The First Athan on Friday is not an Innovation

Question :

Is the first Athan on Friday an innovation?

Answer:

It has been authentically reported from the Prophet that he said:
You must follow my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the righteous caliphs who come after me. Hold fast to it by your molar teeth.

At first, the call to prayer on Friday used to be when the Imam sat upon the pulpit during the time of the Prophet and the times of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both.

Then in the time of the caliphate of 'Uthman, when the number of people had greatly increased, he ordered that the first Athan be called on Friday. It is not an innovation now, as we were ordered to follow the Sunnah of the Well-Guided Caliphs. The basis for this may be found in what was narrated by Al-Bukhari, An-Nasa'i, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Abu Dawud and the wording is his on the authority of Ibn Shihab, who said: "As-Sa'ib bin Yazid informed me that at first, the Athan used to be when the Imam sat upon the pulpit on Friday, during the times of the Prophet and Abu Bakr and 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both. Then during the caliphate of 'Uthman, when the number of people had increased greatly, 'Uthman ordered a third Athan to be called on Friday and it was called in Az-Zawra'and the matter continued thus."

In his explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, Al-Qastalani commented regarding this Hadith, that the call to prayer which 'Uthman added was at the start of the time for the prayer and it was called a third Athan, due to the fact that it was in addition to the Athan which was between the arrival of the Imam and the Iqamah for the prayer. The Iqamah was termed an Athan because they are both announcements (of prayer time). This Athan, which was implemented when the number of Muslims increased, was added by 'Uthman as a result of his Ijtihad, and the rest of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, approved of it by their silence and by not criticizing it, so there was a consensus through silence. And through Allah is attained success.

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