Muezzin

The muezzin (Arabic مؤذن Mu'adhdhin, DMG mu ʾ Addin ) is a crier, which the Muslims to prayer (Salat, Arabic: as- salat) calls. He calls the Muslims five times a day together at specific times to pray. Only the cry in the morning is at an indeterminate time, namely when the sun rises. The Islamic call to prayer Adhan sounds in Arabic.

The muezzin is not a clergyman, but belongs to the staff of the mosque. Its function is - among other reasons because of the text-based lecture - not fully comparable with the ringing of the church bell by the sacristan in Christianity. Depending on the situation, can take over the function of a muezzin also a normal creditor, for example, when prayers are performed during working hours.

The first person who assumed the role of a muezzin, was the Abyssinian Bilal al - Habashi, a freed slave and a close confidant of the Prophet Mohammed. Formerly a blind man was often entrusted with this task, so he could not see from the minaret of places where women were staying. The call was originally made ​​from the minaret. Meanwhile, the call is transmitted mostly through speakers from another location.

However, the muezzin calls even when a person who has lived in the immediate vicinity of the mosque, has died.