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Adhan lexically means “to declare, to announce, to call”. Recited from the minarets every day, adhan is a call to prayer for the believers. Besides, it has become an important symbol of the religion Islam, Islamic society and geography. On the other hand, adhan had other meanings and functions in Muslim societies. For example, in the Muslim community, the adhan is recited to the right ear and the iqama to the left ear of a new-born baby. Also, adhan was recited as a symbol of Islamization of newly conquered countries or towns. In this context, adhan is more than an invitation toprayer in the minds of Muslims and Islamic culture. Since there was no environment for praying in congregation during the Makkah period, no search was made for the invitation to prayer. However,after the Hijrah (immigration) to Madinah and the establishment of Masjid al-Nabawi, Muslims began to perform their prayers in congregation and then, a tool or sign was needed to announce prayer times and invite Muslims to pray. During the consultations made by the Prophet Muhammad in the first years of the Hijrah, Sahabah made various suggestions on this subject. In this context, suggestions such as ringing a nakus (bell) like Christians in the nuzul period, piping like the Jews, burning of a fire like the Zoroastrians, and raising a flag were offered. However, the suggestions mentioned were not accepted by the Prophet Muhammad because they were generally the symbols of other religions. As it is stated in some Islamic sources, during the days of consultations for prayer-call tool, ‘Abd Allah ibn Zayd dreamt about a man with a green dress and a bell. When ‘Abd Allah wanted to buy the bell to call Muslims to prayer, the man taught him the adhan, saying, “Shall I teach you something better than this?” When ‘Abd Allah informed the Prophet of what was said in his dream, Prophet Muhammad said, “I hope this is a godly dream” and asked these words to be recited as adhan. Then he said to ‘Abd Allah, “Get up with Bilal, teach him, he should recite. Because his voice is louder.” It is reported in the sources that Umar had a similar dream as well. On the other hand, there are different narrations stating that adhan was taught to the Prophet through wahy (revelation). Yet, according to some scholars, adhan is more likely to be taught through wahy because it is an important symbol of religion. Although adhan is mostly perceived as just a call to prayer, we see that there are many Qur’anic truths in its content because there are four takbirs, two kalimah al-shahadah, two invitations to prayer and salvation, two takbirs again, and one kalimah al-tawhid. Stating that all this is only for invitation to prayer would be insufficient to understand the content of adhan. Especially considering the determination period of the adhan, it is understood that it was actually a declaration of the truths of the new religion invited by the Qur’an. In this article, we will try to analyse the Qur’anic truths within the framework of verses. Some of the basic truths declared by the Qur’an are reminded to humanity every day by adhan. In this context, it is declared to the people with four takbirs at the beginning that the greatness and the supremacy belong only to Allah. This is an obvious expression of the command of Allah to the Prophet at the Surah al-Muddassir: Glorify your Lord. When we look at the verses, it is seen that glorifying Allah is possible only by making praise and gratitude unique to Him. After that, people are called to testify that there is no deity but Allah. In this framework, the main invitation of all the prophets, namely tawhid, is mentioned. Recitation of adhan five times a day aims at establishing and keeping alive the belief of tawhid within the minds. In the words of adhan, after tawhid, the acceptance of the prophethood of the Prophet Muhammad is mentioned as a result of faith in Allah and as a requirement to believe in Islam. The rejection of the Prophet also means the rejection of the last divine book and all the messages of the Islam. As it is known, one of the main problems between believers and deniers was the issue of prophethood. Their belief in the Prophet would require the acceptance of Allah’s uniqueness and of all other messages of the Qur’an. The adhan reminds this truth to people five times a day. After the essentials of faith are revealed in the adhan, there is an invitation to prayer (salah), which is the most important manifestation of devotion to Allah and submission to the Prophet Muhammad. The prayer, to which people are especially invited with adhan, is also a proof of the submission and worship of people to Allah. In addition, Allah (swt) asks people to perform the prayer in a conscious mood. For this reason, people are prohibited in the verses from everything that prevents them from praying or from performing the prayer consciously. Acceptance of all these invitations and performing the prayer will bring people “falah”, which means eternal peace and salvation. For this reason, the invitation to prayer and “falah” is mentioned in the same manner and in sequence. The adhan, which ends with the declaration of two takbirs and one kalimah al-tawhid, is seen as a public announcement of the fundamental principles of Islam. These issues also include the basic truths expressed by the Qur’an, which is examined in this article under various headings within the framework of verses.

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