Azan

The adhan (Arabic: أَذَان‎ [ʔaˈðaːn]), also written as adhaan, azan, azaan, or athan, also called ezan in Persian, Urdu, and Turkish, among other languages, is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by a muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is ʾadhina أَذِنَ meaning "to listen, to hear, be informed about". Another derivative of this word is ʾudhun (أُذُن), meaning "ear".

Adhan is called out by a muezzin from the mosque five times a day, a whole day long in the event of religious holidays (i.e. Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha), traditionally from the minaret, summoning Muslims for obligatory (fard) prayer (salat). A second call, known as the iqamah then summons Muslims to line up for the beginning of the prayers. The main purpose behind the multiple loud pronouncements of adhan in every mosque is to make available to everyone an easily intelligible summary of Islamic belief. In modern times, loudspeakers have been installed on minarets for this purpose.