forward for intercession and will say "anā lahā" (that is, "I am the one appointed for this task"). And he will fall into prostration before the glorious Throne. The command to raise his head will come from the court of the Lord of Might, and it will be said: "يَا مُحَمَّدُ ! اِرْفَعْ رَاْسَكَ وَسَلْ تُعْطَهْ" (O Muḥammad! Raise your head and ask; whatever you ask will be given), "اِشْفَعْ تُشَفَّعْ" (and yes, intercede; your intercession will be heard).
وَعَنِ ابْنِ مَسْعُوْدٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَا يَمْنَعَنَّ اَحَدَكُمْ اَذَانُ بِلَالٍ مِّنْ سُحُوْرِهٖ فَاِنَّهٗ يُؤَذِّنُ اَوْ يُنَادِيْ بِلَيْلٍ ، لِيَرْجِعَ قَائِمَكُمْ وَلِيُنَبِّهَ نَائِمَكُمْ ۔
(Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
Vocabulary: lā yamnaʿanna — let him not prevent, let him not stop; manaʿa yamnaʿu manʿan — to stop, prevent; suḥūr — plural of saḥar, the meal eaten for the fast in the last part of the night, a little before dawn; siḥr — magic; nāʾimukum — your sleeper; qāʾimakum — the one of you who stands, i.e., who is praying; nabbaha, yunabbihu tanbīhan wa-nabhan — to wake from sleep, to awaken.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him), through the Noble Prophet ﷺ, that he said: "Let not Bilāl's adhān stop any one of you from his saḥarī [pre-dawn meal], for he gives the adhān — calls out — while it is still night, so that the one standing in prayer may turn back (i.e., postpone his prayer and take his saḥarī) and the sleeper may wake up." (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
Friends! Ḥaḍrat Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) usually used to get up somewhat early for the Fajr prayer and wake people by calling "ṣalāh, ṣalāh!" — or else, on some occasions, he would give the adhān somewhat early (out of fear that it might already, by mistake, have become dawn), as is mentioned in the coming hadith. In any case, the Prophet ﷺ said that the time of saḥar lasts until ṣubḥ ṣādiq [true dawn]. Until that time a person who wishes to fast may eat saḥarī. If any muʾadhdhin gives the adhān at this time, the one eating saḥarī should not stop eating in the belief that the Fajr adhān has been given. Giving the adhān early or late has no effect on the fixed time of saḥar.
عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ اَنَّ بِلَالًا اَذَّنَ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "مَا حَمَلَكَ عَلٰى ذٰلِكَ ؟" فَقَالَ "اِسْتَيْقَظْتُ وَاَنَا وَسْنَانُ فَظَنَنْتُ اَنَّ الْفَجْرَ طَلَعَ فَاَمَرَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اَنْ يُّنَادِيَ بِالْمَدِيْنَةِ ثَلَاثًا "اَنَّ الْعَبْدَ قَدْ نَامَ" ۔ ثُمَّ اَقْعَدَ اِلٰى جَنْبِهٖ حَتّٰى طَلَعَ الْفَجْرُ ۔
(Reported by al-Bayhaqī, and its chain is ḥasan.)
Vocabulary: mā ḥamalaka — what put you in doubt [as glossed by the author]; ḥamal — supposition, suspicion, doubt; ḥamala yaḥmilu ḥamlan wa-ḥumlānan — to suppose, to carry a load; istayqaẓtu — I awoke, I woke up; wasan — drowsiness; ẓanantu — I supposed, I thought that; janb — side, flank.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him) that Ḥaḍrat Bilāl (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the adhān before daybreak. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Why did you do so?" He submitted: "I woke up while I was drowsy, and
I thought that dawn had broken." Then the Noble Prophet ﷺ ordered him to call out three times in Madīna: "The servant had fallen asleep." Then (the Prophet ﷺ) seated him (Bilāl) by his side until dawn broke. (Reported by al-Bayhaqī, and its chain is ḥasan — that is, this hadith is of the rank of ṣaḥīḥ.)
Friends! Ḥaḍrat Imām-e-Aʿẓam Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy on him) began the time of the Fajr prayer from ṣubḥ ṣādiq [true dawn]. Its proof is also found in this hadith.
عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ الْحُوَيْرِثِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ اَتَى رَجُلَانِ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُرِيْدَانِ السَّفَرَ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اِذَا اَنْتُمَا خَرَجْتُمَا فَاَذِّنَا ثُمَّ اَقِيْمَا ثُمَّ لِيَؤُمَّكُمَا اَكْبَرُكُمَا ۔
(Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
Vocabulary: atā — came; rajulān — two men (dual form); yurīdān — the two wanted, intended; idhā — when, at the time that; antumā — you two; antum — you all, men; adhdhinā — you two give the adhān; aqīmā — you two say the iqāma; akbarukumā — the elder of you two.
Translation: It is narrated from Ḥaḍrat Mālik ibn al-Ḥuwayrith (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that two men came to the Prophet ﷺ who wished to travel. The Prophet ﷺ said: "When you two set out on the journey, give the adhān, then say the iqāma; then whichever of you two is the elder should lead the prayer as imām." (Reported by the two Shaykhs, al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
عَنِ الْاَسْوَدِ وَعَلْقَمَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَا اَتَيْنَا عَبْدَ اللّٰهِ فِيْ دَارِهٖ فَقَالَ اَصَلّٰى هٰٓؤُلَآءِ خَلْفَكُمْ ؟ قُلْنَا لَا ۔ قَالَ "قُوْمُوْا فَصَلُّوْا" وَلَمْ يَاْمُرْ بِاَذَانٍ وَّلَا اِقَامَةٍ ۔
(Reported by Ibn Abī Shayba, and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)
Vocabulary: khalf — behind, back, rear; khalaf — a good son; khulf — breaking a promise; qūmū — stand up; lam yaʾmur — he did not command (when "lam" comes before the muḍāriʿ [present-future verb], it makes its last letter sākin [vowelless], and the meaning becomes an emphatic negation of the past).
Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Aswad and Ḥaḍrat ʿAlqama (may Allah be pleased with them both); they said: We came to ʿAbd Allāh [ibn Masʿūd] at his house. He said: "Have these people prayed behind you?" We said, "No." He said, "Get up and pray." He gave no order for either adhān or iqāma.
(Reported by Ibn Abī Shayba, and its chain is ḥasan.) [reading uncertain]