The adhan and the iqamah: what they are, and their words
What the adhan and iqamah are, and the exact Arabic words of each, with their meaning.
The adhan is the call that tells everyone it is time to pray. It is a set of special Arabic words, called out loud by one person, called the muadhin.
The iqamah is a second, shorter call. It is said inside the mosque, right before the prayer actually starts, to let everyone know: line up, we are starting now.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ
Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāh, ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāh
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُولُ اللّٰهِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُولُ اللّٰهِ
Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu'llāh, ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu'llāh
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ
Ḥayya ʿala'ṣ-ṣalāh, ḥayya ʿala'ṣ-ṣalāh
Come to prayer. Come to prayer.
حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ
Ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ, ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ
Come to success. Come to success.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ
Lā ilāha illa'llāh
There is no god but Allah.
اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ، اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ
Aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina'n-nawm, aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina'n-nawm
Prayer is better than sleep. Prayer is better than sleep.
The iqamah uses the exact same words, in the exact same order, as the adhan above, but with one extra line added after line 5 ('Come to success'), said twice.
قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ
Qad qāmati'ṣ-ṣalāh, qad qāmati'ṣ-ṣalāh
The prayer has now begun. The prayer has now begun.
Adhan literally means 'to inform' or 'to notify'. In fiqh it refers to calling people to the obligatory prayer using a specific method and a fixed set of words.
Iqamah is the announcement made inside the mosque to tell those present that the prayer is about to begin; it is sometimes referred to simply as the takbir.
The adhan is made up of fifteen words, given here as they are called out; each line below is one unit of the call.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ
Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāh, ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāh
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُولُ اللّٰهِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُولُ اللّٰهِ
Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu'llāh, ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu'llāh
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ
Ḥayya ʿala'ṣ-ṣalāh, ḥayya ʿala'ṣ-ṣalāh
Come to prayer. Come to prayer.
حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ
Ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ, ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ
Come to success. Come to success.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ
Lā ilāha illa'llāh
There is no god but Allah.
اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ، اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ
Aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina'n-nawm, aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina'n-nawm
Prayer is better than sleep. Prayer is better than sleep.
The iqamah has seventeen words: it repeats the same fifteen words of the adhan, in the same order, with one phrase added after 'Come to success', said twice.
قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ
Qad qāmati'ṣ-ṣalāh, qad qāmati'ṣ-ṣalāh
The prayer has now begun. The prayer has now begun.
Adhān denotes iʿlām: informing or notifying. As a term of fiqh, it is the calling of people to the obligatory prayers by a specific method and specific words.
Iqāmah is the announcement given inside the mosque that the prayer is about to commence; it is also referred to as the takbīr.
The adhān comprises fifteen kalimāt (words/phrases), each recited as follows.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ
Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāh, ashhadu an lā ilāha illa'llāh
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُولُ اللّٰهِ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَّسُولُ اللّٰهِ
Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu'llāh, ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūlu'llāh
I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ
Ḥayya ʿala'ṣ-ṣalāh, ḥayya ʿala'ṣ-ṣalāh
Come to prayer. Come to prayer.
حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ
Ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ, ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ
Come to success. Come to success.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ، اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar, Allāhu akbar
Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest.
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ
Lā ilāha illa'llāh
There is no god but Allah.
اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ، اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِّنَ النَّوْمِ
Aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina'n-nawm, aṣ-ṣalātu khayrun mina'n-nawm
Prayer is better than sleep. Prayer is better than sleep.
The iqāmah is seventeen kalimāt: the same fifteen of the adhān, in the same sequence, with one phrase interposed after ḥayya ʿala'l-falāḥ, said twice.
قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ
Qad qāmati'ṣ-ṣalāh, qad qāmati'ṣ-ṣalāh
The prayer has now begun. The prayer has now begun.
Terms on this page
Related
- The sunnah method of adhan and iqamah, step by step How the muadhin calls the adhan from start to finish, and how the iqamah differs from it.
- Tathwib, and how to respond to the adhan and iqamah The extra reminder given between the adhan and iqamah, what to do on hearing the adhan, and the words to say in reply.
- The sunnahs and preferred acts of adhan and iqamah How the muadhin should stand, move and speak while calling, the purity he should be in, and the mistakes to avoid in pronunciation.
- The rules of adhan and iqamah, and when an adhan counts Who must call the adhan, when it is and isn't required, and the four conditions that make an adhan valid.