The beginning of the adhan

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the Muslims came to Madinah, they would gather and wait for the prayers, and there was no one to announce them. One day they spoke about this. Some said: Let us make a bell like the bell of the Christians. Others said: Rather, a horn like that of the Jews. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Why do you not send a man to announce the prayer? Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Bilal, stand up and announce the prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that they consulted about something by which they could know and recognise the times of prayer. Some mentioned that they should strike a bell or light a fire. Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) was ordered to say the phrases of the adhan in pairs and the iqamah once.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when the time of prayer came, a man would run along the road announcing: "The prayer, the prayer!" This became difficult for the people, so they said: "O Messenger of Allah, what if we made a bell?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is for the Christians." They said: "Shall we make a horn?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is for the Jews." The narrator says: Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) to say the phrases of the adhan in pairs and the iqamah once.

Abu Umayr bin Anas narrates from his paternal uncles of the Ansar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was concerned about the prayer, how he should gather the people for it. It was said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): Set up a banner when the time of prayer comes; when the people see it, they will inform one another. That did not please him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then the shabbur (horn) was mentioned to him (peace and blessings be upon him) - Ziyad says: the shabbur of the Jews - and that did not please him (peace and blessings be upon him) either; rather he said: "That is a practice of the Jews." Then the bell was mentioned to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "That is a practice of the Christians." Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) went away, concerned with the concern of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was shown the adhan in his sleep. He came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the morning and informed him (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: O Messenger of Allah, I was between sleep and wakefulness when suddenly someone came to me and taught me the adhan. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) had seen this same dream before him, but he kept it hidden for twenty days. Then he informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What prevented you from informing us?" He said: Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) got ahead of me, and I felt shy. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Bilal, stand up and see what Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) tells you to do, and do it." Then Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the adhan. Abu Bishr says: Abu Umayr informed me that the Ansar claimed that had Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) not been ill in those days, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would have made him the muezzin.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Zayd bin Abd Rabbih (may Allah be pleased with them both): My father Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered a bell to be made so that it could be struck to gather the people for the prayer, a man came around me while I was asleep, carrying a bell in his hand. I said to him: "O servant of Allah, will you sell the bell?" He said: "What will you do with it?" I said: "We will call (people) to the prayer with it." He said: "Shall I not show you something better than that?" I said: "Certainly." He said: "Say: 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar; ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah; ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah, ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah; hayya 'ala al-salah, hayya 'ala al-salah; hayya 'ala al-falah, hayya 'ala al-falah; Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar; la ilaha illallah' (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest; I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, I bear witness that there is no god but Allah; I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah, I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah; come to the prayer, come to the prayer; come to success, come to success; Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest; there is no god but Allah)." Then he stepped back a little and said: "When you give the iqamah, say: 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar; ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah; ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah; hayya 'ala al-salah; hayya 'ala al-falah; qad qamat al-salah, qad qamat al-salah; Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar; la ilaha illallah' (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest; I bear witness that there is no god but Allah; I bear witness that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah; come to the prayer; come to success; the prayer has certainly been established, the prayer has certainly been established; Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest; there is no god but Allah)." In the morning I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and informed him (peace and blessings be upon him) of what I had seen. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is a true dream, if Allah Almighty wills. Stand with Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and teach him what you saw, and let him give the adhan with these words, for he has a louder voice than you." So I stood with Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him); I would teach him and he would give the adhan. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this while he was in his house, and he came out dragging his cloak and saying: "O Messenger of Allah, by the One who sent you with the truth, I too have seen a dream like his." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "All praise is for Allah."

Ya'qub narrated it to us with the same chain, except that he mentioned the takbir twice at the beginning of the adhan.

(a) Abu Dawud said: Al-Zuhri likewise narrated it from Sa'id bin al-Musayyab from Abdullah bin Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), meaning the story of the dream, with the phrases of the adhan said twice and those of the iqamah once.
(b) It is narrated from al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him): 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar' (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest).
(c) It is narrated from al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him): 'Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar' (Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest), without doubling it.
Muhammad bin Yahya said: Among the reports of Abdullah bin Zayd on the story of the adhan, there is no report more authentic than this, meaning the hadith of Muhammad bin Ishaq from Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Taymi from Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Zayd, because Muhammad heard from his father, whereas Ibn Abi Layla did not hear from Abdullah bin Zayd. And in Kitab al-Ilal of Abu Isa al-Tirmidhi he said: I asked Muhammad bin Isma'il al-Bukhari about this hadith, meaning the hadith of Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Taymi, and he said: In my view it is a sahih (authentic) hadith.