Call to prayer

Drifting over the rooftops five times every day is the call to prayer. The first is at dawn, the second at noon, the third in the afternoon, the fourth just before dusk and the fifth is later in the evening. The precise times of each prayer therefore depend on the time of year and where in the world you are.

The مؤذن | muʔazzin | person who calls the prayer from each mosque has a different style; some are warming and melodious, others are downright toneless. Entwined together, these different voices rise up and create a concoction of sound that is intended to bring to mind to every believer and non-believer the essence of the Islamic faith.

The recordings below are taken from Al-Minaa Al-Sharqiyya Mosque, a street away from the hotel where I first stayed in Alex, and the particular style of this muezzin will no doubt serve as a memory hook to my first few days here. The mysterious eruption of sound becomes less dizzying as days go by, as I gradually ascertain the indvidual words.

I mentioned in this article that Egypt is a diglossial country, operating in both Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (the interest of this blog) and Modern Standard Arabic. That claim is only two-thirds true. For the majority of the Egyptian population who are practicing Muslims, life is triglossial, for another variant known as Classical Arabic exists, and this is the language in which the Qur'an was written and prayers are recited.

The first call is known as أذان | ʔadān, which announces that it is time for prayer. Muslims then have a few minutes to change into suitable clothes and perform ablutions before a much quicker speedier, known as إقامة | ʔiqāma, is delivered, and that is when prayers actually begin. The text of the two components is very similar:

الله اكبر الله اكبر x 2 أشهد ألا إله إلا الله x 2 أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله x 2 حي على الصلاة x 2 حي على الفلاح x 2 الله اكبر الله اكبر x 1 لا إله إلا الله x 1

2 x aḷḷāhu ʔakbaru_ḷḷāhu ʔakbar 2 x ʔašhadu ʔalla ʔilāha ʔilla_ḷḷāh 2 x ʔašhadu ʔanna muḥammada_rrasūlu_ḷḷāh 2 x ḥayya ʕala_ṣṣalāh 2 x ḥayya ʕala_lfalāḥ 1 x aḷḷāhu ʔakbaru_ḷḷāhu ʔakbar 1 x lā ʔilāha ʔilla_ḷḷāh

2 x God is great, God is great 2 x I bear witness that there is no god but God 2 x I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God 2 x Come to prayer! 2 x Come to success! 1 x God is great, God is great 1 x There is no god by God

الله اكبر الله اكبر x 1 أشهد ألا إله إلا الله x 1 أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله x 1 حي على الصلاة حي على الفلاح x 1 قد قامت الصلاة قد قام الصلاة x 1 الله اكبر الله اكبر x 1 لا إله إلا الله x 1

1 x aḷḷāhu ʔakbaru_ḷḷāhu ʔakbar 1 x ʔašhadu ʔalla ʔilāha ʔilla_ḷḷāh 1 x ʔašhadu ʔanna muḥammada_rrasūlu_ḷḷāh 1 x ḥayya ʕala_ṣṣalāti ḥayya ʕala_lfalāḥ 1 x qad qāmati_ṣṣalāti qad qāmati_ṣṣalāh 1 x aḷḷāhu ʔakbaru_ḷḷāhu ʔakbar 1 x lā ʔilāha ʔilla_ḷḷāh

1 x God is great, God is great 1 x I bear witness that there is no god but God 1 x I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God 1 x Come to prayer! 1 x Come to success! 1 x God is great, God is great 1 x There is no god by God

A short, beautifully lyrical complement is always called after the أذان | ʔadān at this particular mosque, and I haven't heard it elsewhere. I still don't know what's being said. Perhaps there is a Muslim or Arabic speaker out there who understands it: