AZAAN ( Call to Prayer)

Azaan: ( Call to Prayer) 

This article is dedicated to those who are interested to know about entire 5 times prayer system.


Muslims use the human voice to announce the times of prayer to the community. The adhan is the call to prayer itself, and the person who calls it is called the muadhan. Instead of using the bell, drum or gong, the Muslims use the human voice to announce the point of entry of the prayer period. This prayer call, called adzan, is made in Arabic throughout the world as taught by Prophet Muhammad.

God says, “O you who believe! When the call is made for prayer… hasten to the remembrance of God.” (62:9)

The following is the Arabic transliteration and the English translation of what you hear:

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
(said four times)

Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah
I bear witness that there is no god except the One God.
(said two times)

Ashadu anna Muhammadan Rasool Allah
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
(said two times)

Hayya 'ala-s-Salah
Hurry to the prayer (Rise up for prayer)
(said two times)

Hayya 'ala-l-Falah
Hurry to success (Rise up for Salvation)
(said two times)

Allahu Akbar
God is Great
[said two times]

La ilaha illa Allah
There is no god except the One God

For the pre-dawn (fajr) prayer, the following phrase is inserted after the fifth part above, towards the end:

As-salatu Khayrun Minan-nawm
Prayer is better than sleep
(said two times)

SIGNIFICANCE OF AZAAN

Let us begin with Indonesia right on the eastern side of the earth's central land mass. Indonesia consists of numerous small islands, the principle ones amongst them being Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Saibil, all of which are well known. It is the largest Muslim country in the world, with 180 million inhabitants. The number of non-Muslims here is negligible.

As soon as dawn breaks on the eastern side of Saibil, at approximately 5:30 am local time, Fajr Azaan begins. Thousands of Muazzins in eastern Indonesia commence proclaiming the Oneness of the Almighty, Omnipotent and Omniscient Allah and the universal apostleship of Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allaho alaihe wasallam).

The process then continues and advances towards the Western Islands of Indonesia. The time difference between the eastern and western islands of Indonesia is one and a half hours. So, one and a half hours after the Azaan has been completed in Saibil, it echoes in Jakarta on Java Island. Sumatra then follows suit.

Before this auspicious process of calling Azaan ends in Indonesia, it has already begun in Malaysia. Burma is next in line, and within an hour of its commencement in Jakarta, it reaches Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. No sooner the calling of Azaan ends in Bangladesh, it has already prevailed in western India, from Calcutta to Srinagar. It then advances towards Bombay and the environment of entire India resounds with this august proclamation.

Srinagar and Sialkot (a city in north Pakistan) have the same timing for Azaan. The time difference between Sialkot, Kota, Karachi and Gowadar (a city in Balochistan, Pakistan) is forty minutes, and within this time, Fajr Azaan is heard throughout Pakistan. Before it ends there, however, it has already begun in Afghanistan and Muscat.

The time difference between Muscat and Baghdad is one hour. Azaan resounds during this one hour in the environments of Hijaaz-e-Muqaddas (holy cities of Makkah and Madinah), Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.

The time difference between Baghdad and Alexandria in Egypt is again one hour. Azaan continues to resound in Syria, Egypt, Somalia and Sudan during this hour. Alexandria and Istanbul are situated on the same geographical longitude. The time difference between eastern and western Turkey is one and a half hours, and during this time, it is echoed with the call to prayer.

Alexandria and Tripoli (capital of Libya) are located at an hour 
difference from one another. The process of calling Azaan thus continues throughout the whole of Africa. Therefore, the proclamation of the Oneness of Allah and the universal prophethood of Muhammad (Sall Allaho alaihe wasallam) that had begun in the eastern islands of Indonesia, reaches the Eastern Shore of the Atlantic Ocean after nine and a half hours.

Prior to the Azaan reaching the shores of the Atlantic, the process of Zohr Azaan has already commenced in eastern Indonesia, and before it reaches Dhaka, Asr Azaan has started. This has hardly reached Jakarta one and half hours later. Then the time of Maghrib becomes due, and no sooner has Maghrib time reached Sumatra, then the time for calling Isha Azaan has commenced in Saibil!

When the Muazzins of Indonesia are calling out Fajr Azaan, the Muazzins in Africa are calling out the Azaan for Isha.There is not a single moment when few thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of Muazzins around the world are not proclaiming the 
Oneness of Almighty Allah and the universal apostleship of Noble 
Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allaho alaihe wasallam) on the surface of this earth!

God Willing (Inshaa-Allah) this universal and continuous calling of the Azaan shall not cease until the Day of the Judgment.

Iqamah (A Short Call to Prayer)

A shorter “call to prayer” that is made immediately prior to each of the five daily Islamic prayers, to let people know that the prayer is about to begin.

The “azan” (call to prayer) is usually called about 15-20 minutes before the prayer starts, to give worshippers time to make ablutions and gather at the mosque. When everyone has arrived and the prayer is about to begin, the “iqamah” is then called to bring the worshippers to attention that the prayer is getting underway. At that moment, the worshippers are to be ready and standing in rows, with their full attention on the worship of Allah.

The words of the “iqamah” are similar to those of the azaan, but it is said more quickly: “God is Great; God is Great; I bear witness that nothing is worthy of worship except God; I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God(Allah); Come to Prayer; Come to Success; Prayer has begun; Prayer has begun; God is Great; God is Great; There is nothing worthy of worship except God.”

