PROFESSOR U. MUHAMMAD IQBAL dwells in great detail upon the meaning, musicality and beauty of Athaan as well as upon its importance to believers.
Spelling: ‘Th’ is pronounced in English in many ways; it is pronounced as ‘t’ in ‘Thomas’, as a voiceless inter-dental fricative ث in ‘thin’ and as a voiced inter-dental fricative ذ in ‘this’. In Arabic, ث is used in the word ‘hadith’, and ذ is used in the word ‘athaan’. That is why, we write Hadith and not Hadis because ‘S’ س does not represent the fourth letter but the twelfth letter which is not found in the Arabic word حديث .
Text: There are four parts in the text. Part A is Takbeer, Part B is Shahadah, Part C is Dawah, and Part D is Thikr. Parts B and C are operating parts. The entire text consists of 50 words only and its articulation is completed in less than five minutes. The name, ‘Allah’, occurs 11 times.
- A) Allahu Akbar. In Arabic, the second word is in elative degree of comparison. Arabic combines both the comparative and the superlative degrees of comparison. And so, the expression can be translated as “Allah is greater (than everything or every object)” and as “Allah is the greatest (of all).” This supremacy or paratva of Allah or God is neither controversial nor dubious. “Let thy name be magnified for ever.” (11 Samuel, 7:26)
- 1) Ashhadu al la ilaha ill Allah, I bear witness that there is no other Deity than Allah. ‘The Lord our God, is one Lord.’ (Deut 6:4) There is only One Controller of the universe. “There is no god with me.” (ibid. 32:39) He does not share His Authority with anyone.” For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.” (St. Matt, 6:13) “And say: All praise be to Allah who has neither taken a son, nor has he any partner in His Kingdom…” (Qur’ān, 17:111)
The muezzin introduces himself as Allah’s witness. The statement is both true and pleasant to hear. The presence of ‘l’, the most musical letter and its repetition, accounts for the musicality.
- 2) Ashhadu anna Muhammad- ur- Rasoolullah. I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger. The presence of the letters, sh, n, m, r, l, and the repeated use of gemination account for the musicality of the statement. A majority of the people in the world question the authenticity of the claim in this statement but the muezzin claims to be the Prophet’s witness.
It is in the capacity of Allah’s witness and the Prophet’s witness that he invites because this capacity bestows on him permission and privilege to invite. This invitation is authorised by Allah and His Messenger and so one, who believes in them, cannot turn a deaf ear to this invitation and has to respond suitably. Otherwise, he will face questioning on the Day of Judgment.
The muezzin mentions belief in God first and then belief in the Prophet. This process is reminiscent of the Biblical sequence in the statement. “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” (II Chronicles, 20:20) Belief in Prophet Muhammad includes belief in all the Prophets who came before him in this world.
- 1) Hayya alas Salat. Come to Prayer. The format of this Prayer has been put into practice and conveyed to us by Prophet Muhammad himself. Salat is the key to Jannah. Salat initiates a process of self-purification and self-upgradation. Salat provides an opportunity to converse with Allah.
It is for this purpose that the Athaan is given.
- 2) Hayya alal Falah. Come to victory / prosperity. The word ‘prosperity’ may have the Biblical sense. Vide II Chronicles, 20:20. That is, prosperity in this world and in the next. This promise of prosperity is offered to persuade the believers to set aside everything and join the congregation to praise the Lord with their human frames. “Honour God with your body.” (I Corin., 16:20) In Hinduism, service to God using the body is known as Kaya Kainkaryam. (The Hindu, Faith, April 27, 2017, p.18)
After this invitation (dawah), the muezzin’s duty is over. He has done his duty towards God’s devotees; he is now free to turn to God Himself.
Part D). Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illa Allah. These words form a part of the linguistic remembrance of Allah (Thikr). Our Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be unto him) is advised: So, whenever you are free, strive in devotion, and turn to your Lord with longing. (67:7,8) The muezzin turns to God after delivering dawah and extols Him for His incomparable greatness and peerless status as God. How people respond to his call is their own responsibility.
A cursory look at the text shows that the ideas mentioned in it will have the sympathies of all theistic communities. God’s paratva or God’s oneness and the concept that God is second to none are ideas subscribed to by them too. Serving God using the body is another common element. The idea that Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be to him) is God’s Messenger is the personal conviction of the muezzin and others do understand.
Morning Athaan: Then what is irksome about the athaan? The odd hour when the call is made in the morning and the loudness employed. When sleep is at its sweetest, man is abruptly and rudely deprived of it by the muezzin’s call and the reaction can be well-imagined, particularly the reaction of those who are under no obligation to pray. Even some Muslims are reluctant to forsake their beds and pillows. In order to persuade them to get up and to inculcate in them the wisdom of ‘early to bed and early to rise’, a statement is added to the text in between parts C and D in the Athaan for the morning (Fajr) Prayer only. And the statement is: As salatu khairum minan nowm. It is time for salat to get the better of sleep. Muslims confirm the truth of the statement by getting up from their beds. This may be an example of “forced religiousness” but Muslims see the necessity of leading a disciplined and responsible life under the monitorship of God and to renounce ease and pleasure and respond to the call of a fundamental duty.
It may be remembered that sleep can be disturbed by causes other than the muezzin’s call and that sometimes one may enjoy Rip Van Winkle’s sleep with deafening explosions all around.
