Call to Prayers (Adhaan)

Isma‘il narrated to us: Malik narrated to me, from Ibn Shihab, from Mahmud bin al-Rabi‘ al-Ansari, that ‘Itban bin Malik, who was blind, used to lead his people in prayer. He said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘Messenger of Allah, it is dark and there is flooding, and I have poor eyesight. Please pray in my house at a place that I can make into a prayer area.’ The Messenger of Allah came to him and asked, ‘Where would you like me to pray?’ He pointed to a place in the house, and the Messenger of Allah prayed there.

‘Abdullah bin ‘Abd al-Wahhab narrated to us: Hammad bin Zaid narrated to us: ‘Abd al-Hamid, companion of al-Ziyadi, narrated to us: I heard ‘Abdullah bin al-Harith say: Ibn ‘Abbas addressed us on a muddy, rainy day. When the caller reached ‘Come to prayer,’ Ibn ‘Abbas instructed him to say, ‘Pray in your dwellings.’ Some people looked at one another as if they disapproved. He said, ‘It seems you disapprove of this. Someone better than me—the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)—did it. It is a firm instruction, and I disliked putting you in difficulty.’ In another chain, from Hammad, from ‘Asim, from ‘Abdullah bin al-Harith, from Ibn ‘Abbas, the wording is similar, except that he said, ‘I disliked burdening you with sin by making you trudge through mud up to your knees.’

Muslim bin Ibrahim narrated to us: Hisham narrated to us, from Yahya, from Abu Salama, who said: I asked Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, and he replied: A cloud came and rain fell until water streamed from the roof, which was made of palm branches. The prayer was then commenced. I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prostrating in water and mud, until I saw the mark of mud on his forehead.

Adam narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us: Anas bin Sirin narrated to us: I heard Anas say: A man from the Ansar said, ‘I cannot pray with you,’ for he was a large man. He prepared food for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and invited him to his home. He spread out a mat for him, sprinkled water on one end, and the Prophet prayed two rak‘ahs on it. A man from the family of al-Jarud asked Anas, ‘Did the Prophet pray the forenoon prayer?’ He replied, ‘I only saw him pray it on that day.’

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Hisham, who said: My father narrated to me: I heard ‘Aisha relate from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: ‘When supper has been served and the prayer is commenced, begin with supper.’

Yahya bin Bukair narrated to us: al-Laith narrated to us, from ‘Uqail, from Ibn Shihab, from Anas bin Malik, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When supper is served, begin with it before praying the sunset prayer, and do not rush through your supper.’

‘Ubaid bin Isma‘il narrated to us, from Abu Usama, from ‘Ubaidullah, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When one of you has been served supper and the prayer is commenced, begin with supper and do not hurry until you have finished it.’ Ibn ‘Umar would be served food while the prayer was being commenced, but he would not go to prayer until he had finished, even though he could hear the imam reciting.

Zuhair and Wahb bin ‘Uthman reported from Musa bin ‘Uqba, from Nafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘When one of you is eating, do not hurry until you have finished what you need of it, even if the prayer is commenced.’ Ibrahim bin al-Mundhir also reported it from Wahb bin ‘Uthman, who was a resident of Medina.

‘Abd al-‘Aziz bin ‘Abdullah narrated to us: Ibrahim narrated to us, from Salih, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Ja‘far bin ‘Amr bin Umayya informed me that his father said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) eating a foreleg and cutting meat from it. He was called to prayer, so he stood, put down the knife, prayed, and did not renew his ablution.

Adam narrated to us: Shu‘ba narrated to us: al-Hakam narrated to us, from Ibrahim, from al-Aswad, who said: I asked ‘Aisha what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did at home. She replied: He would help his family—meaning, serve his family. When prayer time came, he would go out to pray.

Musa bin Isma‘il narrated to us: Wuhaib narrated to us: Ayyub narrated to us, from Abu Qilaba, who said: Malik bin al-Huwairith came to our mosque and said, ‘I will lead you in prayer, though I do not intend to pray. I will pray as I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pray.’ I asked Abu Qilaba, ‘How did he pray?’ He replied, ‘Like our elder here.’ He was an elderly man who would sit after raising his head from prostration, before standing for the next rak‘ah.’

Ishaq bin Nasr narrated to us: Husain narrated to us, from Za’ida, from ‘Abd al-Malik bin ‘Umair, who said: Abu Burda narrated to me, from Abu Musa, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fell ill, and his illness worsened. He said, ‘Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’ ‘Aisha said, ‘He is a tender-hearted man; if he stands in your place, he may not be able to lead the people.’ He said, ‘Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people.’ She repeated her concern, and he said, ‘Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people, for you are like the women who tried to tempt Joseph.’ The messenger came, and Abu Bakr led the people in prayer during the Prophet’s lifetime.

