Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Some

people do say that, and some even say that the adhaan was known to all the

Prophets from the time that Adam (peace be upon him) came down to this

earth. Some of them say that it was known to Prophet Ibraaheem when his

Lord said to him (interpretation of the meaning): “And proclaim

[adhdhin] to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage). They will come to you on foot

and on every lean camel” [al-Hajj 22:27]. This is a strange thing to

say and it is not correct.

The

correct view is that the adhaan was prescribed during the time of the

Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in

al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah, not in Makkah and not during the Israa’ as

was narrated in some da’eef (weak) ahaadeeth.

Ibn

Hajar says:

One

of the strangest things that was narrated concerning the beginning of the

adhaan was the report of Abu’l-Shaykh, whose isnaad contains someone who

is majhool (unknown), from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr, according

to which he said, “The adhaan was taken from the adhaan of Ibraaheem, “And

proclaim [adhdhin] to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage)” [al-Hajj 22:27].

So the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon

him) gave the adhaan. (al-Fath,

2/280).

The (report about) the adhaan of Adam

is also da’eef (weak). Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy upon him) said:

What

was reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah about Jibreel calling out

the adhaan to Adam when he came down from Paradise has an isnaad which

contains people who are majhool (unknown). (al-Fath, 2/280).

The

saheeh evidence indicates that the adhaan was first prescribed during the

time of the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in

Madeenah. Among these reports are the following:

It

was reported from Naafi’ that Ibn ‘Umar used to say: when the Muslims

came to Madeenah, they used to come together and try to find out if the

time for prayer had come, for there was no call to prayer. One day they

were talking about that and some of them said, Let us use a bell like the

bell of the Christians. Others said, Let us use a horn like the horn of

the Jews. ‘Umar said, Let us send a man to call us to prayer. The

Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,

“O Bilaal, get up and call the people to prayer.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 569).

It

was reported from Abu ‘Umayr ibn Anas from his paternal uncles among the

Ansaar: the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was

concerned about the prayer and how he could bring the people together to

pray. It was said to him, Raise a flag when the time for prayer comes, and

when they see it they will call one another – but he did not like this

idea. Then the ram’s horn or shofar was suggested to him. Ziyaad said,

the shofar of the Jews. But he did not like this idea, and said, “This

belongs to the Jews.” A bell was suggested to him, but he said, “This

belongs to the Christians.” ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi

went away, thinking about the concern of the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He saw the adhaan in a dream,

and the next morning he came to the Messenger of Allaah

(peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him about it. He said, “O

Messenger of Allaah, whilst I was half-asleep, someone came to me and

showed me the adhaan. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with

him) had also seen it before that, but he kept quiet for twenty days. Then

he told the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who

said to him, “What stopped you from telling me about it?” he said, “

‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd beat me to it, and I felt shy.” The Messenger of

Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “O Bilaal,

get up and see what ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd tells you to do, and do it.”

So Bilaal gave the adhaan. (Narrated

by Abu Dawood – may Allaah have mercy on him – in his Sunan,

420).

According

to a report narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd: when the Messenger of

Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded that a

bell should be made so that it could be used to tell the people to gather

for prayer, I had a dream in which I saw a man carrying a bell in his

hand. I said, “O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?” he said,

“What will you do with it?” I said, “We will call the people to

prayer with it.” He said, “Shall I not show you something better than

that?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Say, Allaahu akbar Allaah

akbar, Allaahu akbar Allaahu akbar, ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,

ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah,

ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah. Hayya ‘ala’l-salaah, hayya

‘ala’-salaah, hayya ‘ala’l-falaah, hayya ‘ala’l-falaah.

Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaha ill-Allaah (Allaah is most

Great, Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great. I

bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, I bear witness that there is

no god but Allaah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of

Allaah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah. Come to

prayer, come to prayer. Come to success, come to success. Allaah is most

Great, Allaah is most Great. There is no god but Allaah).” Then he went

a short distance away from me, and said, “When the prayer is about to

start, say, Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar, ash-hadu an laa ilaaha

ill-Allaah, ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah. Hayya

‘ala’l-salaah, hayya ‘ala’l-falaah. Qad qaamat il-salaah, qad

qaamat il-salaah. Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaha ill-Allaah

(Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great. I bear witness that there is

no god but Allaah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of

Allaah. Come to prayer, come to success. The prayer is about to begin, the

prayer is about to begin. Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great.

There is no god but Allaah).” When morning came, I went to the Messenger

of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him

what I had seen. He said, “This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up

with Bilaal and tell him what you have seen, so that he can give the call,

because he has a more beautiful voice than you.” So I got up with Bilaal

and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call to prayer.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his house, and he came

out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, “By the One Who sent you

with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same as he saw.” The

Messenger of Allaah

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“To Allaah be praise.” (Narrated

by Abu Dawood, 499).

These

ahaadeeth indicate that the adhaan was first prescribed during the time of

the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Madeenah.

Perhaps this is one of the distinguishing features of this ummah which

Allaah has favoured over all other nations. And Allaah knows best.