Appendix
Eleven:
The Islamic Call to Prayer
The Muslim is called to prayer five times a day. The call to prayer is heard at dawn, at the midday, about the middle of the afternoon, just after sunset, and at night fall about two hours after sunset.
The muezzin, a man appointed to call to prayer, climbs the mineret of the mosque, and he calls in all directions, "Hasten to prayer." Many mosques no longer require the muezzin to climb the mineret. Instead, a loud speaker carries the message.
Responding to this call on Friday afternoon, praying in the mosque, and making the pledge to Allah, is the only thing needed to become a Muslim. At this point one crosses over from Dar ul Harb, the house of the pagan, into Dar ul Islam, the house of Islam (submission). The slave can no longer be beaten carelessly, and the Coptic Christian must hereafter be given work and treated with respect.
This is a very simple, faithless, and almost mindless exercise. The emphasis is on not making a verbal mistake rather than on believing something. There is no sense of communication with the god of Islam-- only the sense of being in the right place, doing the right thing, with the right people.
If the Muslim makes an error in the word sequence of prayer in the mosque, he will at once rise and quietly exit in shame.
The prayer carpet is carried by the Muslim when he travels abroad. At the times of prayer, he will determine the direction of Mecca, roll out his prayer carpet, and say his prayers to Allah.
I last heard the Islamic call to prayer at Vernon and Dix on the south side of Dearborn, Michigan at noon. This was the point in time when Jehovah God spoke to my soul of His deep love to Muslims. The call of Jehovah is the call of a God who wants to talk to his children from His Word, the Bible. The vain repetition of the Islamic prayer ritual is replaced by a daily experience of hearing the voice of God in one's soul.
ATHAN
or AZAN
The Call to Prayer
Allah
is defined as the ONE who ALONE, without partners or helpers created all that
IS created in creation, either known or unknown.
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1 Allah u Akbar,
Allah u Akbar
-- Allah is Great, Allah is Great
2-Ash-hadu al-la
Ilaha ill Allah - Ash-hadu al-la Ilaha ill Allah
-- I bear witness that
there is no divinty but Allah
3
Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullaah
-- I bear witness that Muhammad is
Allah's Messenger
Ash-hadu
anna Muhammadan Rasulullaah.
-- I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's
Messenger
4 Hayya la-s-saleah - Hayya la-s-saleah
-- Hasten to the prayer, Hasten
to the prayer
5 Hayya la-l-faleah - Hayya la-l-faleah
-- Hasten to real success, Hasten
to real success,
6 Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar
-- Allah is Great, Allah is Great
7 La Ilaha
ill Allah
-- There is no divinity but Allah
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Adhan is now completed.