[4] The five prayer times are known in Arabic as fajr (فجر), dhuhr (ظهر), asr (عصر), maghrib (مغرب), and isha (عشاء).

[5] Adhān, Arabic for 'announcement', from the root adhina, meaning 'to listen, to hear, be informed about', is variously transliterated in different cultures.

[1][2] It is commonly written as athan, or adhane (in French),[1] azan in Iran and south Asia (in Persian, Dari, Pashto, Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and Punjabi), adzan in Southeast Asia (Indonesian and Malaysian), and ezan in Turkish, Bosnian and Serbo-Croatian Latin (езан in Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic and Bulgarian, ezani in Albanian).

Typically in modern times, this is done using a microphone:[9] a recitation that is consequently broadcast to the speakers usually mounted on the higher part of the mosque's minarets, thus calling those nearby to prayer.

[citation needed] The muezzin is chosen for his ability in reciting the adhan clearly, melodically, and loudly enough for all people to hear.

This is one of the important duties in the mosque, as his companions and community rely on him in his call for Muslims to come to pray in congregation.

[citation needed] Shia sources state Muhammad, according to God's command, ordered the adhan as a means of calling Muslims to prayer.

[16][17][18] Shia sources also narrate that Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi was, in fact, the first person to recite the adhan publicly out loud in front of the Muslim congregation.

According to the Shia belief, Muhammad declared Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor, at Ghadir Khumm, which was required for the continuation of his guidance.

In one of the Qiblah of Ma'ad al-Mustansir Billah (1035–1094) of Fatemi era masjid of Qahira (Mosque of Ibn Tulun) engraved his name and kalimat ash-shahādah as lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāh, muḥammadun rasūlu -llāh, ʿalīyun walīyu -llāh (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ عَلِيٌّ وَلِيُّ ٱللَّٰهِ).

Abdullah ibn Zayd, a companion of Muhammad, reportedly had a vision in his dream, in which the adhan was revealed to him by God.

Because of his stunning voice, Muhammad chose a freed Habeshan slave by the name of Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi to make the call for prayers.

[citation needed] While listening to the adhan, it is recommended to repeat the same words silently, except when the adhan reciter (muezzin) says: "أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ" and "أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ" (ʾašhadu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāhu and ʾašhadu ʾanna Muḥammadan rasūlu -llāhi) they silently say: وَأَنَا أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ ٱللَّٰهِ (صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ) أَكْتَفِي بِهَا عَمَّنْ أَبَىٰ وَجَحَدَ وَأُعِينُ بِهَا مَنْ أَقَرَّ وَشَهِدَ wa-ʾanā ʾašhadu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāhu wa-ʾašhadu ʾanna muḥammadan rasūlu -llāhi (ṣallā -llāhu ʿalayhi wa-ʾālihi wa-sallama) ʾaktafī bihā ʿamman ʾabā wa-jaḥada wa-ʾuʿīnu bihā man ʾaqarra wa-šahida

Immediately following the adhan, it is recommended to sit and recite the following dua (supplication): ٱللَّٰهُمَّ ٱجْعَلْ قَلْبِي بَارًّا وَرِزْقِي دَارًّا وَٱجْعَلْ لِي عِنْدَ قَبْرِ نَبِيِّكَ (صَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ) قَرَارًا وَمُسْتَقَرًّا ʾallāhumma -jʿal qalbī bārran wa-rizqī dārran wa-jʿal lī ʿinda qabri nabīyika (ṣallā -llāhu ʿalayhi waʾ-ālihi wa-sallama) qarāran wa-mustaqarrān

"[20]While listening to the adhan, it is recommended to silently repeat after the caller, except when they say "come to prayer" (ḥayya ʿala ṣ-ṣalāhti) and "come to success" (ḥayya ʿala l-falāḥi), to which it is recommended to silently say "there is no ability and no power except by God, [the Most High, Most Great]" (lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāhi [l-ʿaliyyi l-ʿaẓīmi]).

allāhumma rabba hādhihi d-daʿwati t-tāmmati wa-ṣ-ṣalāti l-qāʾimahti, āti muhammadan il-wasīlata wa-l-faḍīlahta, wa-bʿathhu maqāman maḥmūdan illadhī waʿadtahu, innaka lā tukhlifu l-mīʿāda

[46][citation needed] In 2016, Israel's ministerial committee approved a draft bill that limits the volume of the use of public address systems for calls to prayer, particularly outdoor loudspeakers for the adhan, citing it as a factor of noise pollution, the draft bill was never enacted and has been in limbo ever since.

[48] The ban is meant to affect three mosques in Abu Dis village of East Jerusalem, disbarring them from broadcasting the morning call (fajr) prayers.

[50] The bill was backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who said: "I cannot count the times — they are simply too numerous — that citizens have turned to me from all parts of Israeli society, from all religions, with complaints about the noise and suffering caused to them by the excessive noise coming to them from the public address systems of houses of prayer.

"[49] The Israel Democracy Institute, a non-partisan think tank, expressed concerns that it specifically stifles the rights of Muslims, and restricts their freedom of religion.

[53] In Karlskrona (province of Blekinge, southern Sweden) the Islamic association built a minaret in 2017 and has had weekly prayer calls since then.

[54][55] The temporary mosque in Växjö filed for a similar permission in February 2018,[56] which sparked a nationwide debate about the practice.

In order to suppress these protests, in 1941, a new law was issued, under which people who chanted the adhan in Arabic could be imprisoned for up to 3 months and be fined up to 300 Turkish Lira.

[66] The adhan are commonly broadcast with a visual cinematic sequence depicting mosques and worshippers attending to the prayer.

Some television stations in both Malaysia and Indonesia often utilize a more artistic or cultural approach to the cinematic involving multiple actors and religious-related plotlines.

[67] The 1991-1994 recording of Masjid al-Haram muezzin, Sheikh Ali Ahmed Mulla is best known for its use in various television and radio stations.