Explanation of the Book of Prayer-05

The Shaykh : He (may Allah have mercy on him) said in what was transmitted: "And from Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)

Bilal called for prayer before dawn and the Prophet (ﷺ) told him to return and announce: "Lo! the slave of Allah (i.e. Bilal) had slept (hence this mistake)"

أن بلالا أذن قبل الفجر فأمره النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يرجع فينادي : ألا إن العبد نام

Bulugh al-Maram 2:53

. Abu Dawud narrated it and graded it weak" The hadith is weak, as Abu Dawud said, but assuming its authenticity, its meaning is that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) called the adhan before the dawn. It is known that if he calls the adhan before the dawn, people will be misled by his call. If they are fasting, they will refrain from eating and drinking; if they are not fasting, they will pray the prayer before its time. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered him to return and inform the people that he had made a mistake. This is understood from his saying: meaning himself, Bilal. meaning that sleep overtook him, and he got up without verifying the time. It is not to be taken at face value that "the slave slept," because if it were taken at face value, he would have delayed the adhan, since a sleeper does not wake up. Rather, the meaning is that he slept and then got up without verifying the time for the adhan, so he called it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to return. So in this hadith, assuming its authenticity, if the mu'adhdhin calls the adhan before the time, he is obligated to inform the people that he called the adhan before the time. But does he use the exact wording that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered Bilal to use? No, meaning the mu'adhdhin might be a free man, not a slave. The point is to inform the people. If someone asks: "Is it not possible to wait until the dawn breaks, until the dawn appears, and then call the adhan a second time?" The answer is: No, because if he called the adhan before the time, some people will get up and pray, so he must alert them to his mistake early so that the people know he called the adhan before the time.