Narrative regarding What Should a Person Say when he Hears Adan?

روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إذا قال المؤذن: الله اكبر الله اكبر فقال أحدكم: الله اكبر الله اكبر، ثم قال: أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، قال: أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، ثم قال: أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، قال: أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، ثم قال: حي على الصلاة، قال: لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله، ثم قال حي على الفلاح، قال: لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله، ثم قال: الله اكبر الله اكبر، قال: الله اكبر الله اكبر، ثم قال: لا إله إلا الله، قال: لا إله إلا الله من قلبه ذخل الجنة.

It is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: When the caller to the prayer says: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘ and you say: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘¹, then when he says: ‘Ashhadu alla ilaaha illallah‘² and you say: ‘Ashhadu alla ilaaha illallah‘ and then when he says: ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah‘³ and you say: ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah‘ and then when he says: ‘hayya `alassalah‘<sup>4</sup> and you say: ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘<sup>5</sup> and then when he says: ‘hayya `alalfalah‘⁶ and you say: ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘⁷, then when he says: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘⁸ and you say: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘ and then when he says: ‘la ilaaha illallah‘⁹ and you say: ‘la ilaaha illallah‘, [when he says all this] from [the depth of] his heart, he shall enter paradise¹⁰.

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General Notes:

1. i.e., ‘God is the greatest, God is the greatest ‘.

2. i.e., ‘I bear witness that there is no god except the One God’.

3. i.e., ‘I bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger of God’.

4. i.e., ‘Come to prayers’.

5. i.e., ‘There is neither any power nor strength except from God’. It may be noted that all the other words of Adan (i.e., the call to the prayer) are in fact related to the Muslim beliefs. This and the succeeding sentence are an invitation to prayers. Thus, whereas all the other statements of the Adan are repeated by the listeners, this and the succeeding statement are responded with the words ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘, implying that hearing the invitation to the attend the prayers, the listener intends to join the congregation or to offer his prayer, yet his intention and his will shall only materialize if God – the source of all power and strength – grants him the power and the strength to carry out what he intends.

6. i.e., ‘Come to salvation’.

7. i.e., ‘There is neither any power nor strength except from God’. See note no. 5.

8. i.e., ‘God is the greatest, God is the greatest’.

9. i.e., ‘There is no god, except the One God’.

10. Adan (call to prayers), it may be noted provides the gist of the whole message of Islam. Acknowledging the statements of the Adan from the depths of one’s heart actually implies actually implies the whole message of Islam.

1. Acknowledging that ‘God is the greatest’ implies that no power, no love, no attraction, no activity and no force can come in our way or hinder us from submitting to the call of the One God.

2. Acknowledging that there is no god except the One True God refuses all concept of worship and seeking help from any additional deistic concepts.

3. Acknowledging that Muhammad (pbuh) is a true messenger of God implies our acknowledgement of the fact that we accept and submit to all of the teachings of Muhammad (pbuh) in the name of God’s religion and hold them to be the true teachings and directives of the Almighty.

4. Seeking God’s help in offering prayers and in taking to the path of eternal salvation implies both the significance of prayers in Islam as well as acknowledgement of the belief that only those people shall succeed in taking to the path of eternal salvation, who are found deserving for this privilege by the Omniscient and the Omnipotent God.

Notes on the Text of the Narrative

This narrative or a part of it with some variations has been reported in Bukhariy (narrative no. 586, 587 and 872), Muslim (narrative no. 383 and 385), Mu’atta Imam Malik (narrative no. 148), Tirmidhi (narrative no. 208), Abu Dawood (narrative no. 522 and 527), Nissaiy (narrative no. 673 and 677), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (narrative no. 11033, 11522, 11759, 11878, 16874, 16877, 16942, 16968 and 23917), Ibn Hibban (narrative no. 1684, 1685 1686 and 1687), Nissaiy’s Sunan al-Kubraa (narrative no. 1637, 1640, 9862, 9865, 9868, 9869, 10184 and 10185), Bayhaqiy (narrative no. 1784, 1785, 1786 and 1787), Al-Daarmiy (narrative no. 1202 and 1203), Ibn Khuzaymah (narrative no. 411, 414, 415, 416 and 417), Abu Ya`laa (narrative no. 1189), Abd al-Razzaq (narrative no. 1844, 1845, 1847 and 1849), Ibn Abi Shaybah (narrative no. 2360 and 2363), Al-Humaidiy (narrative no. 606). The preferred text is the one reported in Muslim, narrative no. 383.

