and al-Shafi'i, and Ishaq. Al-Thawri, Abu Hanifah, and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan forbade it, because of what Ibn 'Umar narrated, that Bilal gave the Adhan before the break of dawn, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded him to return and call out: "Lo, the servant is sleeping, lo, the servant is sleeping." And from Bilal, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: "Do not give the Adhan until the dawn becomes clear to you, like this," and he extended his hands horizontally. Both were reported by Abu Dawud. A group of scholars of hadith said: If there are two mu'adhdhins, one of whom gives the Adhan before the break of dawn and the other after it, then there is no harm; because the Adhan before dawn causes the purpose of announcing the time to be missed, so it is not permissible, like the rest of the prayers, unless there are two mu'adhdhins so that the announcement of the time is achieved by one of them, as was the case for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Our evidence is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Indeed, Bilal gives the Adhan by night, so eat and drink until Ibn Umm Maktum gives the Adhan." Agreed upon. This indicates the continuity of that action from him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) approved of it and did not forbid him from it, so its permissibility is established. Ziyad ibn al-Harith al-Suda'i narrated: "When it was time for the first morning Adhan, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded me, so I gave the Adhan. I then kept saying: 'Should I recite the iqamah, O Messenger of Allah?' He kept looking toward the horizon [of the east, and saying]: 'No.' Until the dawn broke, he went down, appeared, and then..."
(2) In M: "and from him"—an error. (3) In: Chapter on the Adhan before the entry of time, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/126, 127. (4) In the copies: "a mu'adhdhin", but the context requires what we have established. (5) In M: "the Prophet". (6) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: Chapter on the Adhan of the blind man if he has someone to inform him, and Chapter on the Adhan before dawn, from the Book of the Adhan; and in: Chapter on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): 'Let the Adhan of Bilal not prevent you from your Suhur', from the Book of Fasting; and in: Chapter on the testimony of the blind man... etc., from the Book of Testimonies; and in: Chapter on what has been said regarding the permissibility of the report of a single truthful person regarding the Adhan and prayer... etc., from the Book of Isolated Reports (Ahad). Sahih al-Bukhari 1/160, 161, 3/37, 225, 9/107, 108. And Muslim, in: Chapter on the explanation that entry into the fast occurs at the break of dawn... etc., from the Book of Fasting. Sahih Muslim 1/768, 769. It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter on what has been said regarding the Adhan at night, from the Chapters of Prayer. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 2/4, 5. And al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter on the two mu'adhdhins for the one mosque, and Chapter on whether they should both give the Adhan together or individually. Al-Mujtaba 2/9, 10. And al-Darimi, in: Chapter on the time of the dawn Adhan, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan al-Darimi 1/269, 270. And Imam Malik, in: Chapter on the amount of time for Suhur from the call to prayer, from the Book of the Call to Prayer (al-Nida'). Al-Muwatta 1/74. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 2/9, 57, 62, 64, 73, 79, 107, 123, 6/44, 54, 185, 186, 433. (7) In M: "the east, and he says".