Mention of a Qur’ānic fact with regard to sleep may not be out of place here. “He recalls your souls by night and knows what you do by day, and then He raises you back each day in order that the time appointed by Him is fulfilled. Then to Him you will return whereupon He will let you know what you have been doing.”(6:60) “It is Allah who takes away the souls of people at the hour of their death, and takes away at the time of sleep the souls of those that have not died. Then He retains the souls of those against whom He had decreed death and returns the souls of others till an appointed time. Surely there are Signs in this for a people who reflect.”(39:42) If Allah returns the soul to the body and man wakes up as a result of the muezzin’s call at an odd hour, instead of feeling annoyed, he may do well to reflect why God has sent the soul to rejoin the body at the odd hour. Amulya Gopalakrishnan writes, “Perhaps instead of being so sensitive to sounds, we could try being sensitive to the deep feelings they (the words of the Athaan) convey.” (The Times of India, April 20, 2017, p. 16. Chennai Edition)
She thinks that the Athaan is just another example of “the loud performance of piety”. The muezzin, in reality, is not just demonstrating his piety loudly. He is inviting others to gather from far and near to offer their obeisance and express their allegiance to God in a joint and synchronous manner. For the human voice to reach as far as possible, and as many as possible, a loudspeaker comes in handy. Science comes to the aid of religion in this way.
Some non-Muslims, who were awake already, appreciated the “sounds” of the Athaan in the early morning. Two examples are quoted here. “In the soft morning light, as we left the Blue Mosque, the musical call of the muezzin was nectar to our ears as the day gently pulled us away.” J.S. Raj Kumar on his visit to Istanbul. (The Hindu, Metroplus, February 23, 2013) Vinita Daura Nomgia writes, “I pause as the air reverberates with the muezzin’s call for prayers to the faithful, who are observing Ramzan nowadays. The sound of Azaan or call for namaz rises in waves from a mosque nestled amidst a cluster of houses, almost a kilometre away from my balcony.” (The Times of India, Times Life, July 28, 2013, p.2) How I wish such eloquent tributes to the Athaan are not few and far between!
Is Athaan necessary at all? Gibb seeks justification for the call to prayer. “Shouldn’t the faithful and devout Muslims come on their own to offer namaaz to Allah? Why should they be called when it is their fundamental duty? This is like a shepherd calling his sheep when it’s time to go back home in the evening. Human beings aren’t sheep.” (quoted by Sumit Paul, in his article on Azaan, The Times of India, The Speaking Tree, April 23, 2017, p.18)
In Christianity, words like ‘shepherd’ and ‘sheep’ carry a favourable connotation but, in the excerpt quoted above, that connotation is conspicuously absent. In the phrase, the lost sheep of Israel, who are the sheep? Human beings! The Athaan is not a call to take rest or a call to sheep. It is a call to human beings who have the freedom of choice and action, who can dissent and disobey, and who can forget and ignore, and who reside in different places and who are not under the control of the muezzin as the sheep are under the control of the shepherd. The similitude of sheep and shepherd in the extract is unwarranted.
Individuals visit the mosque to pray according to their convenience. Athaan is given five times a day only for the obligatory Prayers. Human voice and a linguistic text constitute Athaan. Musical instruments are not used.
The diurnal obligatory Prayers are distinguished by the use of Athaan. For Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha, and janaza Prayers, Athaan is Not given.
Allah orders us to establish Salat. In the process of establishment, several factors become necessary. Salat can be performed individually as sunnah but obligatory Prayers are performed in groups as a rule. To collect many people for the obligatory prayers, the need for a muezzin does arise.
In Islam, Salat is Mirajul Momineen, an audience with the Most High. When the Prophet was invited to meet the Lord, Gabriel came to escort him into the presence of the Lord. If someone invites you to his house, he is doing you the greatest honour. The muezzin invites us to mosque on behalf of God and Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be to him). It is a great honour.
Gibb would not have objected to the invitation if he had remembered Jesus’s parable in the Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 14. Invitation involves a host, a guest, a banquet and a person to deliver the invitation. A certain man, according to the parable, sent his servant to call handpicked guests. The servant said, “Come for everything is now ready.” (The muezzin also says, “Come to Prayer”.) The guests excused themselves and preferred their self- interests to the host’s sentiments. The host then ordered his servant, “Go out to the roads and country- lanes and make them come in so that my house may be full.” (verse 23) The muezzin does not go out to the roads and country- lanes; he uses a loudspeaker instead in the hope that God’s house may be full. He invites us to a banquet where Allah’s mercy is generously distributed. Those who attend this banquet five times a day without fail may qualify to enjoy the gifts of paradise. “There you shall have all that you desire and all that you ask for. This is by way of hospitality from Him who is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’ān, 41:31)
So, to receive an invitation is to receive an honour. An Urdu poet expresses his self-respect by saying, Khuda kay ghar bhi na jayengay bin bulaayay huway (Uninvited, I will not go even to the Lord’s Abode). Uninvited guests are not a pretty sight to see.
The practice of Athaan was initiated by the Prophet (May Allah bless and greet him) and, as long as Islam lasts, this practice will last.
Invitation for Hajj was extended by Prophet Abraham himself (unto him be peace). That invitation will last too.
Freedom to proclaim Athaan is symbolic of the freedom of worship. Through Athaan, a muezzin adds to a personal relationship with God a highly significant social dimension and provides a chance for individual piety to become aware of social responsibility!