Sahih al-Bukhari

Sahih al-Bukhari 606

Arabic hadith text

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدٌ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْوَهَّابِ، قَالَ أَخْبَرَنَا خَالِدٌ الْحَذَّاءُ، عَنْ أَبِي قِلاَبَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا كَثُرَ النَّاسُ قَالَ ـ ذَكَرُوا ـ أَنْ يَعْلَمُوا وَقْتَ الصَّلاَةِ بِشَىْءٍ يَعْرِفُونَهُ، فَذَكَرُوا أَنْ يُورُوا نَارًا أَوْ يَضْرِبُوا نَاقُوسًا، فَأُمِرَ بِلاَلٌ أَنْ يَشْفَعَ الأَذَانَ وَأَنْ يُوتِرَ الإِقَامَةَ‏.‏

Translation

Muhammad narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Wahhab informed us: Khalid al-Hadhdha informed us, from Abu Qilaba, from Anas bin Malik, who said: When the people increased in number, they discussed finding a way to know when prayer time had arrived. They suggested lighting a fire or striking a bell, so Bilal was instructed to pronounce the phrases of the call to prayer in pairs and the phrases of the commencement in single form.