1033/1 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Were people to know the blessing of announcing the Adhān (call to prayer) and standing in the first row, they would even draw lots to secure these privileges. And were they to realize the reward of performing prayer early, they would race for it; and were they to know the merits of the ‘Ishā’ (night) and Fajr (dawn) prayers, they would come to them even if they had to crawl.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) It shows the merit of Adhān, which is one of the best acts given the general interest it serves: It extols Allah Almighty by declaring His oneness and calls people to the greatest act of worship.
2) Announcing the Adhān is better than leading people in prayer. This, the scholars said, stems from the fact that the Adhān comprises proclamation of the oneness of Allah and the testimony that Muhammad is His Messenger. This highlight the great significance of the call to Tawhīd (monotheism) and Ittibā‘ (following the Sunnah of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).
3) It encourages the believers to compete with one another over acts of worship and piety. A believer should seize the opportunities of goodness and worship, one of which is keenness to proclaim the Adhān.
1034/2 - Mu‘āwiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) say: “The Muezzins (those who call to prayer) will have the longest necks on the Day of Judgment.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1) Muezzins will have the longest necks amongst people on the Day of Judgment, in honor and recognition of their merit.
2) Recompense for a deed should be of the same nature of the deed. So, Muezzins’ heads will be raised high on the Day of Judgment, because they raised the oneness of Allah Almighty on earth.
1035/3 - ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abi Sa‘sa‘ah reported: Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: “I see that you like sheep and wilderness. So whenever you are with your sheep - or in the wilderness - and you want to call the Adhān, raise your voice with it , for whoever hears the voice of the Muezzin, whether it be a human being, a jinn, or anything else, they will testify in his favor on the Day of Judgment.” Abu Sa‘īd said: “I heard this from the Messenger of Allah.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
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1) Animals and even inanimate objects will testify in favor of the Muezzin on the Day of Judgment, which points out the merit and honor of the Adhān.
2) It is recommended to announce the Adhān when the time of prayer comes.
3) It is recommended to raise the voice with the Adhān and that the Muezzin to have a strong voice.
1036/4 - Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When the Adhān (call to prayer) is announced, the devil takes to his heels and breaks wind with noise so as not to hear the Adhān. When the Adhān is over, he returns. When the Iqāmah (second call to prayer) is announced, he takes to his heels, and after it is over, he returns again to distract the attention of the worshiper and make him remember things which were not on his mind before the prayer, saying: ‘Remember such-and-such, and remember such-and-such,’ until the worshiper forgets how many Rak‘ahs (units of prayer) he has performed.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
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1) It shows the merit of Adhān, as it drives the devil away.
2) The devil is keen to distract the believer from focusing on worship. Therefore, the worshiper should struggle against the devil and sincerely seek refuge with Allah from his insinuations.
1037/5 - ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When you hear the Muezzin, say the same as he says and then invoke Allah’s peace and blessings upon me, for whoever invokes Allah’s peace and blessings upon me once will receive peace and blessings from Allah ten times in return. Then, ask Allah to grant me the Wasīlah, which is a rank in Paradise that only one slave of Allah may attain, and I hope that I would be that slave. Whoever asks Allah to grant me the Wasīlah will be entitled to receive intercession.” [Narrated by Muslim]
1038/6 - Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When you hear the Adhān, say the same as the Muezzin says.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1039/7 - Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever says upon hearing the Adhān, ‘Allahumma rabba hadhihi ad-da‘wah at-tāmah was-salāh al-qā’imah āti Muhammadan al-wasīlah wal-fadīlah wab‘athhu maqāman mahmūdan alladhi wa‘adtah’ (O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and prayer that is to be offered, grant Muhammad the Wasīlah and merit and resurrect him to the praiseworthy station that You have promised him), he will definitely be granted my intercession on the Day of Judgment.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]
1040/8 - Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever says when he hears the Muezzin, ‘Ashhadu an la ilaha illa Allah wahdahu la sharika lah, wa anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasūluh. Radītu billāhi rabban wa bi-Muhammadin rasūlan wa bil-Islāmi dīna’ (I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone without any partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. I am pleased with Allah as a Lord, with Muhammad as a Messenger, and with Islam as a religion), his sins shall be forgiven.” [Narrated by Muslim]
The above Hadīths include a number of reported Sunnahs and etiquettes related to the Adhān, as follows:
1) We should respond to the Muezzin by repeating what he says, except in the phrases “Hayy ‘ala as-salāh, hayy ‘ala al-falāh” (come to prayer; come to success), where we should respond with: “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” (There is no power nor strength except through Allah). In other words, we resolve to respond to the call by virtue of Your help, O Lord.
2) It is recommended to invoke Allah’s peace and blessings upon the Prophet immediately after the Adhān is over.
3) We should ask Allah Almighty to grant the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) the Wasīlah, which is the highest rank in Paradise, and to resurrect him to a praiseworthy station which all the creation will praise him for - and that is the station of intercession on the Day of Judgment.
4) Observing these Sunnahs regularly is a means for expiation of sins and winning the Prophet’s intercession.
1041/9 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Supplication between the Adhān and the Iqāmah is not rejected.” [Narrated by Abu Dāwūd and Al-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hasan (sound)]
1) It encourages us to seek virtuous times for supplication.
2) It points out the etiquette related to supplication. Before making supplication, a person should praise Allah Almighty and invoke His blessings upon the Prophet, which makes the supplication more likely to be answered. It is recommended for the person who hears the Adhān to repeat after the Muezzin, which is a kind of praise to Allah Almighty, after which he should invoke Allah’s blessings upon the Prophet and implore Him to grant the Prophet the Wasīlah. This makes the supplication after the Adhān more likely to be answered.
As the Adhān is part of the Dhikr reported in the Sunnah, the scholars devoted great attention to determining its words and phrases, and they agreed that the Adhān ends with the phrase “La ilaha illa Allah” (there is no god but Allah).
Invoking Allah’s blessings upon the Prophet and asking Him to grant him the Wasīlah, as reported in the preceding Hadīths, is among the Sunnahs associated with the Adhān. It is not permissible to say it loudly lest it becomes regarded as part of the Adhān. The Prophet’s guidance, observed during his lifetime, is that the Adhān would be announced, after which the Muezzin and those who heard him would invoke Allah’s blessings upon the Prophet inaudibly. Whoever acts otherwise has contradicted the Sunnah and departed from the views of the leading scholars in this regard. Muezzins should be careful to adhere to the Sunnah and not to swerve from it, for it involves all goodness and blessing.