Pronunciation: i-qa’-ma

Alternate Spellings: Iqama

Examples:

When we heard the iqama, we knew that the prayer was about to begin.

Salaat ( Prayer)

The Islamic prayer, called solat, is a formal way of worshipping God. The prayer is performed five times a day, each at specified period.

- before dawn (Subuh),

- afternoon (Zuhur)

- late afternoon (‘Asr)

- immediately after sunset (Maghrib)

- night (Isha’)

All prayers must be performed within the stipulated period. While the prayer period for the afternoon, late afternoon and night prayers are long, those for the pre-dawn and after sunset prayers are short.

The entry point for each of the prayer periods changes slightly in progressive paces (according to the pace of the sun). For instance, in November and December of a recent year, the entry point for the afternoon prayer progressively advanced from 1250 hours from the first week of November to 1310 hours in the final week of December and then retreated along the same path.

A Muslim begins his prayer any time after the entry point of the prayer period and not before it. Hence, to hear the azaan is essential. Nowadays, however, copies of the prayer time-table are available and if one does not hear the azaan one can refer to the time-table to ascertain the time for one’s prayer. The azaan is particularly essential if one wants to perform one’s prayer in the mosque in congregation because the congregational prayer begins just after a few minutes of the call of the azaan. (However, a Muslim who reaches the mosque late can still perform his prayer by joining the congregation at any point during the prayer, and then finishing whichever part he has missed. If the congregational prayer is over when he arrives, he can still perform his prayers individually.)

The azaan, in a way, is Islam’s international anthem. Anywhere in the world, whether in Britain, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Morocco or Singapore, the adzan is made in exactly the same words as used and taught by the Prophet Muhammad. This uniformity gives Muslims of any race, colour or culture the sense of belonging, brotherhood and unity in their belief and worship of the One God.

The person who calls out the azzan from the mosque is the Muezzin. The first person in Islam to be given the honour of calling out the azaan was not an Arab but a Negro, a freed slave, named Bilal. Any Muslim can be the Muezzin

Salaat is really a very blessed and auspicious observance. Every word uttered in it is imbued with God's greatness and sanctity.

1.    Make sure your body and place of prayer are clean. Perform ablution if necessary. Make the intention to perform your obligatory prayer.

2.    Standing, raise hands up and say "Allahu Akbar" (God is Most Great).

3.    Standing with hands folded over chest, recite the first chapter of the Qur'an in Arabic. Then recite any other verses of the Qur'an that you would like.

4.    Raise hands up, saying "Allahu Akbar." Bow, reciting three times, "Subhana rabbiyal adheem" (Glory be to my Lord Almighty).

5.    Rise to standing while reciting "Sam'i Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal hamd" (God hears those who call upon Him; Our Lord, praise be to You).

6.    Raise hands up, saying "Allahu Akbar." Prostrate on the ground, reciting three times "Subhana Rabbiyal A'ala" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High).

7.    Rise to a sitting position, saying "Allahu Akbar." Prostrate again in the same manner.

8.    Rise to a standing position, saying "Allahu Akbar."

9.    This concludes one rak'a (cycle or unit of prayer). Begin again from Step 3 for the second rak'a.

10.After two rak'as, one remains sitting after the prostrations and recites the first part of the Tashahhud in Arabic.

11.If the prayer is to be longer than these two rak'as, one now stands up and begins again to complete the prayer, sitting again after all rak'ashave been completed.

12.Recite the second part of the Tashahhud in Arabic.

13.Turn to the right and say "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah" (Peace be upon you and God's blessings).

14.Turn to the left and repeat the greeting. This concludes the formal prayer.

Thanaa, the opening prayer of salaat, contains extremely virtuous and devotional  and recited in silence :  

(1) Subhaanakallaahumma: 0, Allah! I praise Thy Sanctity. Thou art free from all blemishes. Thou art above

anything that is not the best.

(2) Wa bihamdika: I praise Thy Glory. All virtues and beauties are admittedly for Thee and befit Thee.

(3) Wo tabaarakasmuka: Thy name is blessed: and in fact so blessed that blesses everything over which it is

mentioned.

(4) Wo ta'aaJaa jadduka: Thy eminence is most exalted. Thy magnificence is most sublime.

(5) Wo loa ilaaha ghairuk: There is no god save Thee.

None has ever been and none shall ever be fit to be worshipped save Thee.

Similarly in ruku we recite "Subhaana rabbiyal azeem." which means:

"My Magnificent and Almighty Allah is free from all blemishes. I express my humbleness and weakness before His Greatness by bowing my head before Him (for the bowing of head is the symbol of humbleness and submission, just as a stiff neck is the sign of haughtiness and pride). I submit before all Thy commandments and I take upon me Thy service. I am at Thy command. Thou art really very Great and I submit before Thy greatness. "

Similarly in sajdah (Prostration) we express our submission before Allah the Highest, and declare Him above all defects. Our head, which is considered as the most superb part of our body along with our eyes, ears, nose and tongue, is placed on- ground before Him in the hope that He would show mercy and bestow His blessings on us. Standing with our hands folded before Him this was the first expression of our humbleness and submission. This was further augmented by the .bending of our head in ruku and it reached its climax when we placed our head on the ground before Him. In fact the whole salaat is an indication of humbleness and submission, and therefore a means of advancement and success in the world and- in the hereafter.