Sunan Abi Dawud

He (the prophet) taught me IQAMAH (to pronounce each phrase) twice: Allah is most great. Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah. I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah: come to prayer, come to prayer: come to salvation, come to salvation: Allah is most great. Allah is great; there is no god but Allah. Abu Dawud said: The narrator ‘Abd al-Razzaq said; You pronounce IQAMAH for announcing the prayer; you must say twice: the time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come. (The Prophet said to Abu Mahdhurah): did you listen (to me)? Abu Mahdhurah would not have the hair of his forehead cut, nor would he separate them (from him) because the Prophet (ﷺ) wiped over them.

come to prayer, come to prayer, come to salvation; Allah is most great, Allah is most great: there is no god but Allah. IQAMAH runs: Allah is most great, Allah is most great. Allah is most great, Allah is most great: I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer; come to prayer: come to salvation. Come to salvation; the time for prayer has come the time for prayer has come: Allah is most great, Allah is most great: there is no god but Allah. This is recorded in his collection (i.e., in the collection of the narrator Hammam b. Yahya) according to the tradition reported by Abu Mahdhurah (i.e., IQAMAH contains seventeen phrases)

The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) himself taught me the call to prayer (adhan). He asked me to pronounce: Allah is most great. Allah is most great. Allah is most great. Allah is most great: I testify that there is no god but Allah. I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is Messenger of Allah. Then repeat and raise your voice; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah ; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer, come to prayer; come to salvation, come to salvation; Allah is most great. Allah is most great; there is no god but Allah.

The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) taught me the call to prayer (adhan) verbatim; Allah is most great, Allah is most great, Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; I testify that there is no god but Allah. I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer, come to prayer; come to salvation, come to salvation. He used to pronounce “prayer is better than sleep” in the dawn prayer.

Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah. He then narrated adhan like the one contained in the tradition transmitted by Ibn Juraij from ‘Abd al-aziz b. ‘abd al-Malik to the same effect. The version Malik b. Dinar has. I asked the son of Abu Mahdhurah, saying: Narrate to me the adhan of your father narrated from the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). He said: Allah is most great, Allah is most great, that is all. Similar is the version narrated by Ja’far b. Sulaiman from the son of Abd Muhdhurah from his uncle on the authority of his grandfather, excepting that he said; Then repeat and raise your voice. Allah is most great. Allah is most great.

Prayer passed through three stages. And out people narrated to us that Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said; it is to my liking that the prayer of Muslims or believers should be united (i.e., in congregation), so much so that I intended to send people to the houses to announce the time of prayer; and I also resolved that I should order people to stand at (the tops of) the forts and announce the time of the prayer for Muslims; and they struck the bell or were about to strike the bell (to announce the time for prayer). Then came a person from among the Ansar who said: Messenger of Allah, when I returned from you, as I saw your anxiety. I saw (in sleep) a person with two green clothes on him; he stood on the mosque and called (people) to prayer. He then sat down for a short while and stood up and pronounced in a like manner, except that he added: “The time for prayer has come”. If the people did not call me (a liar), and according to the version of Ibn al-Muthanna, if you did not call me (a liar). I would say that I was awake; I was awake; I was not asleep. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said: According to the version of Ibn al-Muthanna, Allah has shown you a good (dream). But the version of ‘Amr does not have the words: Allah has shown you a good (dream). Then ask Bilal to pronounce the ADHAN (to call to the prayer). ‘Umar (in the meantime) said: I also had a dream like the one he had. But as he informed earlier. I was ashamed (to inform). Our people have narrated to us: when a person came (to the mosque during the prayer in congregation), he would ask (about the RAKAHS of prayer), and he would be informed about the number of RAKAHS already performed. They would stand (in prayer) along with the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him): some in standing position; others bowing; some sitting and some praying along with the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). Ibn al-Muthanna reported from ‘Amr from Hussain b. Abi Laila, saying ; Until Mu’adh came. Shu’bah said ; I heard it from Hussain who said : I shall follow the position (in the prayer in which I find him (the prophet)). . . you should do in a similar way. Abu Dawud said: I then turned to the tradition reported by ‘Amr b. Marzuq he said; then Ma’adh came and they (the people) hinted at him. Shu’bah said; I heard it from hussain who said: Mu’adh then said; I shall follow the position (in the prayer when I join it) in which I find him (the prophet). He then said: Mu’adh has prayer when I join it in which I find him (the prophet). He then said: MU’adh has introduced for you a SUNNAH (a model behaviour), so you should do in a like manner. He said; our people have narrated to us; when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Madina, he commanded them (the people) to keep fast for three days. Thereafter the Quranic verses with regard to the fasts during Ramadan were revealed. But they were people who were not accustomed to keep fast ; hence the keeping of the fasts was hard for them; so those who could not keep fast would feed an indigent; then the month”. The concession was granted to the patient and the traveler; all were commanded to keep fast.

