Adhan
Call for PrayerAdhan (aḏān)[1] the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin.
Adhan literally means 'announcement', and in the Shari'a it means the announcement made in specific words at the time of salat. It was introduced in the first year of the Hijrah at Medina. The cause of its introduction, in the opinion of the Imamis (Shi'is), was that Gabriel came down with the adhan in a message from God to the Prophet. The Sunnis say that 'Abd Allah ibn Zayd saw a dream in which he was taught the adhan by someone. When he related his dream to the Prophet, he approved it.
The Form of Adhan:
الله اكبر الله اكبر
āllahu ākbar, āllahu ākbar
God is Greatest, God is Greatest
الله اكبر الله اكبر
āllahu ākbar, āllahu ākbar
God is Greatest, God is Greatest(four times according to all the schools and twice according to the Malikis.)
اشهد ان لا اله الا الله
āsh'hadu ān lā ilaha illā-llah
I assert that there is no god but God
اشهد ان لا اله الا الله
āsh'hadu ān lā ilaha illā-llah
I assert that there is no god but God
اشهد ان محهدا رسول الله
āsh'hadu ānna mūhammadār rasūlu-llah
I assert that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
اشهد ان محهدا رسول الله
āsh'hadu ānna mūhammadār rasūlu-llah
I assert that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
Ashhadu anna Aliyyan wali Allah [It is Mustahabb (recommended) to also say at this point
twice according Imamis only]
"I assert that Ali is the vicegerent of Allah
حي على الصلوة
hayyā `alā-s-salah
Come to the prayer
حي على الصلوة
hayyā `alā-s-salah
Come to the prayer
حي على الفلا ح
hayyā `alā-l-falāh
Come to success
حي على الفلا ح
hayyā `alā-l-falāh
Come to success
حي على خير العمل
hayyā `khayr-il-'amal ) twice according to the Imamis only)
Come to the best act
[When adhan used to summon the faithful to the first prayers of the day at dawn (fajr salat), this sentence : الصلو ة خير من النوم": ās-salatu khaīrum min ān-naūm: Prayer is better than sleep"[twice] (according to the Sunnis) is inserted in the adhan.]
الله اكبر الله اكبر
āllahu ākbar, āllahu ākbar
God is Greatest, God is Greatest
لا اله الا الله
lā ilaha illā-llah
There is no god but God
Adhan According to Five Islamic Schools of Law
The Hanafis, Shafi'is and Imamis say: Adhan is a sunnah which has been emphatically recommended (mu'akkadah).
The Hanbalis observe: It is a wajib kifa'i for non-traveling men in villages and towns to make the adhan for the five daily prayers.
The Malikis state: It is a wajib kifa'i in towns where the Friday prayer is held, and if the people of such a place abandon adhan they will be fought on that account. Adhan is invalid in Certain Cases.
The Hanbalis observe: It is not valid to make adhan for a funeral prayer (salatal-janazah) or for a supererogatory prayer (al-salat al nafilah) or for one performed to fulfill a vow (al-salat al-mandhurah).
The Malikis say: It is not valid for a supererogatory or funeral prayer or for an obligatory daily prayer performed after the lapsing of its time (al-salat al- fa'itah).
The Hanafis state: It is not valid for the prayers performed on the two celebrations ('idayn), for the prayer performed on the occurrence of an eclipse (salat al- kusuf), for prayers made for rain (istisqa'), and for tarawth and sunnah prayers.
The Shafi'is do not consider it valid for janazah, mandhurah and nawafil prayers.
The Imamis observe: The Shari'ah has introduced adhan only for the five daily salats, and it is mustahabb for them, whether performed as ada' or qada', with a group (jama'ah) or singly (furada), during journey or stay, both for men and women. It is not valid for any other salat, mustahabb or wajib, and the Performer (mu'adhdhin) will just call out "al-salat" three times on occasions of salat al-kusuf and 'Idayn.
The Conditions for Adhan:
The schools concur that the conditions for the validity of adhan are: maintaining continuity of its recital and the sequence of its different parts, and that the mu'adhdhin be a sane Muslim man. Adhan by a child of discerning age is valid. All the schools concur that Taharah is not required for adhan.
The schools differ regarding other aspects. The Hanafis and the Shafi'is say: Adhan is valid even without niyyah. The other schools require niyyah.
The Hanbalis consider making adhan in any language other than Arabic as being unconditionally valid.
The Malikis, Hanafis and Shafi'is state: It is not valid for an Arab to make adhan in any other language, though it is valid for a non Arab to make it in his own tongue, for himself and his co-linguals.
The Imamis observe: Adhan is not valid before the arrival of the time of salat except in the case of salat al-fajr. The Shafi'is, Malikis, Hanbalis and many Imamis permit the making of the adhan of announcement before the dawn. The Hanafis do not permit it, making no difference between salat al-fajr and other salats. This opinion is closer to caution.
Note:
1-It is pronounced as aathan (the first vowel is prolonged, and th is pronounced as in the English word the). The root of the word is A/tha/na which means "to permit", and another derivative of this word is O/thon (the first O is pronounced as in u in the German word Götterfunken) and means ear.
Taken from:http://www.al-islam.orghttp://al-islam.orghttp://suficenter.org/Practices/adhan.html http://www.islamicacademy.org/html/Articles/English/Azan.htm Http://www.wikipedia.com