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Islamic Perspectives - Muslim Journals Arab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi A NUMBER of
scholars are of the view that prayer was made
obligatory to Muslims in the first instance as night
worship. This is confirmed in the opening verses of
Surah 71, which may be translated as follows: “You
enfolded one! Stand in prayer at night, all but a
small part of it, half of it, or a little less, or add
to it. Recite the Qur’an calmly and distinctly. We
shall bestow on you a weighty message.” (73: 1-5) This
order was relaxed a year later after the Prophet
(peace be upon him) and his companions went through an
exacting task that required them to spend several
hours each night in prayer. It was then made
obligatory twice a day, one in the morning and one at
night, each consisting of two rak’ahs. Muslims used to
offer these prayers in secret, and no call was made
out to them to attend prayers. In year 10 of the start
of Islamic revelations, when the Prophet took his
night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem and then
ascended to heaven, prayer was made obligatory five
times a day. Three years later, when the Prophet immigrated to
Madinah where the Muslim community had a settled,
solid base and established their state, the need was
felt for some form of announcement to call people to
come and attend the congregational prayers. The
Prophet consulted his companions on the matter and
different views were expressed. A Hadith narrated by
Abdullah ibn Umar gives a short version of this
consultation. He says: “When Muslims settled in
Madinah they were on the watch out for prayer times.
No call was made for them to gather. They discussed
the matter one day. Some of them suggested to have a
bell like the one used by Christians, while others
suggested a horn like that used by the Jews. Umar
said: ‘How about choosing a man to make call when
prayers are due.’ The Prophet asked Bilal to make the
call.” (Related by Al-Bukhari). Other Hadiths give more details of the discussion
and the suggestions made. Apparently, the first
suggestion was to raise a banner, but this seemed
unpractical, because it could not be seen at night.
Moreover, people needed to look out for it. Another
suggestion was to lit up a fire, but the Prophet said
that such was the form used by Magians. He did not
like the idea of copying their practice. He made the
same objection when a horn was suggested, because he
did not feel it proper to imitate the Jews when a
large Jewish community was living in Madinah. However,
he did not object when a bell, like that used by
Christians, was suggested. In fact, he ordered that a
bell be made. It was then that Umar made his
suggestion for a vocal call to prayer. The Prophet
liked the idea and told Bilal to make the call. He
went out and shouted that prayer was due. Abdullah ibn Zayd reports: “I went home that night
thinking hard about the matter, particularly because
the Prophet was not very happy with the outcome. When
I went to bed, I was still not fast asleep when I saw
in a dream a man carrying a bell. I asked him whether
he was willing to sell me the bell. He said: ‘What do
you need it for?’ I said: ‘We will use it to call
people to come to prayer.’ He said: ‘Shall I point out
to you something better than this?’ When I asked him
what was that, he taught me the words of the athan
(i.e. the Islamic call to prayer).” These are: “God is
supreme (4 times). I bear witness that there is no
deity other than God (twice). I bear witness that
Muhammad is God’s messenger (twice). Come to prayer
(twice). Come to what ensures success (twice). God is
supreme (twice). There is no deity other than God.” In the morning, Abdullah ibn Zayd went to the
Prophet and mentioned what he saw in his dream. It was
revealed to the Prophet that the call should be
verbal. Therefore, he told Abdullah that his dream was
true. He further said to him: “Go out with Bilal and
teach him these words to make the call. His is a
melodious voice.” Bilal made the call. When Umar heard
him, he came hurriedly to the Prophet and said: “By
Him who sent you with the message of the truth, I saw
the same dream.” |
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