Prayer passed through three stages and fasting also passed through three stages. The narrator Nasr reported the rest of the tradition completely. The narrator, Ibn al-Muthanna, narrated the story of saying prayer facing in the direction of Jerusalem. He said: The third stage is that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to Medina and prayed, i.e. facing Jerusalem, for thirteen months. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: "We have seen thee turning thy face to Heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wherever ye may be, turn your face (when ye pray) toward it" (ii.144). And Allah, the Reverend and the Majestic, turned (them) towards the Ka'bah. He (the narrator) completed his tradition. The narrator, Nasr, mentioned the name of the person who had the dream, saying: And Abdullah ibn Zayd, a man from the Ansar, came. The same version reads: And he turned his face towards the qiblah and said: Allah is most great, Allah is most great; I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; come to prayer (he pronounced it twice), come to salvation (he pronounced it twice); Allah is Most Great, Allah is most great. He then paused for a while, and then got up and pronounced in a similar way, except that after the phrase "Come to salvation" he added. "The time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Teach it to Bilal, then pronounce the adhan (call to prayer) with the same words. As regards fasting, he said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to fast for three days every month, and would fast on the tenth of Muharram. Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed the verse: ".......Fasting was prescribed for those before you, that ye may ward off (evil)......and for those who can afford it there is a ransom: the feeding of a man in need (ii.183-84). If someone wished to keep the fast, he would keep the fast; if someone wished to abandon the fast, he would feed an indigent every day; it would do for him. But this was changed. Allah, the Exalted, revealed: "The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an ..........(let him fast the same) number of other days" (ii.185). Hence the fast was prescribed for the one who was present in the month (of Ramadan) and the traveller was required to atone (for them); feeding (the indigent) was prescribed for the old man and woman who were unable to fast. (The narrator, Nasr, further reported): The companion Sirmah, came after finishing his day's work......and he narrated the rest of the tradition.

Anas reported; Bilal was commanded to pronounce Adhan in double pairs and IQAMAH in single pairs. Hammam added in his version; “except IQAMAH”.

I narrated this tradition to Ayyub who said: “Except IQAMAH”.

The words of adhan were pronounced from the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) twice in pairs (i.e. four times) each, and the words of iqamah were pronounced once in pairs (twice each), except that the phrase "The time for prayer has come" would be pronounced twice. When we heard iqamah, we would perform ablution, and go out for prayer. Shu'bah said: I did not hear AbuJa'far narrating any other tradition except this one.

This tradition has been narrated by Abu Ja’far, the mu’adhdhin of ‘Uryan mosque (at Kufah), from Abu al-Muthanna, the mu’adhdhin of masjid al-akbar (at kufah) on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar. The rest of the tradition was transmitted in a like manner.

The Prophet (ﷺ) intended to do many things for calling (the people) to prayer, but he did not do any of them. Then Abdullah ibn Zayd was taught in a dream how to pronounce the call to prayer. He came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and informed him. He said: Teach it to Bilal. He then taught him, and Bilal made a call to prayer. Abdullah said: I saw it in a dream and I wished to pronounce it, but he (the Prophet) said: You should pronounce iqamah.

My grandfather pronounced the Iqamah.

When the adhan for the dawn prayer was initially introduced, the Prophet (ﷺ) commanded me to call the adhan and I did so. Then I began to ask: Should I utter iqamah, Messenger of Allah? But he began to look at the direction of the east, (waiting) for the break of dawn, and said: No. When the dawn broke, he came down and performed ablution and he then turned to me. In the meantime his Companions joined him. Then Bilal wanted to utter the iqamah, but the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: The man of Suda' has called the adhan, and he who calls the adhan utters the iqamah.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The mu'adhdhin will receive forgiveness to the extent to which his voice reaches, and every moist and dry place will testify on his behalf; and he who attends (the congregation of) prayer will have twenty-five prayers recorded for him and will have expiation for sins committed between every two times of prayer.

when the call to prayer is made; the devil turns his back and breaks wind so as not to hear the call being made; but when the call is finished, he turns round. When the second call to prayer (iqamah) is made, he turns his back, and when the second call is finished, he turns round and suggest notions in the mind of the man (at prayer) to distract his attention, saying: remember such and such, referring to something the man did not have n mind, with the result that he does not know how much he has prayed.

