The Beauty Of Adhaan... And A Cabby Uncle

AZ and I were in a cab just two weeks back; we were heading home from the East. A few minutes into the drive, the Adhaan for the Azhar prayer in my phone came on.

To our very pleasant surprise, the Chinese Cabby Uncle (We, all of us here in fact, grew up calling cab drivers mature enough, 'Uncle' - out of respect. Of course, if they are younger looking, I always make it a point to switch to 'Sir' mode.) asked us if this was from the radio.

AZ explained that it was from the phone alarm. To this, The Cabby Uncle asked if the radio stations played it. He sounded really interested and very eager to know. AZ and I both then shared that the Adhaan can be heard on the Malay station, Warna 94.2 here. We explained that it was the call to Islamic prayer and that it can be heard five times in a day. He said he knew that very well and then asked us to tell him the exact times at which they will be played.

As AZ read out the timings, the Uncle actually jotted them down on a piece of paper at a traffic junction. He later shared with us something that made us smile from ear to ear.

Whenever he hears the Adhaan, he said he felt a calmness in his mind. A 'totally at peace kind of feeling', he added.

"Is it a song?" he asked. I explained. That the Adhaan is a call to prayer, which is in turn a call to success.

He said the Community Centres in his neighbourhood used to organise sessions to hold competitions for children to recite in this 'language'. We told him this is Arabic - the language of the Quran, and that the children must have been in a Quran recitation competition. "You know, I will spend all the time there while they recited. It was so beautiful to hear. The tone and way it is read" - this gist was what he tried to convey in his words.

AZ asked him what his religion was. He must have said he's a free thinker, if I remember. But what I remember vividly was his love for the language of our Holy Quran and of course, the Adhaan.

AZ told him he could attend sharing sessions in the mosques and other associations we know of, if he wanted to learn more about Islam. He nodded, smiling.

As we alighted at our home, we reminded him to tune in - in time for the Maghrib Adhaan, to which the Uncle said, 'Definitely!'.

What every line in the Adhaan means

Allâhu akbar Allâhu akbar Allâhu akbar Allâhu akbar ash-hadu al-lââ ilâha illa-llâh ash-hadu al-lââ ilâha illa-llâh ash-hadu anna muhammadan rasûlu-llâh ash-hadu anna muhammadan rasûlu-llâh hayya ‘ala-s-salâh hayya ‘ala-s-salâh hayya ‘ala-l-falâh hayya ‘ala-l-falâh Allâhu akbar, Allâhu akbar lââ ilâha illa-llâh

God is Supreme! God is Supreme! God is Supreme! God is Supreme! I witness that there is no god but God I witness that there is no god but God I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God I witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God Come to the prayer. Come to the prayer. Come to success. Come to success. God is Supreme! God is Supreme! There is no god but God

For the Fajr prayer, (the morning prayer), the following words are added just after hayya ‘ala-s-salâh.

as-salâtu khayrum min an-nowm a s-salâtu khayrum min an-nowm	Prayer is better than sleep Prayer is better than sleep

Source: Internet

Masha-Allah.