Would Muslims of that age even recognize the innovated shortened Azan that we hear today?
The calls during the night are long chants, that of the daytime
is much shorter. Mr. Lane renders it thus: ”
God is most Great ” (four times repeated). “I testify that
there is no deity but God ” (twice). ” I testify that Mohammed
is God’s Apostle ” (twice). “Come to prayer ” (twice). “Come
to security ” (twice). “God is most Great” (twice). “There is
no deity but God.”The muezzin whom I hear when the first faint light
appears in the east, has a most sonorous and sweet tenor
voice, and his chant is exceedingly melodious. In the perfect
hush of that hour his voice fills all the air, and might well be
mistaken for a sweet entreaty out of heaven. This call is
a long one, and is in fact a confession and proclamation
as well as a call to prayer.It begins as follows: “[I extol] the perfection of God, the Existing forever and
ever” (three times) : ” the perfection of God, the Desired, the
Existing, the Single, the Supreme: the perfection of God, the
One, the Sole: the perfection of Him who taketh to Himself,
in his great dominion, neither female companion nor male
partner, nor any like unto Him, nor any that is disobedient,
nor any deputy, nor any equal, nor any offspring. His
perfection [be extolled]: and exalted be His name. He is a
Deity who knew what hath been before it was, and called
into existence what hath been; and He is now existing, as He
was [at the first]. His perfection [be extolled]: and exalted
be His name.”And it ends: ” O God, bless and save and still beatify the
beatified Prophet, our lord Mohammed. And may God,
whose name be blessed and exalted, be well pleased with thee,
0 our lord El-Hassan, and with thee, O our lord El-Hoseyn,
and with thee, O Aboo-Farrag, O Sheykh of the Arabs, and
with all the favorites [' the welees'] of God. Amen.”The mosques of Cairo are more numerous than the churches
in Rome; there are about four hundred, many of them in
ruins, but nearly all in daily use.– “Mummies and Moslems”, Travelogue By Charles Dudley Warner Published 1876
Now one may compare this type of Azan to what one may hear in the company of Naksibendi Mureeds:
Arabic
——
Allahumma Salli ‘alaa Sayyidina Muhammad
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah
Hayyi ‘alas salah
Hayyi ‘alas salah
Hayyi ‘alal falah
Hayyi ‘alal falah
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar,
La ilaha illallah
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
alayka ya Sayyidiyya Rasullullah
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
alayka ya Sayyidiyya Habbibullah
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
ya man arsalahu-llahu ta’ala rahmatan lil-’alamin
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
alayka ya Sayyidiyya Awwalin wal Akhirin
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
wa ‘ala alika wa ashabika ajma ‘in
As-Salatu wa s-salamu ‘alaykum,
ya Anbiya wa Awliya Allah.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin!
(Du’a)
Allahumma Rabba hadhihi da’wati tamma’ was salatil qa’ima, ati Muhammadan al-wasilata wal fazilata wad darajatir rafi’atal ‘aliyya, wab’athhu, ya Rabbi, al-maqamal mahmudal lazi wa’adtahu, warzuqna shafa’atahu yawmal qiyama, innaka la tukhliful mi’ad
English
——-
O Allah! Shower blessings upon Sayyidina Muhammad
Allah is Greatest
(four times)
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah
(twice)
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (twice)
Hasten to the prayer
(twice)
Hasten to salvation
(twice)
Allah is Greatest (twice)
There is no god but Allah.
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Messenger of Allah
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Beloved of Allah
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O you whom Allah Most High sent as Mercy to the Worlds.
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Master of Here and Hereafter
Blessings and peace be upon you,
and upon all your family and your Companions.
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Prophets and Friends of Allah
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!
O Allah! Lord of this perfect supplication and of this established prayer, grant Muhammad the means and the exellence, and the sublime and supreme rank. Raise him, O my Lord, to the Praiseworthy Station which You promised him, and grant us his intercession on the Day of Judgement, for You do not fail Your promise.
BismillaharRahmanirRahim
as-salaamu ‘alaikum, mashaAllah! This is very interesting. What makes it even more interesting for me is that not more than 3 months ago another Naks-i’bendi and I served as the visiting imam and muezzin for jumu’ah prayer in Brooklyn. During this visit I made the azan followed by salawat.
To my surprise, the custodian of the masjid, an Egyptian, became furious. After the khutbe, which was “the best khutbe this masjid has seen in sometime…” according to one observer, the custodian addressed the imam/khatib and I completely loosing his manners showing his guests no courtesy at all. Arguing that the azan should not be accompanied by salawat!
