This is further corroborated by what the two Imams, al-Bukhārī and Muslim, relate: on the authority of Abū Qilābah (1) from Anas, who said, “When the people became numerous, they discussed how to let everyone (2) know the time of prayer with something recognizable. They considered lighting a fire and striking a bell, but the Messenger of Allah ordered Bilāl to pronounce the adhān in doubled phrases and the iqāmah in single phrases.” (3)
Al-Bukhārī and Muslim also transmit—through Ibn Jurayj (4), from Nāfiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar—who said, “When the Muslims first arrived in Madinah they would gather and wait for the prayer (5), yet no one called them to it. One day they spoke about the matter. Some said, ‘Let us adopt a bell like the Christians,’ others said, ‘Rather a horn like the Jews.’ ʿUmar said, ‘Why not send a man to announce the prayer?’ The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then said, ‘O Bilāl, rise and call to prayer.’” (6)
(1) ʿAbd Allah ibn Zayd ibn ʿAmr al-Jarmi al-Basri, Abū Qilāba. Ibn Hajar says: “reliable, upright, and prone to transmitting mursal reports.” All six canonical compilers narrate from him. He died in greater Syria in 104 AH while fleeing appointment to the judiciary. See: al-Taqrīb, 1/417, no. 319; Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt, 7/183–85.
(2) In MS (Aṭ): yaʿallimuhum (“teach them”).
(3) Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of the Adhān, chapter “The Inception of the Adhān,” hadith no. 603 (Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/77); and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Prayer, chapter “The command to render the adhān in pairs and the iqāma in odd numbers,” hadith no. 378 (1/286).
(4) ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Jurayj al-Umawī, their freedman, the Meccan Abū al-Walīd—one of the renowned jurist-scholars. Considered reliable and eminent, he practiced irsāl and tadlīs. The six canonical compilers and others transmit from him. He died in 150 AH, a little past seventy. See: Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb, 1/520, no. 1324; Khulāṣat Tadhhīb al-Tahdhīb, p. 244.
(5) Printed edition: li-l-ṣalāt (“for the prayer”). In al-Bukhārī, as verified from manuscript copies, the wording appears as given here, whereas Muslim has: li-l-ṣalawāt (“for the prayers”).
(6) Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Book of the Adhān, chapter “The Inception of the Adhān,” hadith no. 604 (Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/77); and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Book of Prayer, chapter “The Inception of the Adhān,” hadith no. 377 (1/285).