The Origin of the Adhan and Salah (Salat) - Our Prophet 6 - 108/127

As we continue our examination of the biography of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali. There are many events that happened in Medina in the first and second year of the Hijra. So we will try to examine as many of these events as we can In sha Allah in the course of this biography class.

One of the important events that happened in the city of Medina, as historians have narrated, is the call to prayer, the adhan. It is reported that the call to prayer was legislated in the first year of the Hijra. So, before that there was no adhan, there was no call to prayer. Some have also stated the second year, but most of them have said this happened in the first year of the Hijra. So, it happened early on.

You will notice that with many Islamic rituals they were gradually revealed to the Muslims. Many of the laws of Islam were not revealed instantaneously to Muslims and became obligatory overnight. Islamic laws were gradually legislated, because people needed to be ready. You can not give people who are new to this faith all the laws in one night.

In Mecca, the focus was what? Belief system. Belief in the one God, belief in the Day of Judgment. That was the focus. So you find that many laws, many details of ahkam, of Islamic laws, were not revealed in Mecca. They came when? In Medina, when Muslims now had a community. Now they were ready. They had believed in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, they believed in the Day of Judgment. They were now ready for the next stage.

And this is really a lesson for us. That when you undertake anything, take it in steps. Even the creation of the universe came in stages! That is a lesson for us. There are some people who are impatient. They want to achieve things overnight. Everything requires a process, everything requires a step. We should reflect on that.

When you are guiding someone, many of you might be struggling with a family member who needs a lot of guidance, and they reject the guidance. There may be someone new to this faith. Be easy, teach them the priorities for it. If someone just converts to the religion of Islam. I have seen some people, they are so excited and they become impatient. They want to teach them everything overnight. That could backfire. I have seen a case in New York where it backfired. Where the sister who had converted, she had married a Muslim brother and he wanted to teach her everything overnight. And he would get frustrated. "You know, this is the religion of God". She is like, "Take it easy, give me time. I am new to this faith."

So sometimes we grow impatient. But remember the lesson from the Prophet's life. That everything came in stages. Even sinful habits like alcohol, for example, wine. The religion of Islam did not ban it overnight. It came in stages. Because you have to make the people psychologically ready. Then they will accept the word of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. Do not overwhelm people - you know - with a lot of rulings and rituals. They will be repelled.

So we find that many of the ahkam, came in stages. Now, when it comes to prayer, before we examine the adhan, let's briefly examine prayer. When we examine prayer, we know that the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali would pray in Mecca. The first three to pray were the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, Lady Khadija, alayha as-salam, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib. They were the first three to pray in Islam, and they were seen as praying Salat al-Jama’a. Then the first person to join these three, was Ja'far, the brother of Imam Ali, the son of Abu Talib. Abu Talib told his son "Ja'far go and join them and pray with them." And that is an indication that Abu Talib believed in the message of the Prophet. Otherwise, why would you send your son?

Okay, Imam Ali, he did not consult anybody. He was always with the Prophet. He never went to his father and say, "do you give me permission to follow this Prophet?" Never. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib was with the Prophet. But Ja'far, initially he was not part of that group of Muslims: the Prophet, lady Khadijah, Imam Ali alayhi as-salam. Abu Talib commands him. He tells him, "go and join the Holy Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali." Yes.

[Why wasn't Abu Tab also with them?] We examined that last year because Abu Talib had a very important status in Mecca. He wanted to be seen as an objective arbitrator. So he would not publicly announce that he is a Muslim. That way he had leverage to pressure the Quraysh. He would negotiate on the Prophet's behalf. He was more accepted by Quraysh. And that way you could defend the Prophet. See, when you officially join him, then they consider you. "You are part of our enemy now, you are on the other side. So we clearly will going to undermine you and we will not accept anything that you do."

But when they see you publicly not embracing that faith, then when Abu Talib took the Prophet under his protection, he could get away with something like that. He could protect him, he could defend him. And this was very essential in keeping the Prophet alive in Mecca. Had Abu Talib publicly joined the Prophet, the Meccans would have started their war earlier on the Prophet, and they would have attempted to assassinate him. So that is why he did not publicly declare them, even though he made references.

So we see that the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, along with those early Muslims, they would pray in Mecca. But their prayer was not the 17 rak'ah that now we pray. This was legislated later. Initially, they would just pray, two rak'ahs, any other form. Prayer was mandatory. You have to pray to God, but it was not structured in the 17 rak'ahs that we know today.

