This claim that the Prophet ﷺ omitted the adhan is set aside by the narration that al-Bukhari transmits from Ibn Masʿud: “He ﷺ performed that prayer at Jamʿ (Muzdalifah) with two adhans and two iqamahs.”

Moreover, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah states in al-Ikhtiyārāt that certain scholars who regard the adhan as a sunnah nonetheless say: if the inhabitants of a town unanimously abandon it, they are to be fought. The disagreement with such scholars is therefore almost purely semantic, for many jurists use the word sunnah for a practice whose neglect is legally blameworthy and punishable. As for anyone who claims that the adhan is a sunnah whose abandonment incurs no sin whatsoever, he is mistaken. That ends his words.

The scholars likewise differed over the wording of the adhan and the iqamah. Imam Ahmad held that every wording reported for the two calls is permissible, yet he preferred the version of Bilal. Bilal’s adhan comprises fifteen phrases: four takbirs, four phrases of testimony (shahadah), four phrases of ḥayʿalah (“come to prayer, come to success”), two further takbirs, and it concludes with “lā ilāha illā Allah” (“there is no god but Allah”).

The corresponding iqamah contains eleven phrases: two takbirs, two testimonies, two ḥayʿalahs, “qad qāmat al-ṣalāh” (“the prayer has been established”) twice, two takbirs, and it ends with “lā ilāha illā Allah.” This formulation is adopted by the Hanafis, the Shafiʿis, and the great majority of scholars. They cite the hadith of ʿAbd Allah ibn Zayd that describes this wording, and they note that it has been the practice of the people of Mecca when summoning Muslims at the pilgrimage seasons and elsewhere, without anyone objecting to it.

Malik, Abu Yusuf, and a number of scholars, however, held that the opening takbir of the adhan should be said only twice. They base this on certain transmissions of the hadith of ʿAbd Allah ibn Zayd, on the adhan of Abu Mahdhurah, and on the report of Anas, “[Bilal was commanded to pronounce the adhan in pairs].” It is nevertheless preferable to adopt the version that includes the additional phrases, for any non-contradictory addition reported by a reliable narrator is acceptable. Ibn Hazm said, “We preferred the adhan of the people of Mecca because it contains more remembrance of Allah.”

The scholars also disagreed about the practice of tarjiʿ. Tarjiʿ means that the mu’adhdhin recites the testimony of faith quietly, and then repeats it aloud. The Malikis and Shafiʿis hold it to be recommended,