أَذَان‎

adhan

   Adhan is the islamic call to prayer. It is recited by a muezzin, a person who is chosen to lead and recite five times per day at a prescribed time. Perhaps for people who reside in Islamic countries, it is not uncommon at all. The sound comes from mosques, and is meant to be heard by the entire city in Islamic countries.

                                Picture by: En Yen Justin Chu (ME!!)

 

   The picture above is the Masjid Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz, state mosque of Selangor, Malaysia. Whenever my father goes to the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur for his work, we stay at a place just about 300metres away from this state mosque. I hear the adhan all the time. Eventhough Malays in Malaysia do not speak Arabic, they still use Arabic for adhan becuase it is the language of Heaven.

                                   

  This is an example of a great adhan, recited in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Since it is recited by different people, it can vary from mosques to mosques. Here is basically what is being said:

4x	الله أكبر	Allahu Akbar	God is greatest
2x	أشهد أن لا اله إلا الله	Ash-hadu an-la ilaha illa llah	I bear witness that there is no deity except God.
2x	أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله	Ash-hadu anna Muħammadan-Rasulullah	I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God.
2x	حي على الصلاة	Hayya 'ala s-salah	Come to prayer ('salat').
2x	حي على الفلاح	Hayya 'ala 'l-falah	Come to success.
2x	الله أكبر	Allāhu akbar	God is greatest.
1x	لا إله إلا الله	La ilaha illa-Allah	There is no deity except God.