Bismillah,
Alhamdulilah,
I was in Turkey last week, and on Fridays and on Sundays both in Carsamba and in Konya, they were doing the salawat sherif before the namaz. and after….
The Osmanlis were on a totally different level compared with us today. May Allah bless them and change us to be like them. Amin
I can’t wait till the next posting Yursil. Mashallah!
Salaam. They still offer some salawat before or after the adhan in many masaajid in Indonesia. It’s usually not the long version the Naqshbandis (whatever spelling or sect you may follow) offer, but it’s an acknowledgment of Sayyidina Muhammad’s crucial place of importance and respect in our deen, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam.
Wow, mashallah! Can’t wait to read the next posting too. The Naqshbandis have realy held onto and preserved the sunnah of our blessed Prophet (saw), it’s a shame that they have let go of these traditions in other parts of the muslim world. In Pakistan they still proclaim salawat before the adhan. I wonder where else they still do it.
Assalamu alaykum,
i find it interresting, well i am not sure whether it was like that, bec we know how azan was first said. So i think it is just misinforming. Or maybe someone tells us source of that.
AA
Walaikumassalam,
How do you know how the Azan was first said, and where did you hear it was any different? Do you know what was said before and after?
-Yursil
Salaam ‘Alaikum
In Jordan, they say the salawat after the adhan is over (he waits about 4 or 5 beats), followed by the du’a. In our fiqh class (Shafi’i), we just learned last week that saying the salawat is a Sunnah.
Likewise, my shafi’i fiqh teacher called it sunnah, provided the salawat is understood to be not the same as the azan or part of the azan. It is salawat *after* azan. As long as that is understood, fire away. Unfortunately I haven’t heard it at all in Malaysia. I don’t know if it was once common and died out like so many other sunnahs, or whether it was just never customary here.
assalaamu a’laikum yursil, nice post.
In Kerala (southern India), another Shafi’i stronghold, I’ve heard salawat recited before the azan.
BismillaharRahmanirRahim
as-salaamu ‘alaikum, Bin Gregory you wrote,
Understood by whom? The World, the jama’at, the imam, the muezzin? Do you think a muezzin would perform salawat thinking it was part of the azan?
wa alaykum salam,
Relax, bro. I mean, understood by the one calling the azan. And yes, I think it’s perfectly conceivable that the muezzin would perform it thinking it was part of the azan, depending on the level of knowledge of the muezzin. I called azan with the salawat for years and years before I became aware of the distinction. I still call azan with salawat, but now I am more aware of the fiqhi status of each action. I’m not saying anyone is doing anything wrong, akhi. I’m just splitting fiqhi hairs that the short (or long) azan is not innovated in the sense of it introducing a change into the calling of the azan. It is innovated in the sense of it being a modern omission of a lovely sunnah that deprives one of the full range of blessings that could otherwise be obtained. But I knew what Yursil meant, and I hope he knew what I meant. My main point is that salawat after azan is indeed a sunnah act as taught by the shafiis of Malaysia. Whew. Is it just me or is it hot in here?
Salamu’alaykum,
I understood dear bin gregory and I also understand that Saifuddin had a personal experience where he was attacked on the fiqhi nature of it (which is also how I understand his inquisitive question above)
I like to keep things cool, not hot, on my website, inshaAllah
Salaam!
I hope I could recite salawat after the adhan in my local mosque. The imam is Wahhabi and I think he would mind and tell me not to do adhan at all.
The respected sidi said:
“How do you know how the Azan was first said, and where did you hear it was any different? Do you know what was said before and after?
-Yursil”
I need clarification from Sidi Yursil. Are you saying that the Salawat was actually said as part of the adhaan? If this is not the case, I have no qualms. If this is the case, that the salawat is officially said as part of the adhaan, then this needs to be clarified for me.
Though by no means am I a scholar, I have read many works of fiqh, and never have I read of the fuqahaa’ of the Hanbali or the Shafi’i madha-hab promoting or even mentioning the salawat as part of the adhaan.
Ibn Qudamah – silent regarding it in his Al-Kaafi
Imam An-Nawawi – silent
Imam Ibn Rushd in his Bidayat Al-Mujtahid does not mention this act.
Imam Muhammad Ash-Shawkaani, a man who lived beneath the Ottoman empire in Yemen as well as travelled extensively throughout Ottoman domain, did not mention such an act in his detailed discussion of the adhaan in his tome Nayl Al-Awtaar.
