Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 2, Hadith 109
‘Abd Allah b. Zaid reported : when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ordered a bell to be made so that it might be struck to gather the people for prayer, a man carrying a bell in his hand appeared to me while I was asleep, and I said; servant of ‘abd Allah, will you sell the bell? He asked; what will you do with it? I replied; we shall use it to call the people to prayer. He said; should I not suggest you something better than that. I replied: certainly. Then he told me to say: Allah is most great, Allah is most great, Allah is most great, Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to pray, come to pray; come to salvation; come to salvation. Allah is most great, Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah. He then moved backward a few steps and said: when you utter the IQAMAH, you should say: Allah is most great, Allah is most great. I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Come to prayer, come to salvation. The time for prayer has come, the time for prayer has come: Allah is most great, Allah is most great. There is no god but Allah. When the morning came, I came to the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) and informed him of what I had seen in the dream. He said: it is a genuine vision, and he then should use it to call people to prayer, for he has a louder voice than you have. So I got up along with Bilal and began to teach it to him and he used it in making the call to prayer. ‘Umar b. al-khattab (Allah be pleased with him) heard it while he was in his house and came out trailing his cloak and said: Messenger of Allah. By him who has sent you with the truth, I have also seen the kind of thing as has been shown to him. The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) said: To Allah be the praise. Abu Dawud said; Al-Zuhri narrated this tradition in a similar way from Sa’id b. al-Musayyib on the authority of ‘Abd Allah b. Zaid. In this version Ibn Ishaq narrated from al-Zuhri: Allah is most great. Allah is most great, Allah is most great, Allah is most great. Ma;mar and yunus narrated from al-Zuhri; Allah is most great, Allah is most great. They did not report it twice again.
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ الطُّوسِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ التَّيْمِيُّ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ رَبِّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، قَالَ لَمَّا أَمَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالنَّاقُوسِ يُعْمَلُ لِيُضْرَبَ بِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لِجَمْعِ الصَّلاَةِ طَافَ بِي وَأَنَا نَائِمٌ رَجُلٌ يَحْمِلُ نَاقُوسًا فِي يَدِهِ فَقُلْتُ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ أَتَبِيعُ النَّاقُوسَ قَالَ وَمَا تَصْنَعُ بِهِ فَقُلْتُ نَدْعُو بِهِ إِلَى الصَّلاَةِ . قَالَ أَفَلاَ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى مَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَقُلْتُ لَهُ بَلَى . قَالَ فَقَالَ تَقُولُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ حَىَّ عَلَى الصَّلاَةِ حَىَّ عَلَى الصَّلاَةِ حَىَّ عَلَى الْفَلاَحِ حَىَّ عَلَى الْفَلاَحِ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ قَالَ ثُمَّ اسْتَأْخَرَ عَنِّي غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ وَتَقُولُ إِذَا أَقَمْتَ الصَّلاَةَ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ حَىَّ عَلَى الصَّلاَةِ حَىَّ عَلَى الْفَلاَحِ قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلاَةُ قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلاَةُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ فَلَمَّا أَصْبَحْتُ أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَأَخْبَرْتُهُ بِمَا رَأَيْتُ فَقَالَ ” إِنَّهَا لَرُؤْيَا حَقٌّ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ فَقُمْ مَعَ بِلاَلٍ فَأَلْقِ عَلَيْهِ مَا رَأَيْتَ فَلْيُؤَذِّنْ بِهِ فَإِنَّهُ أَنْدَى صَوْتًا مِنْكَ ” . فَقُمْتُ مَعَ بِلاَلٍ فَجَعَلْتُ أُلْقِيهِ عَلَيْهِ وَيُؤَذِّنُ بِهِ – قَالَ – فَسَمِعَ ذَلِكَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ وَهُوَ فِي بَيْتِهِ فَخَرَجَ يَجُرُّ رِدَاءَهُ وَيَقُولُ وَالَّذِي بَعَثَكَ بِالْحَقِّ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ مِثْلَ مَا رَأَى . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” فَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ ” . قَالَ أَبُو دَاوُدَ هَكَذَا رِوَايَةُ الزُّهْرِيِّ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيَّبِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ زَيْدٍ وَقَالَ فِيهِ ابْنُ إِسْحَاقَ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ ” اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ ” . وَقَالَ مَعْمَرٌ وَيُونُسُ عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ فِيهِ ” اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ ” . لَمْ يُثَنِّيَا .
Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 2, Hadith 109
This hadith is from the Sunan Abi Dawud collection of hadiths. What truly distinguishes Sunan Abi Dawud among its peers is its compiler’s advanced critical scholarship. Abu Dawud was not merely a collector but a rigorous evaluator. He applied a discerning methodology to vet the authenticity of each narration, frequently providing his own notes on the strength or weakness of the hadiths included. While he prioritized sound (sahih) and reliable reports for legal derivation, he sometimes included less robust narrations to illustrate scholarly points. This transparent and critical approach is a primary reason for the collection’s esteemed and highly authoritative status within the Islamic sciences.
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For more Hadith in Book 2: Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat)