Discussion of the two Fajr adhan calls.

The questioner : May Allah will it, this mosque is established according to the Sunnah to the best of our ability, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh: May Allah will it.

The questioner : The adhan here is not unified; specifically regarding the Fajr adhan, we have two adhan calls, the first and the second. This has caused contradictions. In other mosques, or in the unified adhan, the phrase "Prayer is better than sleep" is said in the second adhan, even though here in our mosque it is said in the first adhan. The person who wakes up from sleep or gets up late does not know whether it is the first or the second adhan. So please clarify this for us?

The Shaykh : Fine, who is responsible for this lack of knowledge? Those who follow the Sunnah or those who go against the Sunnah? Be patient, may Allah reward you. If a problem arises, it arises either due to ignorance of the Sunnah or due to opposing and contradicting it. It is reported in "Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had two mu'adhdhins: one was Bilal and the other was 'Amr ibn Umm Maktum. Bilal would call the adhan at the time when your unified adhan is called today. Bilal's adhan was called at night, meaning before the appearance of the true dawn. This is called the first adhan. That is why I said that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) would call the adhan at the time of your first adhan. As for the second adhan at the appearance of the true dawn, it was called by 'Amr ibn Umm Maktum. Although he was blind and could not see the white light mentioned by Allah in the Qur'an , he would climb to the roof of the mosque before the time. People would pass by him, and when they saw that the true dawn had appeared, they would say to him, "It has dawned, it has dawned," and he would then call the adhan. So 'Amr ibn Umm Maktum would call the adhan at the appearance of the dawn, even though he could not see it, because those who could see it would inform him. Now, the Sunnah is like this: there are two adhan calls. One is before the true dawn, and the wisdom behind its legislation is mentioned in some authentic hadiths . He did not call the adhan, and he was a blind man who did not call the adhan until it was said to him, "It has dawned, it has dawned." So the difference between the first and second adhan is known by understanding the Sunnah. Legally, in the first adhan, the mu'adhdhin would say, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him, "Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep." This was Bilal's adhan. And when Ibn Umm Maktum called the adhan, he did not say "Prayer is better than sleep." So if people knew the difference between the adhan that permits food and drink, which is the first adhan, and the second adhan that forbids food and drink and permits the Fajr prayer, they would know the difference between the two by two means. One is tangible and clear: the first adhan contains "Prayer is better than sleep," while the second does not. The other means is the difference in the voice of the first mu'adhdhin from the voice of the second mu'adhdhin. If people turn away from this Sunnah, meaning from the first adhan before the dawn which contains "Prayer is better than sleep," and turn away from the second adhan at its prescribed time, making it at an unprescribed time, this chaos, if it is done by one who does not know the Sunnah or does not care to implement it, what is the responsibility of those who want to hold fast to the Sunnah? That is what our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us about regarding such a problem when he said . They said, "Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?" He said . And another hadith says . For that reason, the rewards of these strangers were multiplied many times over compared to the others, even compared to the earliest generations. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said . It is reported in another hadith . They said, "Are we among them, O Messenger of Allah, or are we among those?" He said . So the problem is between two opposing directions and cannot be solved. But each direction solves its own problem within the limits of its own jurisprudence, whether it is correct or incorrect. So I am now saying: solve the problem you were complaining about just now. Consider the unified adhan to be the first adhan, and include "Prayer is better than sleep" in it. Then the second adhan, which you call when you see the dawn, is the legal adhan. And Allah is sufficient for the believers in fighting. Where is the confusion? There is no confusion left.

The questioner : The second adhan contains "Prayer is better than sleep." The first adhan does not contain "Prayer is better than sleep." The unified one is not the second.

The Shaykh : My brother, please understand what I am saying. Are you not saying that the unified second adhan is the one that contains "Prayer is better than sleep"? I am telling you to make it your first adhan, otherwise it will not work for you yet.

The questioner : It needs to be called again after the second adhan, another adhan.

The Shaykh : Since the unified adhan that contains "Prayer is better than sleep" is considered by them to be the true dawn adhan, is that not so? But by observation, it is not so, otherwise you would not have observed it. If you have not observed it, then be safe, because people who have witnessed it have seen the moon with their eyes, or as the poet said. The important thing is, if you have not seen it, we are ready to show you the true dawn twenty-five minutes after the unified adhan that contains "Prayer is better than sleep." The unified adhan that contains "Prayer is better than sleep" is called, and they pray Fajr based on it. It is called before the appearance of the true dawn, which we see with our own eyes twenty-five minutes later. I am saying now: solve the problem you mentioned just now. Consider it your first adhan. Then, when you see the true dawn, call the second adhan, which does not contain "Prayer is better than sleep." In this way, the problem is resolved, and you remain upon the Sunnah.

The questioner : There is no recorder that receives the adhan.