This happened later on when the Prophet was on his journey to the Mi'raj, the ascension to the heavens, Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala revealed to him the prayer. Then, it seems in Medina, when the Prophet arrived Medina. One hadith states in the first or second year of the Hijra, another hadith states after the birth of Imam Husayn alayhi as-salam. That is when God commanded the Prophet to tell Muslims to pray the five daily prayers as we know them today, 17 rakhas. Two, four, four, three and four. That came in the city of Medina. In Mecca, they would just offer a simplified version of the prayer.

So the Salah did exist, but the full complete salah was mandated in Medina. So some narrations indicate this is in the second year of the Hijra. Some narrations from Al-Imam Zayn al-Abidin, alayhi as-salam, from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, they say after the birth of Imam Husayn alayhi as-salaam. So Imam Husayn was born which year? Fourth year of the Hijra. Fourth year of- three or four year, the third or fourth year of the Hijra. That is when the Muslims started to pray the full prayer, the 17 rak'ah. So it is either two or four. Between these two years. But before that, the salah that we know today, the 17 rak'ah was not mandatory for Muslims. They would pray. You would have to pray to Allah. But a simplified version.

Now, what about the adhan? In Mecca, obviously there was no adhan because you are being low profile. You do not want to publicly instigate the pagans. If the Muslims would go and their adhan would be heard? Oh, the pagans would have annihilated them overnight. So that was not practical to have the adhan. So the adhan came later in Medina. But exactly how was the adhan legislated?

When we look at the Sunni sources and the Shi'a sources, we see that they are very divergent. The Sunni sources mention how the adhan started in Medina. And we are going to critique that and evaluate that. So many Sunni sources, like Ahmad Ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, Turmidhi, they narrate the following. They say, "when the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, was in Medina he wanted to gather his companions for salah, but how do you notify the companions when to get together for salah? So he consulted them. "What should I do?" Some of them suggested, "let's bring out the bells. Just like the churches, let's ring the bells. That would be an indication that time has come for salah."

The Prophet was not too comfortable with this suggestion, but it seemed like a plausible suggestion. Okay, that is a way to announce the salah. Then, once they dispersed, one of those companions by the name of Abdullah Ibn Zayd. Abdullah ibn Zayd. He goes home. He has a vision or a dream. In his dream, he hears the words of the adhan: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa Allah, Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, until the end of the adhan. He hears that in his dream.

He wakes up, he comes to the Prophet, he tells him, "Ya Rasul Allah, have an idea. Let's not go with the bells or the other suggestions. I heard this in my dream, that this is the call to prayer. We shout out these words." The Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, loved his idea. He is like, "Excellent. I love this idea. This will be our adhan. This will be the call to prayer." 20 Days Later Umar Ibn Khattab comes to the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali. He tells him "ya Rasul Allah, I had the same vision last night, that night that the other companion had. But because he was the first who came to you and he told you about it I felt embarrassed to come and say "hey, I had the same dream", but I had the same dream. And this is the adhan."

And from that day the adhan in the second year of the Hijra, it was legislated. And this was the Muslim call to prayer. Now, in one version of these ahadith Abdullah ibn Zayd in fact he claims to have had a vision but he is like "I said 'dream' because I feared people will accuse me of lying." He is like "I had a vision. I saw the angel speaking the adhan. But I said dreams. So people will take me more seriously, because if I say I had a vision, I am sure a lot of the companions would have falsified him."

So according to these sources a companion sees in his dream the adhan and there you go, it is part of our religion. For 14 centuries we are practicing something that one of the companions saw in their dreams. This is how the adhan was designated. Why is this objectionable? [Because our religion tells us we do not [inaudible] make anything according to dreams. Second of all, why would it go to the friend with the companions and not the Prophet himself?] We have a number of objections.

First of all, the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, was constantly receiving revelation from Jibrail. Why would he be confused as to how to gather the companions? He has to consult them. Some of them bring out the bells. And then this guy sees a dream and God communicates to him the adhan. When the Prophet is there, and he is receiving revelation every day, can not he asks Jibrail. Why does not God communicate this to the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali? It is absurd that a companion sees that in his dream, and the Prophet is left hanging there. He does not know what to do. That is ridiculous.

Second: the dreams of prophets - yes - are clear signs of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, but not average ordinary people. Since when does the dream of a person make something enter the religion of God? Make the religion of God be based on a dream? That is unlikely. Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala would not do something like that.

