given toward the end of the night—the call people nowadays label “the first adhān”—is neither for Fajr nor for any other prayer, for the adhān that is tied to a prayer may only be made after its appointed time has begun: “When the time for prayer comes in, let one of you give the call.” The Messenger ﷺ further clarified that this call is not the Fajr adhān when he said, “so that the one who is already standing may return”—meaning, he may step away in order to take his pre-dawn meal—and “so that the sleeper may be awakened,” likewise to eat before dawn.

Among the benefits drawn from this ḥadīth are the following:

1. The obligation of performing the prayer in congregation. His words, “and let the eldest of you lead,” carry the lām of command, which indicates that praying in congregation is mandatory.

2. Praying in congregation is required of travelers just as it is required of residents. These young men were a delegation who would soon return to their families, so they were travelers, yet he still instructed them to pray together. Accordingly, if a person is traveling but is staying in a town, he is obliged to attend the congregational prayer in the mosques. Some laymen, when told to pray, reply, “I am traveling; the traveler is exempt from the congregational prayer.” This is mistaken. You must pray with the congregation in the mosques even if you are traveling; in this respect you and the local residents are the same. The Prophet ﷺ said to a man, “Do you hear the call to prayer?” He answered, “Yes.” The Prophet replied, “Then respond.”