In some narratives, as for instance in Nissaiy’s Sunan Al-Kubraa’s narrative no. 9868, the words “دخل الجنة” (i.e., ‘he shall enter paradise’) have been replaced with “وجبت له الجنة” (i.e., ‘he is sure to enter paradise’).

Almost the same content has differently been reported in some narratives, as for instance in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 586, as follows:

 روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: إذا سمعتم النداء فقولوا مثل ما يقول المؤذن.

‘It is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: When you hear the [prayer] caller, repeat what the caller says’.

In some narratives, as in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 15658, the Prophet’s saying has alternatively been reported as: “إذا سمعتم المنادي يثوب بالصلاة فقولوا كما يقول” (i.e., ‘when you hear the person making the call gathering [people] for prayers, repeat what he says’), while in some variations of this reporting, as for instance in Nissaiy’s Sunan al-Kubraa narrative no. 9862, the words “يثوب بالصلاة” (i.e., ‘gathering [people] for prayers’) have been omitted.

In some narratives, as for instance, in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 11033, the words “مثل ما يقول” (i.e., ‘as he says’) have been replaced by a synonymous phrase “كما يقول”.

In some narratives, as for instance in Muslim’s narrative no. 383, the words “مثل ما يقول المؤذن” (i.e., ‘as the callers says’) have been replaced with “مثل ما سمعتم المؤذن” (i.e., ‘as you hear the caller’).

In some narratives, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 11759, the word “المؤذن” (i.e., ‘the caller’) has been omitted.

In another narrative, as for instance in Ibn Khuzaymah’s narrative no. 414, the same implication has been reported as follows:

 عن عيسى بن طلحة قال دخلنا مع معاوية فنادى المنادي بالصلاة. فقال: الله أكبر الله أكبر فقال معاوية: الله أكبر الله أكبر، ثم قال: أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، فقال معاوية: وأنا أشهد، ثم قال: أشهد أن محمد رسول الله، فقال معاوية: وأنا أشهد، ثم قال: حي على الصلاة، فقال معاوية: لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله، ثم قال: حي على الفلاح، فقال معاوية: لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله، فقال: الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله، فقال معاوية: الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله ثم قال هكذا سمعت نبيكم صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول.

‘Isa ibn Talhah says: [Once] we entered [the mosque] with Mu`awiyah. The caller started calling [to gather people] for Sala’h. ‘. He said: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘, at this Mu`awiyah also said ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘. Then he said: ‘Ashhadu alla ilaaha illallah‘ and Mu`awiyah said: ‘wa ana ashhad‘ (i.e., ‘I too bear witness’). Then he said: ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah‘ and Mu`awiyah said: ‘wa ana ashhad‘ (i.e., ‘I too bear witness’). Then he said: ‘hayya `alassalah‘ and Mu`awiyah said: ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘. Then he said: ‘hayya `alalfalah‘ and Mu`awiyah said: ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘. Then he said: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar la ilaaha illallah‘ and Mu`awiyah repeated ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar la ilaaha illallah‘. Then Mu`awiyah said: This is how I heard your Prophet (pbuh) say.

In some narratives, as in Bukariy’s narrative no. 872, the words “فنادى المنادي بالصلاة” (i.e., ‘the caller started calling [to gather people] for Sala’h‘) have been replaced with “أذن المؤذن” (i.e., ‘the caller started Adan‘).

