Dr. Khalid I. Al-Anaysha Al-Dossary

1. ATHAN NUGGETS
1 - Oneness of God (Allah SWT):
The first phrase of the Athan is: GOD is Greater. God (Allah SWT) Himself is greater than all else,
nothing can compare to Him.
o Since nothing compares to the Almighty, one can conclude that: nothing or no one is
worthy of worship except God Himself (Allah SWT). Thus, neither His subordinates nor
any other deities should be worshiped.
o Thus, Muslims associate no partners with God (Allah SWT).
 One reason for this is to avoid clash of authority that arises from polytheistic
beliefs (for example: the Trinity).
God (Allah SWT) is Omnipotent, and does not need anything from anyone.There is no power or
authority except in ALLAH.
The athan introduces Allah as the exact same God worshiped by Judaism & Christianity - the God
of Abraham, the God of Moses, the God of Jesus and the God of Muhammad – peace be upon
them all. The ONE and ONLY God.
The athan is a constant reminder of the Oneness of God – a concept known as tawheed – which
is a core belief of Muslims.
We only worship One GOD; if you worship more than one there will be a problem.If you have
more than one captain on a ship, each one will want to go in a different direction!
2 - The Adhan (Call to Prayer):
The “Adhan” indicates that it is time for prayer. This is your time with God. If your spouse will
not listen, pour your heart out to God; if your children cannot give you peace, ask God to guide
them.
Five times a day, we put the material world on hold as we enter the spiritual realm.
When it comes to prayer we pray 5 times a day to keep us away from sin.
You cannot commit a crime while praying and it helps you avoid bad deeds.
Whatever you are doing, stop and go to God and pray. He is Greater than anything you are
doing at the time of prayer.
The sound of the adhan is soothing, humble and peaceful. It puts the listener in a state of
tranquility.
Like the church bells for the Christians, the athan is the call to prayer for the Muslims.
The athan raises awareness of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) because the second phrase is: I
bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger of God (Allah swt).
o Sparks interest in the Prophecy of Abraham(Ibrahim), and the generation of Prophets
that came after him. As all the Prophets after Abraham (Ibrahim) were mentioned by
name in the scriptures of the three Monotheistic religions. Thus, all the scriptures
complement each other.

2. o Islam requires Muslims to believe in all the messengers. Prophet Muhammad is the seal
of the prophets.
The call for prayer is constantly being called from all around the world; not a minute goes by
without someone, somewhere, praying to God (Allah SWT).
All Muslims – regardless of race, nationality, financial status or rank are called to prayer. This
promotes unity and a sense of community. Islam believes in equality of mankind.
The muezzin (the one who calls to prayer), also, is chosen regardless of his race, nationality, or
status. In fact, the first muezzin of Islam was a black man – Bilal.
Prayer brings the soul back to life, because thinking of materialistic and worldly-matters sedates
the soul from the reality of life.
When you pray, you have to make ablutions (wudhu). When you do this five times a day
your sins will be removed just as if you bathed five times a day in the river.This is taken from the
following ‘hadith’, or saying of our prophet Muhammad pbuh. Abu Hurairaradiyallahuʿanhu
narrates that I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "If there was a river at the door of anyone of you
and he took a bath in it five times a day would you notice any dirt on him?" They said, "Not a
trace of dirt would be left." The Prophet added, "That is the example of the five prayers with
which Allah blots out (annuls) evil deeds.” Sahih al-Bukhari, 1:10:506
The athan allows the believer to pause, and take a ‘time-out’ from the pressure of life to give
thanks, and gratitude to the Lord.
It is a means of refreshing faith and giving the believer more control over his/her faith.
Our hearts are cleansed from filth.
Praying five times a day promotes discipline, punctuality and helps the believer rid his/her self
from laziness.
The athan also reminds the Muslim of the Hereafter.
The words of the athan are beautiful and are recited harmoniously.
It allows the believer to acknowledge the power their Lord has over them, and to submit to Him.
In Islam, we are reminded that nothing can happen in this life unless GOD wills it to happen.
It is better for you to pray than to sleep. If you sleep, you will not accomplish anything, but if you
pray you will be successful in your life, your work, your family, etc..
The athan equates prayer with success. Success in this world and the hereafter.
3 - Testimony:
Adhan allows the believer to testify the Oneness of God (Allah SWT), and that Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) is indeed His messenger.
o By uttering these words, no believer will reside eternally in hell.
We are reminded of our covenant to God (Allah swt) before coming to Earth. We already all
testified that He is our Lord. The athan reinforces this concept as a warning to believers and
non-believers.