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{{short description|Person appointed at a mosque to lead and recite the call to prayer}}{{About||the 2009 Turkish film|Müezzin|the ice hockey player|Jake Muzzin}}File:Bilal.jpg|thumb|upright|Ottoman-era miniature depicting Bilal ibn Rabah (c. 580–640 CE), the first muezzin in the Islamic tradition, who is seen standing on top of the Kaaba while reciting the adhanadhan{{Usul al-fiqh}}File:USMC-120802-M-2815I-001.jpg|thumb|A United States NavyUnited States NavyThe muezzin () is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer (ṣalāt) five times a day (Fajr prayer, Zuhr prayer, Asr prayer, Maghrib prayer and Isha prayer) at a mosque from the minaret.BOOK, Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi, Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi, The Laws of Islam, 26 March 2016, Enlight Press, 978-0994240989,weblink 8 August 2018, Modarresi, en, 470, WEB, Definition of Muezzin,weblink 2021-09-13, www.merriam-webster.com, en, The muezzin plays an important role in ensuring an accurate prayer schedule for the Muslim community.

Etymology

The English word muezzin is borrowed from , {{transl|ar|DIN|muʾadh·dhin}} {{IPA-ar|mu.ʔað.ðin|}}, simplified mu'azzin,WEB,weblink muezzin, Dictionary.com, the active participle of "to call". Thus, it means "the calling one".

Roles and responsibilities

The professional muezzin is chosen for his good character, voice and skills to serve at the mosque. Muezzins are typically men.JOURNAL, Muhammad Usman, Shakir, The Idea of Female Muezzins and Imams in Islam a Challenge to the Pakistani Patriarchal Forces, PJSEL, 20 July 2021, 7, 9, 27 June 2023,weblink The muezzin is not considered a cleric, but in a position comparable to a Christian verger. He is responsible for keeping the mosque clean, for rolling the carpets, for cleaning the toilets and the place where people wash their hands, face and feet when they perform the Wuḍu' (Arabic: wuḍū’ وُضُوء, the "purification" of ablution) before offering the prayer.WEB, Muezzin {{!, Definition & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/muezzin |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}} When calling to prayer, the muezzin faces the qiblah, the direction of the Ka'bah in Makkah, while reciting the adhan.A Muazzin calling for prayer in Saudi Arabia{{dubious|youtube is not an acceptable source|date=November 2019}}From the fourteenth century, initially in Mamluk Egypt but then spread into other parts of the Islamic world, major mosques might employ a related officer, the muwaqqit, who determined the prayer times using mathematical astronomy. Unlike the muezzin who were typically chosen for their piety and beautiful voice, the qualification of the muwaqqit required special knowledge in astronomy.{{sfn|King|1996|p=286}}{{sfn|Pedersen|1991|p=677}} Historian Sonja Brentjes speculates that the muwaqqit might have evolved from a specialised muezzin,{{sfn|Brentjes|2008|p=139}} and that there might not have been a clear delineation between the two offices.{{sfn|Brentjes|2008|p=141}} Some celebrated muwaqqits, including Shams al-Din al-Khalili and ibn al-Shatir, were known to have once been muezzins, and many individuals held both offices simultaneously.{{sfn|Brentjes|2008|pp=139–140}} Today, with the production of electronic devices and authoritative timetables, a muezzin in a mosque can broadcast the call to prayer by consulting a table or a clock without requiring the specialised skill of a muwaqqit.{{sfn|King|1996|p=322}}

Call of the muezzin

The call of the muezzin is considered an art form, reflected in the melodious chanting of the adhan. In Turkey there is an annual competition to find the country's best muezzin.WEB,weblink Muezzin, Aljazeera, 13 March 2013, 21 March 2015, Historically, a muezzin would have recited the call to prayer atop the minarets in order to be heard by those around the mosque. Now, mosques often have loudspeakers mounted on the top of the minaret and the muezzin will use a microphone, or a recording is played, allowing the call to prayer to be heard at great distances without climbing the minaret.

Origins

The institution of the muezzin has existed since the time of Muhammad. The first muezzin was a former slave Bilal ibn Rabah, one of the most trusted and loyal sahabah (companions) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was born in Mecca and is considered to have been the first mu'azzin, chosen by Muhammad himself."Slavery in Islam." BBC News. BBC, 2009. Web. 2013.Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, p.68. Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0810861615}}.Robinson, David. Muslim Societies in African History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.Levtzion, Nehemia, and Randall Lee Pouwels. The History of Islam in Africa. South Africa: Ohio UP, 2000. Print.After minarets became customary at mosques, the office of muezzin in cities was sometimes given to a blind man, who could not see down into the inner courtyards of the citizens' houses and thus could not violate privacy.BOOK, Saramago, Jose, The History of the Siege of Lisbon, Harcourt Brace, 1998, 20,

Notable muezzins

• Bilal ibn Ribah al-Habashi
• Rahim Moazzen Zadeh Ardabili
• Ali Ahmed Mulla

See also

• Salah, Muslim daily prayer
• Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin
• Schulklopfer, the Jewish equivalent of the muezzin
• Loudspeakers in mosques

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

• ENCYCLOPEDIA, Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi on Muwaqqits, Mu'adhdhins, and the Teachers of Various Astronomical Disciplines in Mamluk Cities in the Fifteenth Century, Sonja, Brentjes, Emilia Calvo, Mercè Comes, Roser Puig, Mònica Rius, A Shared Legacy: Islamic Science East and West,weblink 2008, Edicions Universitat Barcelona, 978-84-475-3285-8,
• ENCYCLOPEDIA, On the role of the muezzin and the muwaqqit in medieval Islamic society, David A., King, Tradition, Transmission, Transformation, E. Jamil Ragep, Sally P. Ragep, E.J. Brill, 285–345, 1996, 90-04-10119-5,weblink
• {{Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition|volume=6|title=Masdjid: The personnel of the mosque|pages=674–677|first=Johannes|last=Pedersen|authorlink=|url=}}

Further reading

Online

• Muezzin Islamic religious official, in Encyclopædia Britannica Online, by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Gloria Lotha, Deepti Mahajan and Amy Tikkanen

External links

{{Commons category|Muezzins}}{{NIE Poster|year=1905}}

• "Cairo to use computerised call to prayer after complaints over tuneless muezzin", 13 Aug 2010
• "Muslim preachers given call-to-prayer singing lessons", 11 May 2010

{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}{{Authority control}}