Benefits of the Hadith: (Abu Juhayfa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I saw Bilal, who did not call the adhan, and I followed his mouth here and there...)

The Shaykh : In this hadith, there are several benefits. First: the eagerness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to know the Sunnah regarding the manner of the adhan: from where is it taken? This is derived from Abu Juhayfa’s following of Bilal’s adhan. Branching from this is that a person should follow the description of the worship from one who has knowledge of it and applies it. By “applies it,” I mean, for example, if you see a scholar praying, you follow his prayer so that you may adopt it, provided we know that the man is eager to apply the Sunnah. Similarly, if we see him doing something in the tawaf, the sa’y, or the standing, and he is one whose knowledge and religion are trusted, then we follow him. Another benefit of this hadith is the prescription of turning to the right and left during “Hayya ‘ala al-salah” and “Hayya ‘ala al-falah,” in the two ways we mentioned. But is this ruling still in effect now? It appears not. Turning now—and by “now” I mean that people call the adhan with a loudspeaker—there is no need for this. In fact, if he turns to the right and left away from facing the microphone, the sound will be lowered. Therefore, we say: he does not turn. However, in installing the speakers in the minaret, this should be considered: there should be one on the right and one on the left, if it is not possible to distribute the speakers to the four directions. Another benefit of this hadith is that it is recommended to place the two fingers in the ears during the adhan, from its beginning to its end. Is the Sunnah still in effect now? Yes, as long as we say that the cause for it is the elevation of the voice and its diminishing as it exits the mouth, we say that this cause still exists now, even if the adhan is called with a loudspeaker. Another benefit of this hadith is that the turning is only with the neck and does not mean turning around, meaning that he does not turn with his entire body, nor does he turn around. If he is in a minaret, and minarets are built with a surrounding platform, and the mu’adhdhin calls the adhan from the platform on the side of the qiblah, and the neck of the minaret prevents those behind the qiblah from hearing him, some used to say that if he is in a minaret, he should turn around so that everyone around the minaret can hear the mu’adhdhin’s voice. But the correct view is that he does not turn around, even in a minaret.