Third: we see that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, when it comes to matters of religion, he would never consult his companions. Never. Worldly matters, logistic issues? Yes, he would consult them. Religious matters? Never. As an example, when the Muslims were praying to Jerusalem: north, the Jews mocked them. "You Muslims, you do not have your own qiblah. You follow our direction on qiblah." The Prophet was disturbed. Muslims were disturbed.

They wanted a solution - you know - something to save them from that situation. Something to psychologically give them independence from the qiblah of the Jews. What does the Qur'an say? Did the Prophet said and consult his companions? "Hey, which qiblah should we choose? Should it be Mecca? Should it be somewhere else?" No. The Qur'an says: Qad nara taqalluba wajhika fi as-sama' (2:144). Allah says, "we see you ya Rasul Allah raising your head to the sky, waiting for revelation." Meaning, "Allah, send us the Qibla that you want for us." So when it comes to matters of religion, he would always wait Wahi. Wait for Wahi.

He would not consult his companions and then they would give him a suggestion and then he would add it to religion. Never. He would always take it from revelation. So why is it when it comes to the adhan, the Prophet has to wait for a companion to see a dream? That is illogical.

Third: al-Imam as-Sadiq alayhi as-salam, was asked about this. In one hadith he asks, "what do other schools of thought believe about the adhan?" They tell him that one of the companions saw a dream and that is how the adhan found its way to the religion of Islam. The Imam alayhi as-salam says, "I swear by Allah that is false. That is not the case. The religion of God is more dear to God, more honorable in the eyes of God, than to have a companion see a dream and have that dream be the basis of an Islamic ritual". That is not the religion of God. Allah has an angel who communicates these things. Jibrail is the greatest angel of God to the greatest messenger. Why have a companion who sees this dream?

So we see that this is unacceptable and this is really offensive to the prophets salla Allahu alayhi wa aali. It is offensive to Jibrail, it is offensive to Allah. But many of them, until today, they believe this. "Yeah, our adhan started by a dream, the dream of a companion."

[inaudible 00:15:29] Yes. Then there is another discussion about the adhan. For example, "Hayya 'ala khayr al-'amal", that was umirid. As-salatul Khairun min an-nawm" was actually added by Umar ibn al-Khattab in his era. During the time of the Prophet, that did not exist. These are some details of the adhan - yes - but now we are talking about the original adhan, the original call to prayer. How was it legislated? So the Sunni sources, many of them, they say that it was legislated in this way. A companion saw it, the Prophet liked it, and then he said, okay, let's go by this. Bilal, go and say this adhan. And that is how the adhan became a part of our religion.

For the reasons we mentioned, this is objectionable. So what is the stance of Ahl al-Bayt? What did the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon him, say about the adhan? The Imams of Ahl al-Bayt - peace be upon them - made it very clear, that on the night of Isra' and Mi'raj, the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali was taken to Jerusalem. Jibrail makes the adhan in Jerusalem. The Prophet hears the adhan from Jibrail in Jerusalem. Then the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, prays. Then after that, when the Prophet begins the Mi'raj, the ascension into the heavens. If you remember from last year, the Prophet stopped at Bayt ul-Ma'mur. Some narrations say that is in the Fourth sama', fourth heaven, fourth sky. Over there, in Bayt ul-Ma'mur, Jibrail, once again for the second time, he makes the call to prayer, the adhan. All the souls of the prophets of God, all the angels, they form lines and they pray jama'a behind Rasul Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali.

This happened during the Mi'raj, the Isra' and the Mi'raj, which was in Mecca. The Prophet was in Mecca when the Mi'raj happened. So it was during the Mi'raj that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala revealed to the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, the adhan. And it was at the Mi'raj - if you remember, from last year - that Allah revealed to the Prophet the salah as well. Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala initially legislated the salah. It was 50 prayers. Then Allah reduced it to five prayers and the five prayers were only two rak'ahs each ten units. Then later on in Medina, it became 17 units.

That all started during the Mi'raj. It was during the Mi'raj that Allah Subhanah Wa Ta'ala taught the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, the adhan. But in Mecca, the Prophet could not practice the adhan, because he was under persecution. So when he came to Medina and they got together for Salat al-Jama'a, the Prophet told Bilal, "this is the Adhan that I learned from Jibrail. This is how you speak it."

So that is the whole discussion on the adhan. And when it was revealed. So in the second year of the Hijra, or even in the first year, we find that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aali, taught his companions to make the call to prayer.