people would be prepared to attend and could do so when the imam arrived (1).

If someone were to say: “Introducing this was an innovation, for the Prophet ﷺ prescribed only one call to prayer, and the call to prayer is an act of worship that cannot be legislated except by authorization from the Lawgiver,” then the response is twofold:

First: this is part of the sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, for Uthman—may Allah be pleased with him—was among them, and the Rightly Guided Caliphs have a sunnah that is to be followed, by virtue of the sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ. He said: “You must adhere to my sunnah and the sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after me” (2).

Second: Uthman—may Allah be pleased with him—instituted it only because of a reason that did not exist during the time of the Messenger ﷺ: the expansion of Madinah and the distance at which people lived. Therefore, it cannot be said that the Messenger ﷺ did not prescribe it, because in his time Madinah had not expanded to the extent that people needed to be called to the prayer. It is known that the Messenger ﷺ prescribed a call to prayer late at night, not for the Fajr prayer, but in order to awaken those who were asleep and send back those who were standing in prayer. He ﷺ said: “Bilal gives the call to prayer at night in order to awaken those of you who are asleep and send back those of you who are standing in prayer,”