Dua After Adhan: Allahumma Rabba Hadhihid Dawah, With Meaning

The routine at a glance

1. While the adhan is called: repeat each line after the muezzin, except for "Hayya alas salah" and "Hayya alal falah", where you say "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah".
2. After the shahadah lines: say "Wa ana ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah..." (the testimony of faith with "radhitu billahi Rabba").
3. When the adhan ends: send salawat on the Prophet (peace be upon him).
4. Then say the dua after adhan: Allahumma Rabba hadhihid dawatit tammah...
5. Between the adhan and iqamah: make your own dua, because it is not rejected.

Each step has its own hadith and its own reward, and the whole thing takes about a minute.

Step 1: What to say while the adhan is called

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When you hear the muezzin, say what he says." (Bukhari and Muslim)

So you repeat each phrase after him, quietly:

The two exceptions

For "Hayya alas salah" (come to prayer) and "Hayya alal falah" (come to success), you do not repeat the call; you answer it with:

لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ

La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah: "There is no power and no strength except with Allah." (Bukhari and Muslim, from the hadith of Umar)

The logic is beautiful: the muezzin invites you to prayer, and you reply that you cannot even come to prayer without Allah's help.

For the Fajr adhan

In the Fajr adhan, after "Hayya alal falah", the muezzin adds "As-salatu khayrun minan nawm" (prayer is better than sleep), twice. The common reply, from the practice of the scholars, is Sadaqta wa bararta (you have spoken the truth and done well), or simply repeating the phrase. There is no authentic hadith fixing a specific reply, so either is acceptable.

Step 2: The testimony after the shahadah

Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever says, when he hears the muezzin:

وَأَنَا أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا، وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولًا، وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا

Wa ana ash-hadu an la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, wa anna Muhammadan abduhu wa Rasuluh, radhitu billahi Rabba, wa bi Muhammadin Rasula, wa bil Islami dina

"And I too bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. I am pleased with Allah as Lord, with Muhammad as Messenger, and with Islam as religion."

...his sins will be forgiven." (Muslim)

Say it after the muezzin's second "Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah", or after the adhan ends. One sentence, and the promise attached to it is forgiveness.

Step 3: Salawat on the Prophet

Abdullah ibn Amr reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When you hear the muezzin, say what he says, then send blessings upon me, for whoever sends blessings upon me once, Allah sends blessings upon him ten times. Then ask Allah to grant me al-wasilah, for it is a station in Paradise fit for only one of Allah's servants, and I hope to be him. Whoever asks al-wasilah for me, my intercession becomes due for him." (Muslim)

So after the adhan, before the dua, say any form of salawat. The fullest is the Ibrahimi salawat from the tashahhud; the shortest is:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad: "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad."

Step 4: The dua after adhan

Jabir ibn Abdullah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever says, when he hears the call:

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ التَّامَّةِ، وَالصَّلَاةِ الْقَائِمَةِ، آتِ مُحَمَّدًا الْوَسِيلَةَ وَالْفَضِيلَةَ، وَابْعَثْهُ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا الَّذِي وَعَدْتَهُ

Transliteration: Allahumma Rabba hadhihid da'watit tammah, was salatil qa'imah, ati Muhammadanil wasilata wal fadilah, wab'ath-hu maqamam mahmudanil ladhi wa'adtah

Meaning: "O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the prayer about to be established, grant Muhammad al-wasilah (the highest station) and al-fadilah (excellence), and raise him to the praised station You have promised him."

...my intercession becomes due for him on the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari)

What the words mean

• Ad-da'watit tammah, the perfect call: the adhan is called perfect because it contains nothing but truth: the greatness of Allah, the shahadah, the call to prayer and success.
• As-salatil qa'imah, the prayer about to be established: the prayer the adhan announces.
• Al-wasilah: a station in Paradise, the highest of all, which the Prophet said is fit for only one servant.
• Al-fadilah: a rank above all creation.
• Maqaman mahmudan, the praised station: the station of the great intercession on the Day of Judgement, promised in Quran 17:79.

