It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The example of the obligatory prayers is like a sweet river flowing at your door, from which a person bathes five times a day."

It is narrated from Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saying: "If there were a river at the door of one of you in which he bathed five times a day, do you think any dirt would remain on him?" They replied: "No dirt would remain." He said: "That is the example of the five daily prayers. Allah wipes away sins with them."

Muhammad bin Hasan bin Ali said: We asked our master Jabir bin Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with them both, during the time of Hajjaj, who used to delay the prayer. Our master Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, used to perform the Zuhr prayer when the sun had declined, and the Asr prayer (he would perform) when the sun was still clear, and the Maghrib prayer he would perform when the sun had set, and the Isha prayer he would sometimes perform early and sometimes late; when the people gathered early, he would perform it early, and when the people delayed, he would delay the prayer. And the Fajr prayer, all of them (or he said) or the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, would perform it in darkness.

It is narrated from Ibn Shihab that one day ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) delayed the (‘Asr) prayer, so ‘Urwah bin Zubair came to him and said: (In the same way) Mughira bin Shu‘bah once delayed the prayer, so Sayyiduna Abu Mas‘ud Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said:“Mughira, what is this? Do you not know that Jibril (peace be upon him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he led the prayer and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also prayed, then Jibril (peace be upon him) prayed and you also prayed, then he prayed and you also prayed, then he prayed and you also prayed, then (Jibril, peace be upon him) prayed and you also prayed, then Jibril (peace be upon him) said: ‘I have been commanded to do so in this manner.’”(Upon this) ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:“‘Urwah, do you know what you are narrating? Did Jibril (peace be upon him) show the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) the times of prayer by performing them?”‘Urwah said:“Bashir bin Abi Mas‘ud also narrated in the same way from his father.”‘Urwah said:“Sayyidah ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated to me that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform the ‘Asr prayer at a time when the sunlight was still present in his chamber, even before it climbed up the wall.”

Muhammad bin Ishaq said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came here (Imam Dari, may Allah have mercy on him, said meaning) to Madinah, people used to gather for prayer at the appointed times without any call to prayer. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to have a horn made like that of the Jews (a trumpet) with which they would call people to prayer, but then he disliked it. Then he ordered for a clapper to be made, which was carved so that it could be struck for the Muslims’ prayers. Meanwhile, Abdullah bin Zayd bin Abd Rabbah (who was the brother of Harith bin Khazraj) saw a dream. So he came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Last night, while I was sleeping, a man passed by me who was wearing two green garments and was carrying a clapper in his hand. I said: O servant of Allah, will you sell this clapper? He said: What will you do with it? I said: We will call people to prayer with it. He said: Shall I tell you something better than that? I said: What is it? He said: Say like this. «الله أكبر الله أكبر، الله أكبر الله أكبر، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، حي على الصلاة، حي على الصلاة، حي على الفلاح، حي على الفلاح، الله أكبر الله أكبر، لا إله إلا الله» Then that man paused for a while and then repeated these words one by one, except: «قد قامت الصلاة، قد قامت الصلاة، الله أكبر الله أكبر، لا إله إلا الله» (meaning he recited the Iqamah). When Abdullah bin Zayd informed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this, he said:“Insha’Allah, this is a true dream, so go to Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and teach him, for he has a louder voice than you.”Then when Bilal gave the Adhan and Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) heard it while sitting in his house, he came dragging his lower garment to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! By the One Who sent you with the truth, I saw the same in my dream. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“Alhamdulillah, this is even more true.”

Muhammad bin Abdur-Rabbah narrated from his father in the same manner (as the aforementioned hadith).

Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Zaid bin Abdur-Rabbah said: My father Abdullah bin Zaid said: When the Messenger of Allah ( صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ) ordered for the bell (naqus) . . . and then narrated the aforementioned hadith.

Salim narrated from his father (Abdullah bin Umar), who narrated in a marfu‘ manner that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Bilal gives the call to prayer at night, so keep eating and drinking until the son of Umm Maktum gives the call to prayer."

It is narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had two muezzins: Bilal and the son of Umm Maktum. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bilal gives the call to prayer during the night, so keep eating and drinking until you hear the call to prayer of Ibn Umm Maktum." Qasim said: There was such an interval between their calls to prayer that one would descend and the other would ascend (for the call to prayer).

It is narrated from Hafs bin Umar bin Saad, the muezzin, that Saad used to give the call to prayer (adhan) in the Prophet’s Mosque. Hafs said: My family told me that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came to call the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for the Fajr prayer. The people said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is sleeping. Bilal then called out loudly: «الصلاة خير من النوم» “Prayer is better than sleep,”so this phrase was included in the Fajr adhan. Imam Darimi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Saad was called Saad al-Qaraz.