The imam is responsible and the mu'adhdhin is trusted, O Allah, guide the imams and forgive the mu'adhdhins.

This tradition has also been transmitted through a different chain of narrators by Abu Hurairah who reported it in a similar manner from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

Urwah ibn az-Zubayr reported on the authority of a woman from Banu an-Najjar. She said: My house was the loftiest of all the houses around the mosque (of the Prophet at Medina). Bilal used to make a call to the morning prayer from it. He would come there before the break of dawn and wait for it. When he saw it, he would yawn and say: O Allah, I praise you and seek Your assistance for the Quraysh so that they might establish Thine religion. He then would make the call to prayer. She (the narrator) said: By Allah, I do not know whether he ever left saying these words on any night.

I came to the prophet (ﷺ) at Mecca; he was sitting in a tent made of leather. Then Bilal came out and called to prayer. I looked at his mouth following him this side and that side (i.e., right and left). Later at his Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out clad in a red suit, i.e, wearing the sheets of the Yemen, of the Qatri design. The version narrated by Musa has the word; “I saw Bilal going towards al-Abtah”. He then made a call to prayer. When he reached the words “ come to prayer, come to salvation”. He turned his neck right and left, respectively; he did not turn himself (with his whole body). He then entered (his house) and came out with a lancet. The narrator then reported the rest of the tradition.

The supplication made between the adhan and the iqamah is not rejected.

When you hear the Adhan, you should repeat the same words as the mu’adhdhin pronounces.

when you hear the mu'adhdhin repeat what he says, invoke a blessing on me, for everyone who invoke one blessing on me will receive ten blessings from Allah. Then ask Allah to give me the wasilah, which is a rank in paradise fitting for only one of Allah’s servants, and I hope that I may be the one. If anyone asks Allah that I be given the wasilah, he will be assured of my intercession.

A man said: Messenger of Allah, the mu'adhdhins excel us. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Say (the same words) as they say, and when you come to the end, make a petition and that will be granted to you.

If anyone says when he hears the MU’ADHDHIN : “And I testify that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner and that Muhammad is His servant and Apostle: I am satisfied with Allah as lord, with Muhammad as apostle and with Islam as religion”, he will be forgiven.

“And I too, and I too”.

“Allah is most great, Allah is most great”, and one of you says in response: “Allah is most great”, Allah is most great; then says: “ I testify tht there is no god but Allah”, and he says in response: “I testify that there is no god but Allah”, then say:” I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, and he makes the response: “ I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, then says: “Come to prayer”, and he makes the response: “There is no might and no power except in Allah”: then says: “ Allah is most great, Allah is most great”, and he makes the response: “Allah is most great”, then says: “There is no god but Allah”, if he says this from his heart, he enter Paradise.

Bilal began the Iqamah, and when he said: "The time for prayer has come," the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "May Allah establish it and cause it to continue."

if anyone says when he hears the call to prayer : “O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and of the prayer which is established for all time, grant Muhammad the wasilah and excellency, and raise him up in a praiseworthy position which Thou hast promised, he will be assured of my intercession.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) taught me to say when the adhan for the sunset prayer was called; "O Allah, this is the time when Thy night comes on, Thy day retires, and the voices of Thy summoners are heard, so forgive me."

Messenger of Allah, appoint me the leader of the tribe in prayer. He said: You are their leader, but you should follow on who is the weakest of them: and appoint a mu'adhdhin who does not charge for the calling of adhan.

Bilal made a call to prayer before the break of dawn; the Prophet (ﷺ), therefore, commanded him to return and make a call: Lo! the servant of Allah (i.e. I) had slept (hence this mistake). The version of Musa has the addition: He returned and made a call: Lo! the servant of Allah had slept. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been narrated by al-Darawardi from 'Ubaid Allah on the authority of Ibn 'Umar saying: There was a mu'adhdhin of 'Umar, named Mas'ud. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. This version is more correct than that one.

