Azaan, Azan
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
In literature and philosophy
Sumit Paul, Azaan: Calling The Faithful To Prayer, April 21, 2017: The Times of India
“Kaankar-paathar jori ke masjid lai chunai Ta chadhi mulla baang de kya bahira hua Khudai?“ A mosque is built with stones and pebbles A cleric from there calls; Is God hard of hearing? This is an oft-quoted doha (couplet) attributed to Kabir. But the great social-reformer thought that azaan a call for Islamic prayer was invoking God or praying to the Almighty , despite his being a brilliant observer of social and religious aberrations and anomalies.
Azaan is a call for prayer. The muazzin (Arabic for the caller) calls the faithful to the mosque for offering namaaz. Hasrat Mohani says, “Ek awaaz se bulaya daata ke darbaar mein Sawaab se hi milti hai ye qismat“ Just one call can make devout followers rush to the mosque Only great piety creates such sublime fate, the caller is imbued with. Here lies the relevance or irrelevance of azaan. Young Professor Hamilton Gibb wrote a letter to Allama Iqbal in Arabic. This letter can still be read at Lahore University's Department of Islamic Theology . Gibb asked Iqbal, “Shouldn't the faithful and devout Muslims come on their own to offer namaaz to Allah? Why should they be called when it's their fundamental duty? This is like a shepherd calling his sheep when it's time to go back home in the evening. Human beings aren't sheep.“
Iqbal wrote back with a Hadis (not Hadith as it is erroneously spelt by most; the compilation of Prophet Muhammad's teachings), though Imam Bukhari didn't mention this Hadis. Hadis Qudsi and AbuDawud did mention this. Iqbal wrote to Gibb, quoting the Hadis that Prophet Muhammad said to Bilal Islam's first muazzin, who was a slave from North Africa, freed by the Prophet “Bilal, neo-Muslims need to be called to get accustomed to the newfound ways of Islam from their Pagan beliefs. But as they'll evolve, they'll come on their own.
There might not be any calling in future because faith is a matter of heart and one listens to his inner voice when it comes to worship.“
An evolved Muslim or any evolved worshipper needs no azaan or a call for prayer.
Hakim Sanai writes in Persian, “Footsteps carry you to the mosque well before the muazzin gets ready to call you. Eventually , he gives up happily , seeing you there before he calls.“
So the issue of using loudspeakers or any modern tech nological equipment to call for prayer, gets redundant because elsewhere Prophet Muhammad himself opines that azaan should be so musical that it shouldn't break the slumber of others.
During Prophet Muhammad's time, everyone didn't accept Islam and there were Christians and Jews in the vicinity. Moreover, Islam puts an accent on musicality of prayers and prayer related aspects. That's why Qeerat (way to recite the Quranic verses and there're seven ways of reciting them; Egyptian Qeerat being the most mellifluous) is so euphonic and when you get to hear the recital of Quranic verses, you're moved beyond words. Even a hardcore atheist like yours truly is moved by the musical cadences of Quranic recitation.
So it's really incongruous to use loudspeakers to call the faithful to the mosques. The problem with the followers of all religions is that they've not understood the symbolism and archaic practices of their faiths and they still cling on to them obstinately .
Court judgements
Azan is not noise pollution: HC 2023
TNN, Nov 29, 2023: The Times of India
HC: Azaan on loudspeakers no noise pollution
Ahmedabad : The Gujarat high court dismissed a PIL seeking a ban on the use of loudspeakers for azaan, observing that the call to prayer does not create noise pollution as it lasts less than 10 minutes.
The bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee junked the plea filed by Dharmendra Prajapati, a doctor from Gandhinagar, who took objection to azaan blaring five times a day from a mosque near his hospital. He argued that it caused disturbance to the people, especially the patients.
The bench said: “We fail to understand how the human voice reciting azaan through loudspeaker can achieve the decibel to the extent of creating noise pollution, causing health hazards for public.”
TNN