In some narratives, as in Bukhariy’s narrative no. 872, the two occurrences of the words “وأنا أشهد” (i.e., ‘I too bear witness’) have been replaced with “وأنا” (i.e., ‘and I [bear witness]’), in Ibn Khuzaymah’s narrative no. 415, both these occurrences have been replaced by the preceding words of Adan, while in Bayhaqiy’s narrative no. 1787, the first of these occurrences is replaced with “وأنا أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله“ (i.e., ‘and I too bear witness that there is no god, except the One God’) while the second occurrence is replaced with “وأنا أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله“ (i.e., ‘and I too bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger of God’).

In Bukhariy’s narrative no. 872, the response to “حي على الصلاة” (i.e., ‘come to prayer’) and “حي على الفلاح” (i.e., ‘come to salvation’) have been omitted.

The words “فقال الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله فقال معاوية الله أكبر الله أكبر لا إله إلا الله“ (i.e., ‘Then he said: ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar la ilaaha illallah‘ and Mu`awiyah repeated ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar la ilaaha illallah‘) have been reported in Ibn Hibban’s narrative no. 1687. In some narratives, as for instance in Nissaiy’s Sunan al-Kubraa’s narrative no. 10185, these words have been replaced with “وقال بعد ذلك ما قال المؤذن” (i.e., ‘after this, he repeated the words spoken by the caller to prayers’).

In another narrative, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 16968, the same implication has been reported as follows:

 روي أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا سمع المؤذن يقول: الله اكبر الله اكبر، قال مثل قوله وإذا قال: أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، قال مثل قوله وإذا قال أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، قال مثل قوله.

‘It is narrated that when the Prophet (pbuh) would hear the caller to the prayers say ‘Allah Akbar Allah Akbar‘, he would repeat the words as spoken by him [i.e., the caller] and when he would say ‘Ashhadu alla ilaaha illallah‘, he would repeat the words as spoken by him [i.e., the caller], and when he would say ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah‘, he would repeat the words as spoken by him [i.e., the caller].’

In some narratives, as for instance al-Humaydiy’s narrative no. 606, the words “الله اكبر الله اكبر” (i.e., ‘Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar‘) have been repeated in place of the first occurrence of “مثل قوله” (i.e., as spoken by the caller’), and the words “وأنا أشهد” (i.e., ‘and I too bear witness’) have been reported in place of the second and third occurrence of the phrase “مثل قوله” (i.e., ‘as spoken by the caller’).

In another narrative, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s narrative no. 23917, the same implication has been reported as follows:

 روي أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان إذا سمع المؤذن قال مثل ما يقول حتى إذا بلغ حي على الصلاة حي على الفلاح، قال لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله.

‘It is narrated that when the Prophet (pbuh) would hear the caller to prayers [make the call], he would repeat the words as spoken by him, till the time that he reached ‘hayya `alassalah hayya `alalfalah‘, he would say ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘.’

In some narratives, as for instance in Nissaiy’s Sunan al-Kubraa’s narrative no. 9869, the words “إذا سمع المؤذن” (i.e., ‘when he heard the caller to the prayers’) have been replaced by “إذا سمع الأذان” (i.e., when he heard the call to the prayers’).

In some narratives, as in Nissaiy’s Sunan al-Kubraa’s narrative no. 9865, the clause “قال مثل ما… إلا بالله” (i.e., ‘he would repeat the words as spoken… quwwata illa billah‘) have been reported as “قال كما يقول حتى يسكت” (i.e., ‘he would say what was said by him [i.e., the caller], till he would become silent’).

In some narratives, as for instance in Nissaiy’s Sunan al-Kubraa’s narrative no. 9869, the words “حتى إذا بلغ” (i.e., ’till the that he reached’) have been replaced by “فإذا بلغ” (i.e., ‘then when he reached’).

In some narratives, as in Abd al-Razzaq’s narrative no. 1847, the words “العلي العظيم” (i.e., ‘Al-Aliy Al-`Azeem‘ [i.e., ‘the High, the Great’]) have been added at the end of “لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله” (i.e., ‘la haula wala quwwata illa billah‘ [i.e., ‘There is neither any power nor strength except from God’).

(This write-up is prepared by the Hadith Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi)

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