Advice of Scholars - MEANINGS OF THE WORDS OF THE AZÂN

ALLÂHU AKBAR: Allâhu ta’âlâ is great. He needs nothing. He is so great that He does not need the worships of His slaves. Worships are of no benefit to Him. In order to settle this well in minds, this utterance is repeated four times. [At the first and the third utterances of the word ‘Allâhu akbar’, the final consonant ‘r’ is either made jazm, (which is a rule that must always be observed at the second and fourth utterances,) or you may apply wasl, in which case the final ‘r’ at the first and third utterances is pronounced ‘ra’[1].] 

ASH’HADU AN LÂ İLÂHA IL-LAL-LÂH: Though on account of His greatness He does not need anyone’s worship, I bear witness and certainly believe that none besides Him is worthy of being worshipped. Nothing is like Him. 

ASH’HADU ANNA MUHAMMADAN RASÛLULLÂH: I bear witness and believe that hadrat Muhammad ‘alaihi wa ’alâ âlihissalâtu wa sallam’ is the Prophet sent by Him, that he is the communicant of the way of the worships liked by Him, that only those ways of worship communicated and shown by him are worthy of Allâhu ta’âlâ. 

HAYYA’ALASSALÂH-HAYYA’ALALFALÂH: These are the two words inviting Believers to the namâz, which brings happiness and salvation. 

ALLÂHU AKBAR: No one could manage the worship worthy of Him. He is so great, so far from anybody’s worship being worthy of Him or suitable for Him. 

LÂ ILÂHA IL-LAL-LÂH: He, alone, has the right to be worshipped and for us to humiliate ourselves before. Along with the fact that no one can do the worship worthy of Him, no one besides Him is worthy of being worshipped. 

[1] ‘Jazm’ means not to add a vowel to a final consonant, and ‘wasl’ means to combine a final consonant with the vowel sound of the following word.