A common addition

Many people add innaka la tukhliful mi'ad ("indeed, You do not break Your promise") at the end. This is found in al-Bayhaqi's narration with a chain that scholars consider weak, so the phrase from Bukhari ends at "alladhi wa'adtah". Adding it is not sinful, but the Sunnah wording is the shorter one.

Why this dua matters

Read the hadith again: whoever says it earns the Prophet's intercession. It is one of a small number of deeds to which that promise is attached in explicit words. It takes fifteen seconds, five times a day.

Step 5: Dua between the adhan and iqamah

Anas ibn Malik reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Dua between the adhan and the iqamah is not rejected." (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ahmad; graded sahih). In another narration the Companions asked what they should say, and he replied: "Ask Allah for wellbeing (al-afiyah) in this world and the next." (Tirmidhi)

This is one of the times of accepted dua, alongside the last third of the night, sujud, the end of the obligatory prayers, Friday afternoon and the hour of rain. Most people waste it scrolling while waiting for the iqamah. Use it:

• Ask for al-afiyah, as the Prophet advised: "Allahumma inni as'alukal afwa wal afiyah fid dunya wal akhirah" (O Allah, I ask You for pardon and wellbeing in this world and the next).
• Ask for the specific things you need, by name, in your own language.
• Say the dua for parents, the deceased, and the sick if you carry any of those needs.
• Send more salawat. The Prophet said the one who sends the most blessings on him is the closest to him on the Day of Judgement.

In the masjid, this window is also when the sunnah rakats before Dhuhr, Asr and Isha are prayed, and dua in the sujud of those rakats counts as dua between the adhan and iqamah.

What to say when you hear the iqamah

The iqamah is the second, shorter call given immediately before the prayer starts. You repeat it as you repeat the adhan, with the same reply to the two hayya lines. When the muezzin says "Qad qamatis salah" (the prayer has begun), the widely practised reply is "Aqamahallahu wa adamaha" (may Allah establish it and make it continue), which is reported in Abu Dawud with a weak chain; some scholars follow it and others simply repeat the phrase. Both are acceptable.

Duas connected to specific adhans

After the Maghrib adhan

Umm Salamah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught her to say at the Maghrib adhan (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi; graded hasan by some, weak by others):

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّ هَذَا إِقْبَالُ لَيْلِكَ، وَإِدْبَارُ نَهَارِكَ، وَأَصْوَاتُ دُعَاتِكَ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي

Allahumma inna hadha iqbalu laylik, wa idbaru naharik, wa aswatu du'atik, faghfir li

"O Allah, this is the approach of Your night, the retreat of Your day, and the voices of Your callers, so forgive me."

During the Fajr adhan

The reply to "As-salatu khayrun minan nawm" is covered above. After the Fajr adhan, before the sunnah of Fajr, is also the time when the Prophet lay on his right side briefly (Bukhari), and the two sunnah rakats then follow.

When you hear the adhan far from a masjid

You repeat it all the same, even from a phone. The Prophet's instruction is "when you hear the muezzin", and the reward is for hearing and responding, not for being in the building.

What not to do during the adhan

• Do not talk over it. Answer the muezzin; conversation can wait a minute.
• Do not leave the masjid after the adhan without praying, unless you have a genuine need. Abu Hurairah saw a man leave after the adhan and said, "That one has disobeyed Abul Qasim (the Prophet)." (Muslim)
• Do not raise your voice above the muezzin. Your repetition is for you, said quietly.
• Do not skip the reply because you are busy. You can repeat the adhan while walking, working or driving. It requires no wudu and no direction.
• Do not turn the dua after adhan into a group chant. It is an individual dua said by each listener.

A one-minute version to memorise

If you memorise nothing else, memorise this and say it after every adhan:

1. Repeat the muezzin, replying to the two hayya lines with La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.
2. Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammad.
3. Allahumma Rabba hadhihid da'watit tammah, was salatil qa'imah, ati Muhammadanil wasilata wal fadilah, wab'ath-hu maqamam mahmudanil ladhi wa'adtah.
4. One request of your own.

Then go and pray.