When did the adhaan begin?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Some
people do say that, and some even say that the adhaan was known to all the
Prophets from the time that Adam (peace be upon him) came down to this
earth. Some of them say that it was known to Prophet Ibraaheem when his
Lord said to him (interpretation of the meaning): “And proclaim
[adhdhin] to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage). They will come to you on foot
and on every lean camel” [al-Hajj 22:27]. This is a strange thing to
say and it is not correct.

The
correct view is that the adhaan was prescribed during the time of the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
al-Madeenah al-Munawwarah, not in Makkah and not during the Israa’ as
was narrated in some da’eef (weak) ahaadeeth.

Ibn
Hajar says:

One
of the strangest things that was narrated concerning the beginning of the
adhaan was the report of Abu’l-Shaykh, whose isnaad contains someone who
is majhool (unknown), from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Zubayr, according
to which he said, “The adhaan was taken from the adhaan of Ibraaheem, “And
proclaim [adhdhin] to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage)” [al-Hajj 22:27].
So the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) gave the adhaan. (al-Fath,
2/280).

The (report about) the adhaan of Adam
is also da’eef (weak). Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy upon him) said:

What
was reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah about Jibreel calling out
the adhaan to Adam when he came down from Paradise has an isnaad which
contains people who are majhool (unknown). (al-Fath, 2/280).

The
saheeh evidence indicates that the adhaan was first prescribed during the
time of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
Madeenah. Among these reports are the following:

It
was reported from Naafi’ that Ibn ‘Umar used to say: when the Muslims
came to Madeenah, they used to come together and try to find out if the
time for prayer had come, for there was no call to prayer. One day they
were talking about that and some of them said, Let us use a bell like the
bell of the Christians. Others said, Let us use a horn like the horn of
the Jews. ‘Umar said, Let us send a man to call us to prayer. The
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,
“O Bilaal, get up and call the people to prayer.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 569).

It
was reported from Abu ‘Umayr ibn Anas from his paternal uncles among the
Ansaar: the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
concerned about the prayer and how he could bring the people together to
pray. It was said to him, Raise a flag when the time for prayer comes, and
when they see it they will call one another – but he did not like this
idea. Then the ram’s horn or shofar was suggested to him. Ziyaad said,
the shofar of the Jews. But he did not like this idea, and said, “This
belongs to the Jews.” A bell was suggested to him, but he said, “This
belongs to the Christians.” ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi
went away, thinking about the concern of the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He saw the adhaan in a dream,
and the next morning he came to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him about it. He said, “O
Messenger of Allaah, whilst I was half-asleep, someone came to me and
showed me the adhaan. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with
him) had also seen it before that, but he kept quiet for twenty days. Then
he told the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who
said to him, “What stopped you from telling me about it?” he said, “
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd beat me to it, and I felt shy.” The Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “O Bilaal,
get up and see what ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd tells you to do, and do it.”
So Bilaal gave the adhaan. (Narrated
by Abu Dawood – may Allaah have mercy on him – in his Sunan,
420).

According
to a report narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd: when the Messenger of
Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded that a
bell should be made so that it could be used to tell the people to gather
for prayer, I had a dream in which I saw a man carrying a bell in his
hand. I said, “O slave of Allaah, will you sell that bell?” he said,
“What will you do with it?” I said, “We will call the people to
prayer with it.” He said, “Shall I not show you something better than
that?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Say, Allaahu akbar Allaah
akbar, Allaahu akbar Allaahu akbar, ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah,
ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah,
ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah. Hayya ‘ala’l-salaah, hayya
‘ala’-salaah, hayya ‘ala’l-falaah, hayya ‘ala’l-falaah.
Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaha ill-Allaah (Allaah is most
Great, Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great. I
bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, I bear witness that there is
no god but Allaah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allaah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah. Come to
prayer, come to prayer. Come to success, come to success. Allaah is most
Great, Allaah is most Great. There is no god but Allaah).” Then he went
a short distance away from me, and said, “When the prayer is about to
start, say, Allaahu akbar Allaah akbar, ash-hadu an laa ilaaha
ill-Allaah, ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah. Hayya
‘ala’l-salaah, hayya ‘ala’l-falaah. Qad qaamat il-salaah, qad
qaamat il-salaah. Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaha ill-Allaah
(Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great. I bear witness that there is
no god but Allaah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of
Allaah. Come to prayer, come to success. The prayer is about to begin, the
prayer is about to begin. Allaah is most Great, Allaah is most Great.
There is no god but Allaah).” When morning came, I went to the Messenger
of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told him
what I had seen. He said, “This is a true dream, in sha Allaah. Get up
with Bilaal and tell him what you have seen, so that he can give the call,
because he has a more beautiful voice than you.” So I got up with Bilaal
and started telling him what I had seen, and he gave the call to prayer.
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard that whilst he was in his house, and he came
out, dragging his cloak behind him, saying, “By the One Who sent you
with the truth, O Messenger of Allaah, I saw the same as he saw.” The
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“To Allaah be praise.” (Narrated
by Abu Dawood, 499).

These
ahaadeeth indicate that the adhaan was first prescribed during the time of
the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Madeenah.
Perhaps this is one of the distinguishing features of this ummah which
Allaah has favoured over all other nations. And Allaah knows best.