At a glance
The story
Al-Muwatta relates mursal from Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari that the Prophet wished to adopt two wooden clappers to be struck to gather the people for prayer; Abdullah ibn Zayd al-Ansari of Banu al-Harith ibn al-Khazraj saw in a dream two clappers and said they were like what the Messenger of God wanted; he related his dream to the Prophet, who ordered him to call the adhan as he had seen it, and Bilal called the adhan that day 1 Muwatta 172.
The meaning
This is among the best-known examples of a dream that changed an ordinance of Islam; the true dream can awaken a practical sunnah 1.
Notes
Among the dream texts that founded the adhan; this browser shows it in the dreams section 1.
Connections
People and things also explored
Muwatta 172· Aisha's dream: three moons fell into her chamber· The Companions' dream of Laylat al-Qadr in the last third· The good dream: a forty-sixth part of prophethood· Ibn Umar's silk thread in the dream and the Prophet's praise· Khalid ibn al-Walid's frightening dream· The Prophet's vision of the Messiah and the Dajjal at the Kaaba· The Prophet's dream of the Highest Assembly's dispute
Sources
- Muwatta, recension of Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi (ed. Bashar Awwad Ma'ruf)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Ibn Zayd's dream and the beginning of the adhan”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/ibn-zayd-dream-begins-the-adhan/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-11.
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