What Does the Muezzin Say During the Call to Prayer?
February 12th, 2008, 3 Comments »
Here in Morocco, we hear the adhan or call to prayer five times a day. For me, they are to Morocco what the church bells were to Malta. That is, a clockwork reminder of religion, shared by an entire community.
You’ve probably heard the call to prayer on television or in a movie (wasn’t it in The English Patient?). You’ve certainly heard it if you’ve visited a Muslim country. You can listen to some samples of the adhan here. The local ones have a droning, haunting quality that sounds, well, really foreign to my Western ears.
What is the muezzin–the chosen person who leads the call to prayer–actually saying? We’ve got a book on Islam, and here are the phrases that comprise the adhan:
- God is great.
- I witness that there is no god but God.
- I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God.
- Rise up for prayer.
- Rise up for salvation.
- God is great.
- There is no god but God.
These are repeated a number of different times. There are also some differences between the Sunni and Shia versions, which you can read about on Wikipedia.