Adhan (Call to Prayer)
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The Adhan (أذان) is the Islamic call to prayer, announced five times daily to summon Muslims to congregational worship. It was instituted in the first year after the Hijrah to Madinah.
Origin
When the Muslims needed a way to call people to prayer, the Prophet Muhammad consulted his companions. Abdullah ibn Zayd saw the adhan in a dream, and when he described it to the Prophet, the Prophet confirmed it and appointed Bilal ibn Rabah as the first muezzin (Sunan Abu Dawud 499). Umar ibn al-Khattab also reported seeing the same dream.
Words of the Adhan
The adhan consists of: Allahu Akbar (4 times), Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah (2 times), Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah (2 times), Hayya 'ala as-Salah (2 times), Hayya 'ala al-Falah (2 times), Allahu Akbar (2 times), La ilaha illallah (once). For the Fajr prayer, the phrase 'As-Salatu khayrun min an-nawm' (Prayer is better than sleep) is added.
Virtues of the Muezzin
The Prophet said: 'If people knew the reward of the adhan and the first row, and they found no other way to get it than by drawing lots, they would draw lots' (Sahih al-Bukhari 615).