‘Abdullah bin Yusuf narrated to us: Malik informed us, from Hisham bin ‘Urwa, from his father, from ‘Aisha, Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: During his illness, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’ I said, ‘When Abu Bakr stands in your place, people will not hear him because of his weeping. Tell ‘Umar to lead the people.’ ‘Aisha said: I told Hafsa, ‘Tell him that when Abu Bakr stands in his place, the people will not hear him because of his weeping; let him tell ‘Umar to lead them.’ Hafsa did so. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘Enough! You are indeed like the women who tried to tempt Joseph. Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people.’ Hafsa said to ‘Aisha, ‘I never get any good from you.’

Abu al-Yaman narrated to us: Shu‘aib informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Anas bin Malik al-Ansari informed me—he had followed, served, and accompanied the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)—that Abu Bakr was leading them in prayer during the illness from which the Prophet died. On Monday, while they were standing in rows in prayer, the Prophet lifted the curtain of his room and looked at us. He was standing, and his face was like a page of the Qur’an. Then he smiled and laughed. We nearly lost ourselves with joy at seeing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Abu Bakr stepped backward to rejoin the row, thinking that the Prophet was coming out to lead the prayer. The Prophet gestured to us to complete our prayer, then lowered the curtain. He died later that day.

Anas reported: The Prophet did not come out for three days. The prayer was called, and Abu Bakr went forward to lead. The Prophet lifted the curtain. When his face became visible, we had never seen anything more wonderful than the Prophet face as it appeared to us. The Prophet gestured to Abu Bakr to go forward, then let the curtain fall. He was not seen again until he died.

When the Messenger of Allah became seriously ill, he was asked about the prayer. He said: Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. Aisha said: Abu Bakr is a tender-hearted man; when he recites, he is overcome by weeping. He said: Tell him to lead the prayer. She repeated her request, but he said: Tell him to lead the prayer. You are like the women who visited Joseph. Al-Zubaydi, Ibn Akhi al-Zuhri, and Ishaq ibn Yahya al-Kalbi also related it from al-Zuhri. Uqayl and Mamar related it from al-Zuhri, from Hamza, from the Prophet.

Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah ordered Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer during his illness, and he did so. Urwa said: The Messenger of Allah felt some relief and went out. Abu Bakr was leading the people, and when he saw the Prophet, he stepped back. The Messenger of Allah gestured to him to remain where he was, then sat beside Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr followed the Messenger of Allah in prayer, while the people followed Abu Bakr.

Sahl ibn Sad al-Saidi reported: The Messenger of Allah went to Banu Amr ibn Awf to reconcile them. When the time for prayer came, the caller came to Abu Bakr and asked, Are you going to lead the people in prayer? The prayer was about to begin. He said, Yes. Abu Bakr began the prayer. The Messenger of Allah arrived while the people were praying and made his way through the rows until he stood in a row. The people clapped. Abu Bakr did not turn around during prayer, but when they clapped repeatedly, he looked back and saw the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah gestured to him to stay where he was. Abu Bakr raised his hands and praised Allah for what the Messenger of Allah had instructed him to do. Then Abu Bakr stepped back until he joined the row, and the Messenger of Allah went forward and led the prayer. When he finished, he said, Abu Bakr, what kept you from staying in place when I told you to? Abu Bakr replied, It is not fitting for Ibn Abi Quhafa to lead the prayer in front of the Messenger of Allah. The Messenger of Allah said, Why did I see you clapping so much? If something happens to someone during prayer, let him say tasbih; when he does, attention will be drawn to him. Clapping is for women.

Malik ibn al-Huwayrith reported: We came to the Prophet as young men and stayed with him for about twenty nights. The Prophet was compassionate. He said, If you return to your lands, teach your people. Tell them to perform such-and-such prayer at its appointed time, and such-and-such prayer at its appointed time. When the time for prayer comes, one of you should call the adhan, and the oldest among you should lead you in prayer.

Mahmud ibn al-Rabi reported: I heard Itban ibn Malik al-Ansari say: The Prophet asked permission to enter, and I gave him permission. He said, Where in your house would you like me to pray? I pointed out the place where I wished him to pray. He stood there, and we formed rows behind him. Then he concluded the prayer with salutation, and we did the same.