Dua After Adhan: What to Say When You Hear the Call to Prayer

Five times a day the adhan reaches us, from a masjid, a phone or a neighbour’s window. The Prophet ﷺ taught a short dua after adhan that turns that moment into worship, and he attached a promise to it: his intercession on the Day of Resurrection.

Below is the dua in Arabic with its English meaning, the authentic hadith behind it, and the simple order the Prophet ﷺ taught for answering the call to prayer.

The dua after adhan in Arabic and English

Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said whoever says this when he hears the call to prayer will receive his intercession:

Here is the full hadith, with the reward the Prophet ﷺ named for it:

Sunnah.com’s English adds explanations in brackets; we give the plain meaning of the Arabic. The transliteration above is ours, to help with pronunciation.

What the words of the dua mean

The Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths explains that “this perfect call” refers to the words of the adhan, which call people to the worship of Allah alone and to the prayer, and that the praised station is understood as the Prophet’s great intercession on the Day of Judgement (HadeethEnc 10635).

The “praised station” in the dua points to a promise in the Quran itself:

The Prophet ﷺ himself explained what al-Wasilah is, in a hadith that also gives the order of what to say:

HadeethEnc notes the Prophet’s modesty here: he asks his ummah to make dua for a rank meant for one person only, and Allah repays each salawat tenfold (HadeethEnc 65087).

Reflection: it is striking that the reward for asking something for the Prophet ﷺ comes back to the one who asks. We pray for his rank, and his intercession is promised to us in return.

What to say when you hear the adhan, step by step

1. Repeat the words of the mu’adhdhin. Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

At “hayya ‘alas-salah” and “hayya ‘alal-falah”, the Prophet ﷺ taught the reply “la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah” (Sahih Muslim 385). We explain that phrase in La Hawla Wa La Quwwata Illa Billah.

2. Send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ, as in Sahih Muslim 384 above. The salawat we say in the tashahhud is one authentic wording.

3. Say the dua after adhan from Sahih al-Bukhari 614.

4. Make your own dua before the iqamah. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

A man once told the Prophet ﷺ that the mu’adhdhins had an advantage over everyone else. His answer shows the door is open to all of us:

Another authentic dhikr for the time of the adhan, with forgiveness of sins promised, is covered in Radhitu Billahi Rabba Wabil Islami Dina.

How to practise it

• Pause what you are doing when the adhan starts, and repeat each phrase quietly after the mu’adhdhin.
• Keep the dua on your phone’s lock screen or by your prayer mat until you know it by heart.
• When the adhan ends, send salawat, then say the dua once.
• Use the minutes before the iqamah for your own needs; the hadith gives no fixed wording, so ask in your own words.
• Teach it to your children at one adhan a day.

Questions people ask

Key lessons from the dua after adhan

• The adhan is a call to answer with the tongue, not just to hear.
• Repeating it, sending salawat and saying the dua is the order the Prophet ﷺ taught.
• Asking al-Wasilah for the Prophet ﷺ brings his intercession to the one who asks.
• The time between the adhan and the iqamah is a time when dua is not rejected.

Part of our Salah series: see all our salah articles in one place.

Today, at the very next adhan, try all four steps once. It takes less than a minute, and the promise attached to it lasts until the Day of Resurrection.

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