The five times call to prayer, the Adhan or Azaan is a form of worship and a collective obligation (fardh kifayah) on Muslims. It is proclaimed by the muezzin, a person chosen for good character who works at the mosque, as he stands at the door or in the minaret. According to history, Muhammad (pbuh) consulted his followers on the call for prayer, ruling out drums and trumpets because it was already done by people of other religions. The matter was settled when Abdullah bin Zayd dreamt that the call should be done by a human voice which was confirmed by Umar bin Khattab and the responsibility was assigned to Bilal (RA) who had the most melodious voice.
The adhan translates as “Allah is most Great, Allah is most Great, Allah is most Great, Allah is most Great. I bear witness that there is no god except Allah, I bear witness that there is no god except Allah. I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to prayer, come to prayer; come to success, come to success. Allah is most Great, Allah is most Great, there is no god except Allah”.
The wisdom of the adhan is thus:
- It is a manifestation of the slogan of Islam and a proclamation of Tawheed (oneness of Allah)
- It is an indication to announce the time for prayer (salah)
- It lets the listener know where Salah is being offered
- It is a call for people to pray in the congregation.
However, given the recent interest in the banning of the adhan through loudspeakers has been unnecessarily blown out of proportions. Especially when it was backed by celebrities and lawmakers, a lot of people took to social media to voice their opinion on the matter regardless. With people declaring that their sleep was being disturbed by the adhan at dawn or that it was ‘noise pollution’.
It barely takes 3 minutes to finish the adhan and that depends on the muezzin and the proclamation of the words. Often times, the adhan is soothing to hear as it breaks the silence of the predawn. The first call for prayer, Fajr (predawn), is announced almost an hour before sunrise to give people to awaken and join others at the mosque. The prayer is concluded in a minimal of 20 minutes.
Health experts recommend that an adult on average needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep. If people prefer to work late night, party into the night, indulge in late night activities etc, and then blame the adhan for waking them up prematurely then who is at fault? A practice of over 1400 years or you who goes against their biological clock?
Successful entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg all have one similarity in common besides making millions of dollars – they sleep about the same amount of hours (7-9). A study was conducted to research the sleeping patterns of the most successful contemporaries – politicians, writers, athletes, performers, entrepreneurs etc.
One might expect the research to be biased in favour of more sleep, but a subtle pattern emerged when looking at the resulting data. The most balanced personalities, the most admirable success stories paid close attention to how and when they slept. Doing likewise may help your sleep routine as well.
A proper sleep schedule including a bedtime routine that suits you is the best approach for a steady and reliable work pattern. Bill Gates once said: “Even though it’s fun to stay up all night, maybe taking a red-eye flight, if I have to be creative, I need seven hours. I can give a speech without much sleep, I can do parts of my job that way, but in thinking creatively, I’m not much good without seven hours.”
There are several ways of blocking out noise including earplugs and earmuffs. People wear eye masks or blindfold to block the sun; they don’t go out of their way to move the sun’s position, do they?
There is a person doing his job every day serving as a ‘human alarm clock’ to indicate the time of the day. Instead of complaining, why not making the best of the situation? The person is just doing his job just like you do yours.
As far as noise pollution goes, it is defined as ‘regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to adverse effects in humans or other living organisms. According to WHO, sound levels less than 70 dB are not damaging to living organisms, irrelevant of how long or consistent the exposure.
India boasts festivals that are loud, political rallies that are equally loud and very unruly traffic that are major contributors to noise pollution and disrupt the peace of neighbourhoods.
Being exposed to more than 8 hours to constant noise beyond 85 dB may be hazardous. If you work for 8 hours daily in the vicinity of a busy road or highway, you’re likely exposed to traffic noise pollution around 85dB.
This type of pollution can be found in common everyday things that one does not even realize:
- Street traffic sounds from cars, buses, pedestrians, ambulances etc.
- Construction sounds like drilling or other heavy machinery in operation
- Airports, with constant elevated sounds from air traffic, i.e. planes taking off or landing
- Workplace sounds, often common in open-space offices
- Constant loud music in or near commercial venues
- Industrial sounds like fans, generators, compressor, mills
- Train stations traffic
- Household sounds, from the television set to music playing on the stereo or computer, vacuum cleaners, fans and coolers, washing machines, dishwashers, lawnmowers etc.
- Events involving fireworks, firecrackers, loudspeakers etc.
- Conflicts generate noise pollution through explosions, gunfire etc. The dysfunctions, in this case, are likely caused by conflict and insecurity and less by noise pollution in itself, although that compounds stress levels too.
It is safe to conclude Adhan does not contribute to noise pollution, yet, it’s a noteworthy reminder that Islam enjoins kind treatment of neighbours.
“Worship Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess. Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful.” (Quran, 4:36).
In a mixed neighbourhood with complaints, they might reduce the volume of the adhan. The adhan itself is not being stopped; just its broadcast has been reduced to those within the mosque or heard within its immediate neighbourhood.
Any person in the right state of mind can see that this is an unjust rationale being enforced on all Muslims.
Why the necessity of this debate when there are more pressing issues that need to be addressed? Like the collapsing economy? Or the protesting farmers? Or the rights of citizens being crushed in broad daylight?
References
https://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/noise-pollution/
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/236489/definition-of-neighbours-in-islamic-teaching
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/10078/ruling-on-the-adhaan-call-to-prayer
https://www.britannica.com/topic/adhan
https://islamqa.info/en/answers/23443/is-using-loudspeakers-for-the-adhaan-an-innovation-bidah
https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/good-nights-sleep-success-bill-gates.html
