What is the adhān and how should I respond to it?
The call to prayer — its words, its history (the dream of ʿAbdullāh ibn Zayd), the duʿāʾ after it, and what the Prophet ﷺ taught about responding.
10 passages from 6 books in the library
The adhān is the spoken call to prayer, delivered by the muezzin before each prayer. Al-Ghazali, in The Book of Prayer, advises that one hoping for others to join should "first make the Adhan" and then pray, and notes scholars held that someone praying who misses responding may respond after finishing, even once the caller has stopped. In The Mysteries of Supplication he relates the Prophet ﷺ taught that supplication "between the call to prayer and the establishment" of prayer is answered. Ibn Battuta describes muezzins calling at the Meccan Haram.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 6 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Battuta — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Ibn Sirin replied, You are a muezzin who gives the call to prayer in Ramadan before dawn."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"muezzin performs the adhan separately without waiting for the other to finish, confusing"
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"if a mosque has a single muezzin who calls the adhan before dawn, he should be prevented"
14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta →
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"Their muezzin proclaims in the call to prayer after the two testimonies, I bear witness"
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"Zamzam dome. Once the call to prayer was completed, the preacher would begin his sermon, emphasizing"
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"custom. At the time of Suhur, the Zamzami muezzin takes charge in the eastern corner of the Haram,"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"If you hope for others to join you, first make the Adhan, the call to prayer, and then"
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"Scholars have noted that if one is in prayer and misses responding to the call to prayer, he can respond after finishing his prayer, even if the caller has stopped."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Supplication between the call to prayer and the establishment"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Then combine Maghrib and Isha prayers at al-Muzdalifah, shortening the latter, with one adhan and"
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