❖ Sunnah Method of the Two Adhāns for Fajr and the Words of "Tathwīb"
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Kitāb al-Adhān, Page 247
❖ Question:
According to some scholars, there are two Adhāns for Fajr:
➊ The first Adhān is given a short while before true dawn (Ṣubḥ Ṣādiq).
➋ The second Adhān is given at the actual time of true dawn.
In addition:
◈ During the first Adhān, the words of “Tathwīb”, i.e., “الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّوْمِ” ("Prayer is better than sleep") are recited.
◈ A gap of approximately ten minutes is observed between the two Adhāns.
Are these practices in accordance with the Sunnah and permissible? What is the correct view?
❖ Prominent Scholars Who Held This View:
◈ Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله
Reference: Tamām al-Minnah – Takhreej wa Taʿlīq Fiqh al-Sunnah; al-Irwāʾ
(Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd 2/415, Ḥadīth 516)
◈ Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Ḥāfiẓ Thanāʾ Allāh Madanī
Reference: Weekly al-Iʿtiṣām, Lahore (14 August 1998)
◈ Mawlānā Muḥammad Munīr Sīālkotī
Reference: Fiqh al-Ṣalāh, Vol. 2, pp. 152–156
◈ Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Raʾūf Sindhū
Reference: al-Qawl al-Maqbūl fī Takhreej wa Taʿlīq Ṣalāt al-Rasūl
(Published 1997)
(By: Muḥammad Ṣiddīq Salafī, Abbottabad)
❖ Ruling on the Two Adhāns for Fajr
The practice of two Adhāns for Fajr is established in the Sunnah:
➊ The First Adhān
This is given before true dawn and is referred to as the night Adhān.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"أَنَّ بِلالا كَانَ يُؤَذِّنُ بِلَيْلٍ"
"Indeed, Bilāl used to call the Adhān during the night."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 622, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1092)
➋ The Second Adhān
This is given after true dawn, and Iqāmah follows it.
The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
"بَيْنَ كُلِّ أَذَانَيْنِ صَلَاةٌ"
"Between every two Adhāns, there is (an opportunity for) prayer."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 624, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 838)
❖ Ruling on Tathwīb – “الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّوْمِ”
The words “الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّوْمِ” are established in the first Adhān given after true dawn, not in the earlier night Adhān, and not in the Iqāmah.
It is narrated from Sayyidunā Anas رضي الله عنه:
"إِذَا قالَ المُؤَذِّنُ في أَذَانِ الفَجْرِ: حَيَّ عَلَى الفَلاحِ، فَلْيَقُلْ: الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّوْمِ"
"The Sunnah is that when the Muʾadhdhin says ‘Ḥayya ʿala al-Falāḥ’ in the Fajr Adhān, he should then say: ‘al-Ṣalātu Khayrun min al-Nawm’.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, Vol. 1, p. 202; Sunan al-Dāraqutnī, Vol. 1, p. 243; al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī, Vol. 1, p. 423)
Sayyidunā Abū Maḥdhūrah رضي الله عنه used to say these words in the Fajr Adhān.
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 504, Chain is authentic)
However, these words are not established for the night Adhān (i.e., the first Adhān given before dawn).
❖ Position of Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله
Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله considered it permissible to say “al-Ṣalātu Khayrun min al-Nawm” in the first (night) Adhān as well,
but this opinion is considered weak.
Shaykh Amīn Allāh al-Bashāwarī حفظه الله stated:
"Indeed, Shaykh al-Albānī’s position on this issue is weak."
(Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 3, p. 225)
Shaykh Thanāʾ Allāh Madanī, Shaykh Muḥammad Munīr Qamar Sīālkotī, and Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Raʾūf Sindhū appear to have followed Shaykh al-Albānī on this issue, likely without further investigation.
(Reference: Shahādat, October 2000)
❖ Summary of the Ruling
✔ The two Adhāns for Fajr are established from the Sunnah:
➊ The first Adhān is given at night (before true dawn).
➋ The second Adhān is given after true dawn, followed by the Iqāmah.
✔ The phrase “الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّوْمِ” is only established in the second Adhān (after true dawn).
✘ These words are not to be included in the first (night) Adhān.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