The adhaan is recorded in mutawaatir form, with minor disagreements regarding the number of repetition of certain phrases, in all canonical books of hadith. It has been preserved in the earliest manuscripts of fiqh, and reported from all of the madha-hab of Islam.
Nice post Sidi
Jazaakum Allahu Khairan
Abul Layth
BismillahirRahmanirRaheem
Salamu’alaykum Abul Layth,
The term azan refers specifically to the portions of the call which we see above.
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah
Hayyi ‘alas salah
Hayyi ‘alas salah
Hayyi ‘alal falah
Hayyi ‘alal falah
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar,
La ilaha illallah
Salawat is recited (and was recited) immediately before and after the azan. I take it to be a lexical debate (and really meaningless discussion for the layman), as to whether one wants to consider that as “officially” part of what is called ‘azan’. That discussion is really up to your scholarly knowledge. From my limited understanding, it is not part of the ‘azan’, but there is also no harm for the uneducated to believe that it is (so there is no need for a speech about the matter before giving Salawat and Azan).
However, then you mention different sources who are silent on this matter. I am not sure if that is to make the point that the salawat is was not recited before or after the Azan or not.
As we have seen in these comments students of Shaafi fiqh are learning that Salawat with azan is sunnah. A scholarly debate between those learned students is better. We have also seen number of travelogue reports from even non-Muslims showing Salawat was said before and after Azan. And we also have those who have commented here and elsewhere that the practice continues today in various areas including Syria, India, Malaysia.
Finally, from my Shaykhs teachings, I have learned (very simply) it is a firm part of Islam to send greetings and blessings upon the Prophet (Sallalahu’alaiheewassalam) when his name is mentioned. His (Sallalahu’alaiheewassalam) name is mentioned in the Azan.
As far as other more complicated discussions I would refer you to http://www.sunnah.org/fiqh/adhan.htm and other more knowledge books and articles. I understand Durr-ul-mukhtar and Radd-ul-mukhtar covers this topic as well.
-Yursil
Salamu ‘Alaykum respected Sidi,
I agree with you that it is not part of the adhaan. That was what I needed clarified Sidi. Shukran. As for saying the Salawat upon the Nabi post-adhaan, then this is an established act.
In the famous treatise of Imam Ash-Shawkaani, Tuhfat-Adh-Dhaakirin the gloss of al-Jazaa’iri’s Hisnul-Hasin, he quotes a hadith from the Sahih of Imam Muslim that reads,
“When you [all] hear the Mu’adhdhin, then say as he has said. Then send Salaa upon me, for verily the one who sends one salaa upon me, Allah ta’alaa will send 10 Salaa upon him, then ask Allah for the waseelah for me, it being a rank a jannah for only one of Allah’s slaves, and I hope that I may be that one. And whoever asks Allah for the waseelah for me, he will have my intercession.”
[Sahih Muslim iin his Book of Salah: Chapter: It is recommended to say what the Mu'adhdhin has said - It is hadith number 154 of Hisnul-Haseen]
Jazaakum Allahu Khairan Sidi,
Abul Layth
there is also no harm for the uneducated to believe that it is
This is an important point. From my very limited knowledge, there is a fiqh principle that says roughly: “a sunnah act performed with the mistaken belief that it is obligatory is acceptable, while an obligatory act performed with the mistaken belief that it is sunnah is not valid.” To me, this simple principle goes a long way toward explaining the teaching style of our Naqshbandi shuyukh. Our shuyukh are far more interested in having students that hold fast to the sunnah through thick and thin than with having students who have a degree of legal knowledge. Better to blindly follow the sunnah than to abandon it with eyes wide open. Of course possessing both of these traits, knowledge and practice are highly desirable, yadda yadda yadda. It’s a question of emphasis.
assalam alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu wa al maghifratuhu
inshallah your well akhi.
just want to say jazakhallah khair for this, ive been looking for the duah to say after the adhan for a while. so i appreciate this much, may Allah reward you kindly ameen
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
As-salamu alaykum,
Thank you for sharing this!
As-Salaamu `Alaykum,
Ustadh Abdul-Hakim Jackson informed me that one can still hear the salawaat upon Al-Mustafa (SAAS) after adhan in smaller villages in Masr.
He stated to me that according to what he learned from his shaykh, it was a practice that began in Masr during the Fatimiyyah prior to the Ottomans coming there.
WALLAHU `Alim.
Wassalaam
They still do it in jami’a umawwi in Damascus if I’m not mistaken. Their adhaans are beautiful – its a chorus of mu’edhins, got to hear it for yourself. ya Latif, I miss shaam!
Jazak Allah khayr for this!