A mu'adhdhin of ‘Umar, named Masruh, called the Adhan for the morning prayer before the break of dawn; ‘Umar commanded him (to repeat). The narrator reported the tradition in a similar way. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted by al-Darawardi from ‘Ubaid Allah on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, saying: there was a mu'adhdhin of ‘Umar, named Mas’ud. He then narrated the rest of the tradition. This version is more correct than one.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Bilal: Do not call adhan until the dawn appears clearly to you in this way, stretching his hand in latitude. Abu Dawud said: Shaddad did not see Bilal.

Ibn Umm Maktum was the mu'adhdhin of the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) and he was blind.

we were sitting with Abu Hurairah in the mosque. A man went out of the mosque after the ADHAN for the afternoon prayer had been called. Abu Hurairah said: As regards this (man), he disobeyed Abu al-Qasim, the prophet (ﷺ).

Bilal would call the Adhan, then he used come to wait. When he would see that the prophet (ﷺ) had come out (of his house), he would pronounce the iqama.

Mujahid reported: I was in the company of Ibn Umar. A person invited the people for the noon or afternoon prayer (after the adhan had been called). He said: Go out with us (from this mosque) because this is an innovation (in religion).

the prophet (ﷺ) said; When the Iqamah for prayer is pronounced, do not stand until you see me. Abu Dawud said: this has been narrated by Ayyub and Hajjaj al-Sawwaf from Yahya and Hisham al-Duatawa’i in a similar way, saying : Yahya wrote to me (in this way). And this has been narrated by Mu’awiyah b. Sallam and ‘Ali b. al-Mubarak from Yahya: “Until you see me and show tranquility”.

“Until you see me that I have come out”. Abu dawud said: No one except Ma’mar has narrated the words “that I have come out”. And the version transmitted by Ibn ‘Uyainah from Ma’mar does not mention the words “that I have come out”.

when the Iqamah was pronounced for prayer during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), the people would take their seats before the prophet (ﷺ) came to his seat.

I asked Thabit al-Bunani whether it was permissible for a man to talk after the qamah had been pronounced. He narrated a tradition on the authority of Anas: (once) the Iqamah was pronounced, and a person came to the apostle of Allah (ﷺ) and detained him after the Iqamah had been pronounced.

we stood for praying at Mina when the Imam had not come out. Some of us sat down (and I too). An old man from Kufah said to me: Why did you down? I said : Ibn Buraidah, this is Sumud (i.e., waiting for the Imam in the standing condition). The old man then narrated a tradition from ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awaajah on the authority of al-Bara’ b. ‘Azib: We would stand in rows during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) for a long time before he pronounced Takbir. He further said; Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, sends blessings and the angles invoke blessings for those who are nearer to the front rows. No step is more liking to Allah than a step which one takes to join the row (of the prayer).

the Iqamah was pronounced (for the night prayer) and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remained engaged in talking (to a person) in the corner of the mosque. He did not begin prayer until the people slept.

when the Iqamah was pronounced and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw that they (the people) were small in number, he would sit down, nd would not pray; but when he saw them (the people) large in number, he would pray.

This tradition has been transmitted through a different chain of narrators in a similar way by ‘Ali b. Abi Talib.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: If there are three men in a village or in the desert among whom prayer is not offered (in congregation), the devil has got the mastery over them. So observe (prayer) in congregation), for the wolf eats only the straggling animal. Sa'ib said: By the word Jama'ah he meant saying prayer in company or in congregation.

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying; I thought to give orders for arranging prayer in congregation, and then to have the Iqamah called for it, then to order a man to lead the people in prayer, then to go off in company of the people who have bundles of firewood to those people who are not present at the prayer and then to burn down their houses with fire.

I thought about giving orders to some youths for gathering a bundle of firewood, then going off to some people who their prayers in their homes without any excuse, and burning down their houses over them. I (Yazid b. Yazid) said: I asked Yazid b. al-Asamm: Abu ‘Awf did he mean Friday (prayer) or any other? He replied: may my ears become deaf if I have not heard Abu Hurairah narrating it from the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him); He did not mention Friday (prayer) or any other.

Persevere in observing these five times of prayer where the announcement for them is made, because they are from the paths of right guidance. And Allah, the Might, the Majestic, has laid down for his prophet (ﷺ) the paths of right guidance. I have seen the time when no one stayed away from prayer except a hypocrite whose hypocrite was well known. I witnessed the time when a man would be brought swaying between two men till he was set up in the row (of the prayer). Every one of us has a mosque of his in his house. If you were to pray in your houses and stay from your mosques. You would abandon the Sunnah (practice) of your prophet, and if you were Abandon the Sunnah (Practice) of your Prophet, you would become an unbeliever.