Article #209
Subject: Introductory call to prayer
Author: Andrew W. Harrell
Posted: 5/20/2010 03:43:36 PM

Allahu Akbar* (God is most great) (four times)

ashhadu an laa ilaaha illa llaah (twice)
I testify that there is no God but God

( Christians may want to add here:
and that He has no Son but Jesus Christ)

ashhadu anna muhammadan rasuulu llah (twice)

(I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God
Christians may want to add here
I testify that I AM His messenger
The use of the Holy and Spiritual name of God I AM here
should be preceeded by a specific and general confession
of sins denying that the God we are speaking of here
is the conventional interpretation of these words
Three good and basic prayer denials as explained elsewhere in the
section on preliminary Hindu prayer denials can be:

1) not me, ie not my ego
2) not this, ie not this outermost level of reality
3) not not, ie what we are praying for is not something negative

hayy 'ala s-salaa (twice)
come alive to the prayer

hayy 'ala l-falaah (twice)
come alive to the flourishing

Allahu Akbar (God is most great) (twice)
ashhadu an laa ilaaha illa llaah (twice)
I testify that there is no God but God

( Christians may want to add here:
and that He has no Son but Jesus Christ)

ashhadu anna muhammadan rasuulu llah (twice)

(I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God
Christians may want to add here
I testify that I AM His messenger


hayy 'ala s-salaa (twice)
come alive to the prayer

hayy 'ala l-falaah (twice)
come alive to the flourishing

hayy 'ala khayri l'amal (twice)
come alive to the best work

allahu akbar God is most great

laa ilaaha illa llaah
there is not God but God.

* some of the translations taken from the book
"Approaching the Quran, the Early Revelations"
by Micheal Sells