The Shaykh : It is not necessary. We are not speaking specifically about a mosque. In any house, if you are in your homes and hear the unified adhan, which is the second adhan, and I repeat, the one that contains "Prayer is better than sleep," consider it the first adhan. It is not necessary for this mosque to have a sound receiver or not. The important thing is that this is the first adhan because it is called at night. What did the previous hadith say? . He was a blind man who did not call the adhan until it was said to him, "It has dawned, it has dawned." So if you hear the first adhan, it does not mean that food and drink are forbidden for you. No, because Allah says . But this first adhan, in the opinion of the timetable, is considered the adhan. This is an astronomical adhan and is not a legal adhan at all. Similarly, the Maghrib adhan is astronomical and not legal, because we also see the sun set, and the adhan is called ten minutes after sunset. This is in some places. In my house, the dawn appears twenty-five minutes after the adhan. The Maghrib adhan is called ten minutes after sunset. In other places, like al-Na'ur, we once saw the unified adhan coming out of the mosque while the sun had not yet set, and people were breaking their fast on this adhan. This is a grave error. Therefore, first, this so-called unification must be broken. Every neighborhood must have a mu'adhdhin who watches the sunset, the dawn, and the sunrise, and calls the adhan. Every mosque has its own adhan. I have also seen with my own eyes, in the last Ramadan, the unified adhan being called while the sun was setting in the same al-Na'ur. Because al-Na'ur, like Amman, has lowlands and highlands. Therefore, the person in the highlands does not break his fast with the person in the lowlands, and the person in the lowlands does not break his fast with the person in the highlands. Every area, in commercial terms regarding the sale of land, the land differs by the span of a hand. This is in terms of commerce. But in reality, in terms of times, the land also differs by the span of a hand. For example, in the valley below, in Jabal al-Husayn, it is not like the one in the valley near Masjid al-Husayn. The one who is there is not like the one who is on top of the mountain. The situation differs completely. These differences, despite the fact that those who made the timetable say "with a note on the difference in times," I ask myself: who observes this in this lost people? Who observes it?! They should have had to warn that the time in such-and-such a town, in such-and-such an area, is different. But no one can do this except the mu'adhdhins. And the mu'adhdhins today are employees like other employees; they call the adhan according to the timetable, and that is the end of the matter.

The questioner : That is fine, but in this case, we would have three adhan calls. We do not want to respond to the first one; we want to cancel it from our side. We want to catch up with the second adhan, "Prayer is better than sleep." We are done with the first adhan along with their second adhan. We want to call the adhan for Fajr or the true dawn. This means the third adhan will come from our side, separate from the two external adhan calls.

The Shaykh : Why the third one?

The questioner : Because for the first one, you say, "Do not speak to him, leave him alone, use the second adhan, 'Prayer is better than sleep,' considering that in this area, 'Prayer is better than sleep' is the first adhan, while in other areas, it is the second."

The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah bless you, why are you... my words, answer my question. Why the third adhan? Since the Sharia adhan for the rising of Fajr has been called, correct? And we considered the unified adhan to be the first adhan. What is the third adhan that you are going on about for?

The questioner : ... .

Another questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Where is the third adhan, people?

Another questioner : ... "Prayer is better than sleep." The third adhan must be called with the rising of the true dawn. Three adhan calls, not in a mosque, but in the neighborhood as a whole... confusion regarding the issue.

The Shaykh : By Allah, I do not understand where the third adhan is. I am asking you, a question. The third adhan between the two adhan calls that I am hearing? Do not rush. The third adhan between the two adhan calls that I am telling you about?

The questioner : No.

The Shaykh : Where is it? My brother, tell me, may Allah guide you. We will not finish with this noise until it is done. I told you, the unified adhan for Fajr according to the calendar, consider it the first adhan for you, okay.

The questioner : That is fine.

The Shaykh : And then, when the true dawn rises, you call the adhan. This is the second adhan. The third adhan that you are going on about, between them? You said no. Be patient. Between them? No, not after the adhan at the true dawn, and not before?

The questioner : Before.

The Shaykh : So it is between them, may Allah guide you.

The questioner : Before.

The Shaykh : Okay, another question. Is this third adhan before the unified adhan that they call according to the calendar?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Be patient. He must answer, may Allah guide you. Did you understand my question? The previous question was: Is the third adhan that is in your mind between the unified adhan and the Sharia adhan? You said no. Now my question is: Is it before the unified adhan? It must be like that. We do not make it yours, we do not make it for what? We have sufficed with the unified adhan for our first Sharia adhan. Where is the third adhan, people? That is enough, may Allah bless you.

The questioner : I want to clarify to the brother regarding the third adhan. For Masjid al-Taqwa, there are only two adhan calls, as you clarified. But for the listeners of the people in the Jabal al-Nasr neighborhood, they will hear three adhan calls. This is what he wants to convey to you, my Shaykh. As for Masjid al-Taqwa, only two adhan calls come out of it: the first adhan, which you guided us to be when the second adhan is for the unified one. The people have now heard the unified adhan, then they heard the second adhan for Masjid al-Taqwa, and then they will hear the third adhan, which is the Sharia adhan that will come out of Masjid al-Taqwa. So he says, for the listeners of the people, there are three adhan calls.

The Shaykh : But this is not actually three. We return to the previous issue that the matter is relative and a fabrication between the Sunnah and what contradicts the Sunnah. This is the problem.

The questioner : The people heard three adhan calls, and he wants to get out of this problem.

The Shaykh : Okay, the problem is over. What do we do? Tell me, what do we do? Do they follow the Sharia, or do we follow what contradicts the Sharia? What is the solution? The solution is, as the common people say, "O people, follow the people." This is the easiest thing. No, that is not right.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : No, no. I advise you to observe, because as we said earlier, the land differs by the span of a hand. Observe the dawn. We cannot give a definitive percentage. I hope the brothers pay attention to this fact. It is not permissible to give a definitive percentage. The land differs from place to place. And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.